Now THAT’S Commitment!

Ryan’s swim coach has been telling us for a few months that she’d like to move Ryan up to the next level. He is a great swimmer, has good technique & competition times, but he’s also respectful and obedient and attentive in practice. I know all of the coaches appreciate that. During the school year, the next higher team practices at 4:00 instead of 5:00, which is fine. But during the summer, the higher team practices at 7:00 am instead of 8:00 am. I jokingly told her several weeks ago that she could keep him at the lower level throughout the summer.

Well, the last week of school, she pulled Ryan and a couple of other kids (both a couple of years older than Ryan), and said, “I want you guys to start coming at 7:00 next week.” I know she has to be careful because so many of the other kids want to move up, including a couple of kids that were in Ryan’s class/grade at school last year.

So, last Monday, the first day of summer vacation, Ryan and I got up at 6:00 am, got ready,and left home by 6:40. He was in the pool a few minutes before 7:00. Our rec center is nice, because our workout area (treadmills, bikes, etc.) look down on the competition pool. I do my warm-up on the treadmill (about 15 to 20 minutes) and watch him get started, then I go and do my weights, and then I’m back to do my cool-down on the bike (about 10 to 15 minutes) and watch the end of his practice.

Ryan was really concerned that, moving up to the next level, he would always be the last kid to finish all of the laps. I talked with his coach a couple of times last week to find out how he’s doing. She reassured me that he is doing well, and that he has absolutely not been last. In fact, a couple of the other coaches that have been watching have told me things like, “He is really good for his age.” That’s so much fun for a mom to hear!

I’m so proud of Ryan, not only for working hard enough to move up to the next level so quickly, but for his willingness to get up at 6:00 in the morning during the summer to practice. He’s a good kid!