Grandson charts his own course in the pool
The 2019 Chattanooga Area Swim League summer season came to an end last weekend.
Swimmers, ages 5 to 18, representing teams in Hamilton
County and North Georgia, competed in the two-day event held at Baylor School.
Like my swimming children, my grandchildren are also swimmers. Tilleigh, 12, and Evie, 9, have been swimming with the Signal Mountain Green Giants since they were 5 (Evie also swims year-round at McCallie School). Until recently, though, we weren’t sure William, 6, was going to join the ranks as a “swimming Nazor.”
Though he loves the water and has been recreational swimming since he was 3, William refused last year to become a competitive swimmer. Young swimmers don’t initially have to possess a competitive attitude; they instead need to learn proper stroke technique and do their best to get from one side of the pool to the other. Still, William showed no interest.
Every May for the last seven years, the kids’ mother, my daughter, Kacee, signs the kids up for swim team. Last year, for the first time, she included William. On the first day of practice, he grabbed the fence railing outside the pool and refused to get in the water. She didn’t force him, but instead tried to encourage him to give it a try.
Nope. He wouldn’t budge. No amount of coaxing, nor maybe even a little bribing, changed his mind.
Though William refused to become a competitive swimmer, he was taught to swim by the time he was 3 because our family is constantly around water. Refusing to learn how to swim is not an option. Not only are my grandkids around swimming pools every day, Kacee often takes them kayaking and standup paddleboarding, both of which William loves. He even has his own kayak.
Like his sisters, William is well aware of how
important swimming is in our family. His mom and my other three children were competitive swimmers throughout their childhood. My daughter, Karah, swam through college, and while doing her post-doctorate work in San Francisco, she became an open-water swimmer, eventually successfully swimming the English Channel in 2008.
In 2009, Karah founded Chattanooga Open Water Swimmers (COWS) and, soon after, started Swim The Suck, a popular 10-mile open-water swim downstream through the Tennessee River Gorge. The event, held over two days every October, is part of the annual River Rocks festival.
My grandkids have attended every Swim The Suck event since they were babies. Additionally, Tilleigh and Evie have competed in open-water swims geared toward kids. It’s something they wanted to do because you can’t make a kid swim competitively unless he or she is willing.
So, as this summer approached, my family wondered whether or not William would swim. When we asked him if he planned to swim, he said he didn’t know. He knew we all hoped he would, but he also knew
we would never force him to swim and would love him regardless. We’d find something he enjoyed (besides watching “SpongeBob SquarePants” — he’s a huge fan).
In late May, Kacee signed William up for this summer’s swim team program on Signal Mountain.
On the first day of practice, to our surprise, he walked in, put on his goggles, jumped in the water and became (I’ve got chills) another swimming Nazor. He never looked back. Within the next seven weeks, he became a bona-fide competitor, earning points for the team (one meet ended in a tie). He’s a natural at backstroke and also does well at freestyle. He made finals in both events at the city meet, and his coaches presented him with the Most Improved medal at the team’s end-of-summer party and awards event.
William Nazor, my friends, is a swimmer. He loves everything about being on the team from practice to meets and making new friends. He did it on his own terms, and he’s just as proud of his accomplishments as are we. And the best part? He’s having fun.
Email Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfree press.com.