As if Alex's life wasn't already full to the brim, he made a decision to continue with coaching the swim team for our local Apex Breakers. He has been coaching for a few years now, and as a paid coach for the last three. We just love how much it helps him feel alive to be part of something like this!
Because he drives himself and because Mark absolutely refuses to do summer swim after only two season, we usually skipped Tuesday night meets, but did show up when we needed to volunteer as parents.
Alex also swam for the team for all these years since he was almost 12 and we first moved to Apex. He has never become the fastest swimmer, but that did not matter. To him, and to everyone around him, the team spirit and the supportive environment of the fun summer swim team was what made all the difference.
Here is Mark supporting Alex at one of the meets on a late summer night. Sometimes these meets still go till after 10 pm!
Alex was one of the coaches for the tiny kids who needed assistance in the pool. It was endearing to watch these big strong boys being so gentle with little swimmers.
The swim season comes and goes like a tornado. It starts at the end of May and finishes third week of July. Alex tried to miss as few weeks as possible this year, but he did skip a week to go to EFY in Wilmington.
He made sure he was present for the End of the Year Banquet, of course!!! He loves this event, this last hurrah of the comradery, especially this year.
As part of the event, the team celebrated its seniors with a fun photo slide show. They said a bunch of "goodbyes" and gave out yearly awards. Alex got a very prestigious award--the Hucks-Diddy Award! It's an award for being the greatest person alive according to his head coach-haha!
We are so proud and happy for him! He truly deserved it!
He also received a swim scholarship from the Swimming Association of North Carolina because his team submitted him. Another win!
Final thank you goes to coach Jason Harloff who has been a dominant part in Alex's coaching experience through all these years. His son, Trey, was one of Alex's swim coaches and examples that Alex seemed to emulate. The culture of the team greatly depended on what coach Jason and his junior coaches have been building for years. We are grateful for the experiences and lessons that Alex was able to enjoy thanks to being part of the summer swim team!
Go Breakers!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment