Swim Team Saga

When we first moved to the Bay Area, one of the first things I noticed was all the hype of swim team.  I would see cars painted with "SWIM FAST!" and signs on the road encouraging different teams.  Each neighborhood seemed to have their own pool.  My good friend Laura and I used to walk every morning and a few times a year we would see the swim meet at the park nearby and it was madness!!  I wondered what in the world this was about???

 

This year we found out....EXACTLY what this is all about!  Swim practice every day of the week, 4 hour meets twice a week, all day meets at the end of the season.  It is intense, time consuming, tiring and honestly...really worth it.  I can't believe I am saying that, but I do truly understand why families continue to do this year after year.  Watching Reagan grow into a strong, confident swimmer has been such a rewarding experience.  And it adds peace of mind, too :)

 

I documented this year for her really well.  One of her first meets was when my mom was out here, at Woodlands Swim Club.  Here she is, very very nervous.

 Right in the middle, in her pink cap, getting ready to do the backstroke.

 In the middle of backstroke.

 She won her heat!  In her very first race in a pool she never swam in before (that was a big deal to her).

 Accepting the praise, shyly.

 Good job, Reagan!

 A few meets later and feeling a little more confident at our home pool, Ygnacio Wood.

 Here she is, getting a pep talk from Coach Anna.

 Diving into the pool.  It is fun to watch how her dive really came along this year.  She is pretty good at it now :)

 Breaststroke.

 Finished!

 Wearing the Hawaiian Shirt for being the top swimmer at practice.  This was a big honor for her!

 Getting ready to backstroke.

 And she is off!!

 Her backstroke was amazing this year!  She started the season not even knowing how to do it, and ended the year 2 seconds away from a county time!!  In swim talk, that is pretty freaking amazing.  She started out at 45.40 seconds and ended on 27.07.

At the Crossings Invitational, she and teammate Natalia bonded.

 With some fellow 6 and under swimmers.

 

I got a video of her swimming the freestyle.

 Reagan swam against one of her friends from school, Emma. 

 League was the big meet where we swam against all the teams in our league.  Reagan took first place in the breaststroke B division for her age group!!  I even got in on video, this is worth a few seconds of your time.  Ignore my shrieking voice.

 

Her breaststroke improved drastically.  She started out at 46.73 and ended at 31.93, which was her first place time at league.  Her freestyle started at 45.60 and ended at 24.81.

We attended the awards ceremony last night and she was one of the 2 girls awarded the Coaches Award and a huge trophy.  She pushed herself all season long and had a blast doing it.  Swimming is something she loves and hopefully we will continue this next year...but that depends on which parent you ask, lol!!

 

 Here she is getting her award from Coach James.

Here are the 6 and under girls with their awards.  Good job Reagan!!