Swimming with duckies.

One has no idea what to expect when (excuse the pun) you get your feet wet in a sport.  Pete started swim team to help foster and indulge his love of triathlon. We had no idea what we were getting into; he as the athlete and myself as the facilitator. On his first day of swim team, he tried his best to hide his total lack of experience from the other veterans of the team as he clenched onto the lane lines for dear life. While the kids swam circles around him, doing perfect flip turns and gliding effortlessly through the water, he did little right except to try his best. He's progressed, realizing that with every hour spent in the pool came another hour of skill and fitness. While there is no promise in any sport, what is guaranteed, is opportunity. The committment is the true test to each athlete and each day's outcome, no matter how it varies, is the reward. Congratulations to Peter and his swimming buddy Colin, on an outstanding season. Team CAT shines with a stellar group of athletes for Peter to be inspired by and and coaches that propel them.  He left regionals with a headful of scruffy chlorinated hair and a fistfull of first place duckies. In our eyes, they may just be hard earned trinkets, but to him, they are on par with a Michael Phelp's gold. What struck me wasn't the fact that he had raced as well as he did, but the fact that he looked so sad as he was getting into the car. He sighed as the season's end left him melancholy much like his last day of cross country season last fall. He should worry not, as I promised him more if he wants it. And with that, he smiled.