Corbin and Quincy in the Pool: Stingrays Swim Meet

 

Corbin and Quincy rocked their swim meet! I'm really impressed by the effort these kids give. You can do hard things, Willies! 

Corbin was terrified. He ran to me just moments before his event and said he was worried he would drown. Truth, this guy JUST learned how to swim, so the fear was from a legit place. In fact, only a week before the event he was still stopping multiple times along the way down the pool to hang/rest on the walls or lane lines. 

But nothing like a little competition to light a fire of security. He wasn't about to sink in front of an audience! I watched nervously from a corner and feigned excitement for Corbin. He started toward me one last time, and Coach Lisa caught him en route to quitting and put him in a relay right then. 

He knew his teammates were counting on him, and he was able to start from standing in the shallow end. This gave him greatbrelief since much of his fears about sinking came from his inability to dive. He took off and he did it. I became the obnoxious mother cheering from the sideline, guiding him to the end of the pool. "Don't give up! You're doing a great job! Almost there, Corbin! You can do it!" And ur was quite metaphoric for motherhood. We tell our kids, "you're ready for this! I believe in you!" And we teach them all we can and let em loose. And sometimes they do sink. But we're right there on the sidelines cheering and guiding them. 

He did it. And you can tell by the satisfied grin on his face that he was very proud. 

His next event was a 25 free, which he did with confidence, knowing he had already done it just 30 minutes before, and finally, he loved the kickboard race, which was the event of his choosing that he signed up for. 

Quincy signed up for a 25 free, a 25 backstroke, and 2 relays! I'm most impressed by her dives, this year. She's come a long way  from the jovial belly flop start! She is all business and jumps in with form and determination to dinher best. Her back stroke was really great and she didn't touch the lanes even once. She took third in freestyle.  This tiny swimmer got a late start to the joy of swimming with all the ear trouble we've had. Now, she independently pops those ear plugs in and just goes for it.  Great job Quincy!