He did GREAT and I am so so so proud of him for doing this! Swimming is hard work and he is really trying his best, and that makes me beyond happy.
The mock meet was on Thursday afternoon. The kids all met at the pool (Cal had tennis first) and got into their team shirts:
Then, all the kids go into the "holding area" where they have chaperones who call them when it is their turn to race.
Cal found his buddies, Brad and George and set up his towel with them-- they were goofballs together and Cal was having a blast with his friends.
They passed out the swim caps-- I told Cal he didn't have to wear his, but he saw everyone else putting them on and he was SET that he needed to wear his too!
The entire team headed up to have their picture taken- it was chaotic, but they managed to get everyone to look at the camera man...!
It is hard to see Cal in the above pic, so I had to zoom in for a close up:
After the team pictures, it was time for the 6 and unders to warm up. I was holding Cal's swim cap and went to get his goggles-- the boy freaked out when he didn't have his cap on as they were walking to warm up. I got the sense he was getting a little nervous. He panicked thinking they weren't going to let him swim without a cap. Bless his heart. I gave him his cap and his goggles and he was ready to get warmed up:
Each kid gets their name written on their back with their age group written on it. Apparently, all kids look alike with caps and goggles on-- this is a fact!
They worked on dives this week in practice-- Cal did a decent one on Wednesday-- he was ready to do another in warmups...
...but went in feet first! Either way...at least he was in!
And my sweet boy.....he gave it his ALL during warm ups. ALL FOUR FULL LAPS of warm ups. I feel like 4 laps is a lot for an adult. Sweet CalBoy was spent after playing tennis for an hour and then doing four laps. Phew!
I also need to mention the younger siblings during the meet-- it isn't easy doing this with younger kids in tow. Eddie was there for part of it, but then he had a dinner and had to run. Andy and his buddies were kinda lame cheerleaders:
After all the age groups warmed up, it was time for 6 and under freestyle. I was nervous. I was so so excited!
I checked in on Cal, sitting on the bench, holding his spot for the lanes. He was still smiling!
Then it was time to move to their lanes. They held hands to keep them all in place...
Then they were in the "waiting chairs"-- the chairs that are directly behind the block- they go from these chairs to standing on the block!
Cal stood on the block totally ready to go. And go he did as soon as he heard the whistle blow. Too bad he was supposed to wait for the horn to sound. The whistle is more of a "take your mark" warning. He false started and swam almost halfway (as hard has he could!) until a coach stopped him. He was grinning ear to ear as we all cheered for him.
So he climbed back up on the block and waited to go until a coach next to him said "GO!" and he swam his little heart out. I took a video of him swimming and the screaming I am doing is borderline embarrassing. I was just SO excited and SO proud and SO emotional! I grew up swimming on swim team in that very pool and now to be watching my son do it, it was just crazy! I had goosebumps and was going wild watching him.
He had a coach in his lane with him, in case he panicked- just there as a in-case-he-needs-it...and he didn't need her-- but it made me feel good to know she was there! That lap is loooong for a 4 year old!
He got out and went back to his holding area. I took off running to go love on him and he was wrapping up in a towel when I got there. As soon as he saw me, he came to me, put his head on my shoulder and burst into tears.....! He said he just wanted to go home and get warm.
I think the whole thing was just a lot to take in! His emotions were on a roller coaster and I think he just needed to have a little release! Bless his heart!
His sweet coach saw him upset and he came running over to talk to Cal about what a great job he did. This coach is amazing with the kids-- they all love him and he is super encouraging with each kid:
After Jesse gave Cal a pep talk, he was happy as could be! He was proud of himself too-- he just needed to have a quick little emotion release! ha!
Once he pulled himself together, he and Brad were ALL smiles the rest of the meet!
Cal and Andy and Brad spent some time watching the rest of the meet-- they were so cute together!
We have our first REAL meet this week-- I hope Cal will be excited to give it his all again! I can not say enough how proud I am of Cal for working so hard. He went to practice Saturday am and I can honestly see a difference in his swimming-- he is listening to the coaches and trying really hard. It is great to see! For a four year old, he's crushing it!
