A Mantra in Jeopardy
Remember the ideal of keeping life simple? I'm contemplating altering that rule by adding more commitments. Here's what happened...
Last summer Ellen became very interested in swimming. Near the beginning of the school year she tried out for the YMCA swim team. She didn't make it, but enrolled in the lessons that were recommended. By Christmas, she had advanced a level and was not satisfied with her hours in the pool. Hours translating to 45 minutes per week. We let her add pre-team, which offers instructional practice once a week for 45 minutes. She never once complained about going, always looked forward to the water, and she never failed to analyze what the instructor had presented and tried to work it into her strokes. She has come a LONG way since September!
This fact was not lost in the Head Coach, who invited her, along with 3 others from pre-team (meaning half of the kids), to join the introductory level of the real team. The team comes in 4 levels and gets progressively more demanding of time, stroke perfection, endurance and money. This lowest level practices 4 times per week, but for the same cost as the two sessions that she has been attending. There are meets almost every weekend, for the entire weekend, and some of them are far - think Chicago and Indianapolis, 3-4 hours away. Then remember that Ellen is 8. And still, we'll probably allow her to participate. Here's why:
1. She wants to be an Olympic swimmer and is willing to sacrifice all other activities, except violin, in order to accomplish this.
2. We choose the meets and events that she races, meaning that we can create our own acceptable travel radius.
3. Practice is not mandatory, so if we miss a few it's OK.
4. The Spring / Summer season is a good time to determine if this is a feasible school year commitment.
5. She can swim 8 and under in most meets this summer, even though she will be 9 for half of them, giving her a great advantage and boosting her confidence.
6. More swimming, same money.
7. Amazingly, the 4 practices do not conflict with any of our other activities.
Ellen is ecstatic that she was invited. If you could have seen her beam! She will understand our family limitations before we sign on the dotted line. And she also knows that school is the priority.
Last summer Ellen became very interested in swimming. Near the beginning of the school year she tried out for the YMCA swim team. She didn't make it, but enrolled in the lessons that were recommended. By Christmas, she had advanced a level and was not satisfied with her hours in the pool. Hours translating to 45 minutes per week. We let her add pre-team, which offers instructional practice once a week for 45 minutes. She never once complained about going, always looked forward to the water, and she never failed to analyze what the instructor had presented and tried to work it into her strokes. She has come a LONG way since September!
This fact was not lost in the Head Coach, who invited her, along with 3 others from pre-team (meaning half of the kids), to join the introductory level of the real team. The team comes in 4 levels and gets progressively more demanding of time, stroke perfection, endurance and money. This lowest level practices 4 times per week, but for the same cost as the two sessions that she has been attending. There are meets almost every weekend, for the entire weekend, and some of them are far - think Chicago and Indianapolis, 3-4 hours away. Then remember that Ellen is 8. And still, we'll probably allow her to participate. Here's why:
1. She wants to be an Olympic swimmer and is willing to sacrifice all other activities, except violin, in order to accomplish this.
2. We choose the meets and events that she races, meaning that we can create our own acceptable travel radius.
3. Practice is not mandatory, so if we miss a few it's OK.
4. The Spring / Summer season is a good time to determine if this is a feasible school year commitment.
5. She can swim 8 and under in most meets this summer, even though she will be 9 for half of them, giving her a great advantage and boosting her confidence.
6. More swimming, same money.
7. Amazingly, the 4 practices do not conflict with any of our other activities.
Ellen is ecstatic that she was invited. If you could have seen her beam! She will understand our family limitations before we sign on the dotted line. And she also knows that school is the priority.
posted by metamom at Friday, April 13, 2007
1 Comments:
Congratulations to Ellen. Her determination makes us proud and reminds us of someone who lived at our house when she was little!
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