Swim Team

We tried something new this summer- swim team! We joined the Northbrook pool in part so Collins could join the Dolphin swim team. We had heard this was a great (and cheap) way to get your kids swimming really well, and we also thought joining an athletic team might be a good way to increase Collins' confidence.

I had heard lots of complaints from other parents about swim team going in (kids didn't want to practice, parents didn't want to go to the meets, too hot, etc.), but I have to say it has been a positive experience for us. Collins wanted to go to practice, loved socializing with her friends in the pool afterwards, got excited about the meets, and has significantly improved her swimming times in each event.

Of course, we did find that the meets were chaotic (so many people), that is was unbearably hot, and it was hard to entertain two littles ones for long of a time. They do seem to go on forever.

The first meet was at Greystone, and it was very overwhelming for Collins (and me too). We had no idea what was going on, and there were some tears when I forgot to pack her swim cap and she didn't know where to go.

 

But I was really proud of her...she went out there in front of hundreds of people and swam the freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke to the best of her ability. That could not have been easy for a six-year-old (the youngest division out there)!

She earned a participation ribbon (didn't bother to ask what that meant because she didn't care...it was a RAINBOW RIBBON). She was thrilled!

Her only smile of that entire meet may have been when she got a Kona Ice, but she learned a lot that night and was already excited about meet #2!