2019 Swimming

It really is amazing how one life event can have such a big impact on the path you find yourself on. Seattle is not exactly the swim capital of the US. And never had I heard of kids playing water polo there. So our days were spent involved in football, basketball, and baseball. While the boys did continue to play football for a couple years after moving to Ohio, I could see it was losing it's luster with them especially after having to get used to playing in the Ohio weather...hot and humid. And while Jack was sad to see them finally step away, I was relieved. No doubt it was so fun watching them play and many life lessons were learned on the field but it was clear that our boys were not built to play alongside some of those big Ohio boys. So when their friend Mia and her family encouraged the boys to think about joining the summer swim team shortly after moving to Mason, I was all over that. Concussions and heat stroke would no longer be a worry. Soon after I met with the swim coach who headed up the summer swim team and worked with the club swimmers about the likelihood of the boys even making the summer swim team. He recommended them first taking a stroke class before tryouts since we weren't even clear if the boys knew all the four strokes and how to do them. With the exception of a few swim lessons in Seattle, our boys were pretty much self taught in resort pools during family vacations. After making the team and making it through that rough first week of swim practices, I was happy to see they had found another sport that they enjoyed. After that first season ended, another friend from church encouraged me to get them involved in the middle school water polo program. She felt confident that once they tried water polo they would not want to go back to swimming and that proved to be true....at least for a couple years. While they did still swim to stay conditioned in the off season, they most definitely favored water polo. Connor saw it as a way to keep in shape and be a part of a team, while Ty really loved the competitive side of it. But after the swim season ended during Ty's junior year, he surprised us and told us he wanted to join a club swim team. During his sophomore and junior year, team mates, coaches, and even parents of team mates would frequently tell both him and I that he should think about joining a club team so in December of 2018, Ty joined the Windermere Lakers. He has now just finished up his first year with them and it's amazing to see what he's done and how fast he has gotten. I know deep down we all wonder where he would be if he had started swimming club back in Ohio and focused strictly on swim but regardless, the confidence it's given him, the shape it's kept him in, and the life long lessons he's learned by dedicating himself to something he feels so passionate about has been worth every dollar spent. So here are a few highlights of his year. While his future dreams of swimming in college may not be realized unless he sacrifices attending a D1 school to swims for a D2 or D3 school, we are so proud of the commitment he made and all the hard work he did to become his best. I really never imagined that he'd stick with 4:30 am practices, in addition to after school practices and weight training. But he did and it really has been amazing to watch.

Coach Kyle and Coach Alex from Windermere Lakers!



Ty and the ladies...being recognized for qualifying times.



Buddies!



meets, meets, and more meets!









In addition to swimming club, Ty continued to participate on the high school swim team with Connor his senior year. One of his goals was to make it to state, which he did. While Connor did not make it, he swam very well focusing on his breast stroke throughout most of the season and achieving his goal of continuing to improve his times each year! Here are a few photos from Senior Night, Districts, Regionals, and States.

Senior Night! From posters to goodie bags, Coach Trey sure did a nice job of recognizing all the senior swimmers and making them feel special.





Posing after another successful meet...



Districts: What a great time we had watching both Con and Ty swim. While Ty prefers the free and fly, Connor prefers the breast and how fun it's been to watch them both improve and fine tune their strokes. While this meet would turn out to be Connor's last high school meet it certainly won't be the last time we watch him excel in something he loves.




Coach T and some swim buddies at Districts!





Regionals: The competition kept getting tougher and tougher especially now that we are in one of the toughest divisions in Florida. Ty's buddy Reef has been a great inspiration to him.



State Championships in Stuart, FL: Ty said after he completed his junior year season that his goal was to make it to states his senior year. Well here he is. You would have thought Ty won a gold in the Olympics when he received his metal for placing in the relay.





Of course every season ends with a party and this one was especially meaningful to the boys since it would be their last one.

The seniors being recognized...



Ty receiving the coaster award with a few of his peers who set school records this year. Ty set a record for the 50 free.




It's really hard to believe that four years of high school swim are in the books. It truly makes me sad to think this chapter of their life is ending. But how grateful I am to have two boys who will have memories of swimming throughout their middle and high school years together!