coaching

my most favorite part of working at the pool during the summer started yesterday - coaching the LA84 swim team. it's this aspect of my job that keeps me from getting burnt out, and keeps me coming back (not only day to day, but summer to summer as well). it's what really makes me be able to say, "i love my job."

its the kids and their spirit that really makes it a joy to come coach for that hour each day. so many of them are just excited to be there, ready to try their best, and ALWAYS smiling...it's hard not to want to be around that. it's a great feeling to watch a kid progress and struggle through-out a season, only to have that "light-bulb" moment at the end of season where everything suddenly makes sense. then they're practically and olympian. its crazy.

i wish that there were more programs like the LA84 program, or at least run the way we run ours. a big problem in club swimming is that coaches push their kids too hard to become that "next olympian" without letting them just develop through the sport on their own. with all that pushing, kids begin to push themselves too, sometimes to an unhealthy degree. before you know it, they stop having fun and experience a "burn-out," as they call it in the athlete world.

its so important for kids to have fun in the sport if you want it to have future success. not every child is capable of becoming and athletic prodigy. but if they like swimming, let them swim, and let them swim at a level they enjoy without feeling pressure to always be better than they already are.

expect some more posts in regard to this as the summer goes on. i'm always surprised and inspired by these 60 kids that i get to know over the next two months.