My Second Life

My Swim Team
I remember the first time I walked through that steel gate. I was 8. I walked up on to the pool deck with my suit tied tight and my goggles on my head. A lady walked up to me and said "Hello, my name is Megan. I'll be your coach while you are on this team." I smiled at the lady and then listened to what I was supposed to do.
I jumped into the pool, the cold water jutting a chill down my spine despite the fact that it was a relatively warm summer morning. I came back to the wall on the side of the pool and then pushed and got going on my warm up. This warm up consisted of doing as my coach said" Eight lengths freestyle."
By the time I had finished my warm up, I was exhausted. I knew I had to not show it because the practice was not even fifteen minutes over and everyone else I was swimming with didn’t even show the smallest signs of fatigue. The next 45 minutes I was in the pool was a workout of which I had never experienced before, but it also gave me a feeling, a feeling that I was finally in the right place.
I went through the rest of the practice the best I could then I got out and ran over to my towel. I was immersed in a sudden cloak of warmth as the towel absorbed the water that was dripping off of me. I walked over to my mom and explained to her how I had felt like I had fit in and had a lot of fun.
I am still on that swim team today, and have also started swimming for a more advanced level team. This team holds its practices at the Rec Center.
Through the team I joined that summer, I learned to enjoy the sport and feel how fun the sport can be. Through my practicing at the Rec Center, I have been able to hone my stroke techniques, increase my speed, and have been able to compete in regulation swim meets. I am also going to try out for the swim team here at Stevenson and hopefully be an asset to the team.
In my Six years in the world of swimming I have learned one thing from it. Swimming is not only a sport; it is a way of life.