Freddie had his first swim meet! (And my camera had a dead battery!)
Warming up
Warming up...had to be there at 7.30 am to warm up!
Waiting for his heat, in the center
Freddie's part of the swim team now, having moved up from their learn to swim program after almost 3 years. He's by far the smallest kid on his team, and from looking at the other teams at the meet from the NYC area, he may be the smallest kid in the under 8 division.
Talking to Coach Michael Right before his race in lane 1
He's on the right talking to his coach before his race.
Waiting behind the block on the right.
He swims 4 days a week for 1.5 hours each day, and loves it. And he was just as excited for this meet as he was nervous. He had questions about how would he know where to go and what to do, and all the usual stuff. But by the second day his questions had changed to "Can you just put money in my wallet so I can go get my own snacks at the snack bar?"
He didn't belly flop!
I downloaded the swim meet app so I could see his events and keep track of his times when they posted. He wasn't quite powerful enough to stop the clock at the end of the pool so I'd have to wait for the official to post times. It'll be nice to track his progress with these times archived here.
In the center in a red swim cap
He saw 4 races, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 50 backstroke, 50 breast stroke. So we ended up at the pool about 6 hours each day, and each race lasted a little over a minute.
His swimming changed after the first day as well. He didn't come in last in his heat, but rather scoped out the weakest link. I watched him glance over at his opponent in each of the races on the second day and push to pass him at the very end. He's figuring it out.
Most importantly he loved it. Didn't care that he was little. Didn't care that he was slow. And he's excited for his next meet on Fathers' Day weekend.
Showing me his silver tattoo that he got from coach
I'll charge my camera and bring some entertainment for Hans. He's not as into watching 6 hours of heats in the steamy chlorinated room as I am.
Won't be much longer before he's on that deck too.
The Learn to Swim program did a "mock" meet where the kids participated in races. Hans is the youngest by 2 years and by far the smallest kid in his group, but he definitely holds his own.
Not best quality video, but you can still see how much progress he's made since the "creature of the black lagoon" days. (Be sure to click through that link! I hate that those days seem so long ago.)
Can you see Freddie in the blue goggles on the left?
Parents aren't allowed on the deck, so I don't really have any photos from swim team. I decided to take my big camera and try to get a few, but they really aren't very interesting.
Freddie has been working on freestyle, backstroke, and he's also just started learning breaststroke.
His biggest challenge is general endurance and keeping up with the older and bigger kids.
Oh, and kicking. He cannot seem to kick and move his arms at the same time. Smile. I'm sure his coaches are telling him to kick in this photo...
Someone is typically walking the lane with him either yelling to kick or giving him a sig that he needs to kick and kick harder.
He has made a great deal of improvement in the 2 months he's been swimming with the bigger crowd. I'm impressed he's stuck with it and continues to press on.
He can manage to pass his buddies on backstroke.
Hans is also making considerable progress during his practice. His teacher always talks about his amazing focus and really working to execute the skill as instructed.
He has been working on freestyle and backstroke, with a lot of emphasis being on building up strength for kicking and breathing techniques.
Hans is also gaining a whole new group of friends from swimming. Some of the kids are friends of Freddie's from school and others are just neighborhood kids we see around. It's nice for him to know some kids that have nothing to do with Freddie.
I'm thankful for the pool and swimming three times a week as we enter the dark days of winter where we don't want to leave the house and no one is getting enough physical activity. Swimming is great exercise for these guys and they are both learning about hard work, sportsmanship, and listening to a coach.
The swim season got started this week. And guess who made the cut....Hansie! He has been going to the pool three days a week for 1.5 years sitting in the bleachers and watching his brother, but not any more. He took the swim test for the beginners' group and the teachers decided they'd keep him. He's the youngest and smallest, but he listens well and works hard. He is thrilled to be included.
Freddie passed his swim test and has moved on to the next group. I had no idea he could swim as well as he did for that test. He's not one to push himself physically, but evidently this swim test was important to him because he gave it everything he had. He was so pleased with himself, which I love. The next level group is a huge leap in physical intensity. He is the youngest and by far the smallest but he pushes through each session. A few of the other kids seem to "cut corners" by switching strokes or grabbing the wall for a quick rest when they begin to get tired, and although I can tell when Freddie is running out of steam when he's halfway down the lane he ALWAYS finishes the exercise as instructed. Persistent. Determined. It will take him farther than being the biggest or the strongest.
I am curious to see how long Freddie sticks with swimming now that he is being challenged. I used to always think he swam because it was social hour for him, all of his buds were goofing off on the wall as they waited their turn to swim a lap, but now he's left his friends behind. While he's pretty proud to have moved on I also think he misses his friends and goofing off. He still doesn't miss an opportunity to gab with his instructor though. This swim season will definitely reveal if Freddie loves swimming, but I've already gotten a peek at what he's made of.
It started today with his wanting to swimming up from the bottom on his own, since he and Charlie have been diving together to retrieve things from the bottom of the pool. And then he decided he'd let go and go for it with kicks and scoops and all. He really wanted Charlie to stand further back, but he needs to get a little more power in those kicks before anyone is stepping that far away from him.
Sorry for the lengthy video. I do realize no one (other than maybe grandparents?) is interested in watching my kid swim for this long!
He is the star of the class. The teacher scoops him out of my arms and uses him for all the demonstrations. He performs each skill for the class to follow. This makes me chuckle, because if he had any time to think about it he would definitely resist being the leader with a group of strangers.
Just like his brother he's a fan of the gear. He's rather fearless and jumps in and goes under without issue. Hopefully we can brave to cold water temperature of the lake and maintain his skills.
He wanted on that diving board as soon as he saw it. Mama was too chicken to let him go without his float since I wasn't going to be at the end waiting for him.
And he's putting his face under to swim for short stints. He's very proud of himself for being a "real swimmer." I think he'll be swimming to the bottom of the pool before the end of the summer.
Everyone enjoyed some pool time at Aunt Mary's this weekend!
Freddie even took off his float to swim!
Hoping it won't be long now before he puts his face in the water to straighten out his dog paddle form. Proud of him for so much improvement over such a short time.
The gear has been great for learning to swim. The swim vest provides just enough buoyancy to work on his form. Even with the vest he still must use his arms and legs to stay afloat. The flippers were a must have after he saw the big boys at the pool using them, and supposedly these encourage horizontal positioning in the water. The goggles have helped his confidence with getting his face wet, but they really serve as fashion statement.
Sorry, but no one is allowed on the pool deck so this phone photo from the window upstairs is the best I could do.
Freddie began swim lessons this week. He did well despite being more than a little timid around the water. The water was chilly and his teeth chattered almost the entire time. He blew bubbles, jumped in, kicked his legs and had a good time.
It is a program through the NYC Parks and Recreation Department. As with everything in the city, it was an interesting mix of people, and all were city folks with little experience in the water. There are 8 weekly lessons. I've been on the hunt for (convenient) swim lessons for toddlers but I haven't really found much; even private lessons nearby seem hard to find.
Lessons are at a recreation center near Midtown, just south of the tram so it is pretty convenient. There are a few pools on the island that the boys may have to visit to log some hours in the water practicing.
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