Try something new today
Young swimmers showing their brave side at meets
Trying something new can be exciting. It can also be very distressing.
Which side of the spectrum would you sit on as an athlete? Excited nerves or stomachclenching fear?
That’s the world of competition in a nutshell. How do these kids react, cope, and manage the emotions of racing? How can you, as parent or coach, help them through it?
This column is all about the ones that are brave. It takes a lot of courage to do something for the first time. The emotions that go along with competition can definitely fill a wagon, but we must give credit to those willing to carry the load and still do it.
Let’s talk about the newest members of the Dorado family. Many of the Lime training group recently completed their first 100m Individual Medley swims. Technically, that means after that initial 25m of butterfly they have to complete three more lengths of the other strokes. They have to be brave. It’s taken four months to build the stroke skills and the confidence to compete in this event. But these swimmers took it one length at a time. Their minds remind them every second what their body had practiced and what was next. It takes heart to get through it the first time. The coaches are proud of them.
At Pictou we had some rookie 100IM-ers including Keagan Hillier, Craig Duchesne, Aislynn MacKinnon and Allison Giorno. Those were incredible times with rookies posting under three minutes. That’s definitely worth celebrating. Then they turned it around and added a new collection at Port Hawkesbury with Cole Hall, Julia Callary, Matthew Shimon and Eric Gao. These guys have watched their friends and learned from them.
We are also proud to have nonconformists on the team. It takes courage to do what others refuse. But only dead fish go with the flow, right? So, I’m very proud to have individuals on my team that are brave enough to do something different. Emma Cholak, Hazel Clark and Kaj Udby are some of those individuals. These three swimmers completed an event that very few swimmers are even willing to try – the MONSTER 800m freestyle.
For perspective, this swim is thirty-two lengths of the 25m pool. It’s steady swimming at their best pace. Emma Cholak has had this race in mind since last season and finally, with an excited sigh, found a meet in which to do it. She was having some nervous moments during the training weeks leading up to it, and almost let the fear get the best of her. But, we found what questions to ask, the sources of the fear and then found the answers. We went over the race, step by step, answered all of the questions and then she realised she still had the heart to tackle it. That’s brave.
Kaj has enjoyed some of the longer swims during practice and hadn’t thought much about this particular race to my knowledge. How does one choose to compete in a distance swim without strategizing a little bit? That speaks volumes to the internal awareness of his own ability. How would you feel if I said, “Ok, Friend, it’s time to start your 800m race. Start when you hear the beep.”
Well, Kaj just shrugs his shoulders
and grabs his goggles.
“What lane?” is usually his only question.
That’s brave.
Hazel Clark managed to complete the 800m in 12:20.24s. That is record breaking beyond anything we’ve witnessed. She’s 10 years old. But it wasn’t the 800m freestyle that made her nervous. It was the 200m butterfly – also known as the other monster. Her heart was pounding as she was bouncing on deck with the nerves taking her body. She was so scared to have problem pop up; what if my goggles fill up? What if I false start? What if I get DQ’d? What if…? But, she did it. She started. She swam the butterfly. She finished. That’s brave.
It’s brave when your stomach says you shouldn’t and you do it anyway. It’s brave when your head says you can’t and you do it anyway. It’s brave when your heart tries to beat out of your chest and you do it anyway.
These kids always make the decision to do it anyway. That’s brave.
We continue to ask for brave business sponsors for this growing team, just like Paul’s Food Factory. If you are interested in supporting our young athletes and making their Olympic dreams happen, send us a message
anytime at capebretondorados@gmail.com.