We jumped right in and joined the swim team this year. We had planned on only signing Anna Jane up, then I heard that they needed 5 year old swimmers. I told them I had a 5 year old, but he couldn't swim. They signed him up anyway.
I have never seen more progress in this short amount of time. By the second day, Wilson had abandoned his 'swimmies' and now he is swimming like a fish, jumping off the board, and swimming in 'the deep.'
The kids have both formed strong bonds with their coaches. Here is a pre-race pep talk.

And another....monitored closely by the medium brother.

These are photos from the first meet, last week.
Our first experience with the event board:

There were lots of shots of the kids actually swimming, but you can't really tell if they are swimming or floating or moving or stalling, so I've just included some behind the scenes shots. Actually they are all before the scenes shots.

Deciding he needed a little more stretching before his dive in:

Listening to his coach....or maybe it was the opposing team's coach, that could explain the hiding behind the goggles:

Anna Jane was really worried that she wouldn't win her race...

We assured both kids that whatever happened, we would jump up and down and cheer as soon as they jumped in the water. Winning wasn't even in our minds (for good reasons).
So Anna Jane jumped in and swam her little heart out and made it to the other side of the pool without stopping. That was our goal. She did it.
So Wilson jumped in the pool, swam right to the wall and started sobbing. We jumped up and down and cheered and congratulated him on jumping in the pool.
I was so proud of the kids and thankful to the coaches for sharing these skills and positive experiences with my kids.
Tonight was our second meet. Anna Jane smoked the freestyle and had definitely increased her speed from last week. Lo and behold they also entered her in the backstroke race. That was a little crazy....she had never been the length of the pool on her back and was super nervous. But she did it and it actually looked like the backstroke. I jumped up and down and cheered. I'm not one for playing it cool. Luckily they still like seeing their mom go nuts on the side of the pool.
And my sweet Wilson....this morning he had decided that he would sit out the rest of the year and pick it up again next year. Even though he had the skills to compete, he just isn't probably mature enough yet to keep up with the practices and demands of being on a team. But late this afternoon he had made up his mind to stick it out. He wanted to race at the meet tonight and he didn't want it to be his last one.
So the buzzer goes off and he jumps in the pool...and he SWIMS! In the midst of all of my jumping up and down and cheering, I see a few adults on the side of the pool pointing and grinning at my little jellyfish. He gets halfway to the other side and......stops. Turns around. Sobbing. No problem, the swim coach jumps in and swims him to the side. The crowd goes wild and I assure him that I am so proud, that he did more than he has ever done at a swim meet.
I am bursting with pride for my babies...It's amazing to see their confidence grow and I hope this is the first swim team season of many. Many.