Nature/Nurture?

I started swimming at the age of 5...I think it was something that I always loved to do...and I did a lot of it and I still love it just as much now as I did when I competed competitively. I continue to swim and coach and even when I take a little time away from it I always find my way back... However, swimming is a hard sport...more than any non-swimmer could ever realize, sure it looks easy and fun but those who compete know how hard it actually can be and how much time and commitment it actually takes...for these reasons I have never pushed my girls to become swimmers, it is one of the things I had hoped they would express an interest in, but it was never something that I made them do...I wanted it to be something they discovered on their own, even though it is still a large portion of what I do as an athlete and a coach.

I am happy to tell you that both my girls are loving swimming and doing a great job at it.

Kayla is learning a lot and having fun being a part of the Minnows program at our club team and it is awesome to see her so comfortable in the water, she even dove off the diving block the other day! She is still in the developmental part of the club but she has been working hard and told me she wants to move to the next lane which is the group above her, goal setting at 7 years old...awesome!

And then there is Bre...my parents and a few of my old coaches have told me she looks just like I did at that age, down to the same butt wiggle in the freestyle! She has taken to the pool in such a big way, she never wants to miss workout and was asking me to move her up to the next group so that she could swim 4 times a week... I told her that her coaches were the ones who would decide if she was ready for that and that she would have to work hard if she wanted to advance and that she could do anything she wanted (the other coaches have been impressed with her hard work and the enthusiasm she has)...well this past weekend we had our home MUSAC meet and she performed brilliantly. It is fun to watch her cheer on her team mates and race with no fear..we had one moment of nervousness before her 400 free (which she had swam at a meet a month earlier and lost her goggles...but she dropped 21 seconds and didn't vomit so we were all good!!) I am impressed with how quickly she is improving and how natural she looks in the water...and her hard work is paying off... Coach Mark pulled Bre aside after her 100 fr (which she rocked a 1:35.77, at age 10) that she will be moving up to the Red group in January! The smile on her face after he told her that made me so proud, my kid's a swimmer! Now I think I should head to the pool because Coach Mark and Craig have told Bre that she will be faster than her mom soon...and at the rate she is going, I think she just might do it!!