Summer Swim Team 2017

This summer our two older kids did something that they had never done before. They joined a swim team! Although our neighborhood has a pool, we do not have our own swim team. A lot of neighborhoods around us have their own teams but those that do not have it, join some bigger general swim teams. We chose to go with the Apex Breakers, a team that is based in downtown Apex only 10 minutes drive from us. Also I signed Katya up at the very beginning, Alex took a lot of convincing, and finally on the last day before the deadline I signed him up as well. Mark did not want to do it at all and I decided not to push the issue.

Katya was in the 13-14 group and Alex in the 11-12.  Both of them are good swimmers, especially Katya since she was taught in Japan to have beautiful perfect strokes. Unfortunately, they were never taught how to swim fast so that was something they had to learn this season-hahaha, or should we say "try" to learn. Practices were twice a week with one meet a week on Tuesday night. So pretty much for a month and a half, our Tuesdays were super crazy busy with late nights watching the kids compete.

The kids' favorite part was waiting around with friends waiting for their turn. Neither Katya nor Alex ever swam on the A team which was the one that actually counted towards the score of the whole team, but otherwise they participated in many events. This was a wonderful way for them to learn that winning is not everything and that a lot comes from team effort and comradery.

We packed our dinners and snacks every Tuesday night and took turns watching the kids by the end of the season as it was really a looong time for Mark to sit around and wait for the big kids to compete.

















One of the highlights of this swim season was Katya's opportunity to perform the American National Anthem at one of our home meets. It was beautiful as she did a great job

Apex Breakers were fourth in our division at the beginning of the swim season. By the end we were competing hard for the first place. During our last swim meet, which was a home meet, the weather kept interrupting the swimming events. There was no rain at all, but there was a lot of thunder. We had to keep clearing the pool area and then waiting.  Finally, the other team and our team decided that we would just call it a tie, which would ultimately make us the winner in their whole division. So we all went home thinking then that was it. But then got a message from our head coach who said that the TSA did not accept  this sort of way to decide on scores. And that our only choice was to forfeit. Or Swim. So the team decided to swim and we did, although our numbers were few because it was a last notice kind of swim meet on an irregular night.  Nevertheless, our team swim great and we ended up winning the whole Devision!

Lyana.