Swimming with Olympians

This weekend Jamahl participated in a swim clinic run by two Olympic swimmers and one Olympic hopeful.  When we signed up for the event, I was really not sure if it was going to be worth it but it was a great time of instruction, drills, motivation, and so much fun!  When you are in the pool 5-7 days a week, the fun part is SOOO important!  The morning started out with the kids being able to try on Ian Crocker’s gold medal….I think Jamahl really liked the feel of that gold around his neck.

After wearing the medal and chatting with the athletes about his favorite strokes and races, the professionals took turns talking to the different age groups and parents.  Some things that they said really hit home to me.  For those of you that don’t know me all that well, I have a very competitive spirit and Jamahl really doesn’t.  I have to make a very conscience effort not to let him see me feeling discouraged when he doesn’t cut time (trust me, I am very careful about always encouraging him…it is just a battle that wages in me!) or when he plateaus on an event.  Ian Crocker was telling us though that before he went to the Olympic time trials, he had been plateaued in his butterfly time for THREE YEARS!!  That really put my frustration in place!  Lacey Nymeyer also shared that there were several times when she would throw down her cap and goggles and tell her parents she was done with swimming.  Their reply was, “That is fine Lacey, if you want to quit because you don’t like it or are tired of it, but don’t quit because it is hard…because you CAN do this.” I also had the chance to talk to Adam DeJong’s mom (an Olympic hopeful that swims at U of M) about not burning the kids out and all of her time spent in the stands of pools.  What a great example she was!

Near the end of the event, the kids got to all race the professionals.  Jamahl took his turn and than volunteered to swim a 100 freestyle against Adam.  He was the youngest one in the heat and he did SO good.  I was so proud of him for putting himself out there and trying.  Watching the Olympians swim was amazing!  They could wait until the kids were three quarters of the way down the pool and than jump in and still beat them!  It was very cool to watch.

Jamahl is in the blue and red shorts and Adam is on the next block.  In the picture below, Adam was talking to Jamahl about the race and being so kind and encouraging. Ok, I also must admit that these guys were not bad to look at either!! What a fun time at the pool.  Jamahl walked away so motivated and just itching to get to practice on Monday. We are so proud of his dedication, athleticism, and the fact that he is such a great well rounded kid!