River Otters

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I can't believe the season is 2/3 or more done.  It has been a GREAT year.  When I took the job I really had no idea what to expect but felt this was where I was meant to be.  It was a really small team and worried Scott wouldn't have anyone to train with. 

Our first outing was the River Otter Parade and the families and kids were amazing.  It made me really excited for the atmosphere and great kids and families we got to spend the summer with.  The schedule couldn't have been any better.  2 hours in the evening or morning. I was able to spend the bulk of my day being a mom.  Last year it was too many hours away from my family.  I felt like I was coaching and being a mom on the side or too tired to go on adventures with my kids.  Now I feel like a mom with coaching on the side.  We are all having a great time and the schedule is perfect.  Renee picks up the 3 kids that don't swim and brings them to kids club at the gym which is good for them to play and hang out with friends while I am at work and I pick them up after to swim and play at the pool a little.  Our gym is about 3 minutes from where I work.  It is amazing!! I am so grateful for her! 

Swim started and the kids were all so eager.  We would teach them totally new ways to do things and they were all so eager and willing to try.  They asked to do more.  The coaches were the same way.  We had two coaches bail two weeks before the season and one at the start of the season and ended up with two different amazing coaches.  I really feel like it was all meant to be.  The thing that surprised me the most was the potential of these kids.  They were athletic kids that just became crazy when they raced so we needed to learn how to race smart.  Not take a million strokes and breathes a lap.  They just needed to learn technique and then how to race smart and the team transformed.  The first meet kids were dropping 5-10 seconds.  It was crazy!  I really have never seen anything like it.  The coolest thing is that they started to believe in themselves.  Their little team had never won a meet before and they started to realize that they were good swimmers.  I have never coached such a green team and it is really rewarding.  Especially being in our hometown.  It is a phenomenon over the hill how East County has sooo many kids and so close to Contra Costa but not a swim world.  It is my dream to see that change.  I know someday it will be and hope that I can be just a little building block of that alongside other amazing coaches, kids, athletes, families and swim facilities in the area. 

The momentum and the fire is a very cool thing to witness.  I am so proud of this little team and so excited to where they will go! 

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