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Senior / Freestyle Red Wing, MN |
| As I look back on my life, all 22 years of it, there isn’t much that I can remember that doesn’t involve swimming. I started swimming at the age of nine and I have loved it ever since. I have played volleyball, basketball, and softball but nothing compares to the memories and the friends that I have made swimming. Swimming has been an important part of my life for a long time, and it isn’t because I am the star athlete or an extraordinary swimmer, it is because swimming is something that I have grown up with and began to love and enjoy doing. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like without swimming but I know that without it I would have been missing out on a lot of fun times and great relationships with some really special people. I want to thank everyone who has ever helped, supported and encouraged me in my swimming career. You have no idea what your support and encouragement means to me. To my family, thanks for the support you have given me. I know that it is hard for you to come and watch me swim and that swim meets aren’t all that exciting but thanks for being there when I needed you even if it was just a phone call to see how I did, it means a lot to know that you are there to support me. To all my coaches, you have all taught me so much. Tom and Todd, you were there at the beginning encouraging me as I attempted to swim my first 25. I know it wasn’t pretty. Todd, you were there until high school, I learned a lot from you and you got me started with coaching something I love just as much as swimming itself. Feather, you were there through the high school years and some of my most precious swimming memories were swimming for you. Lisa, you were there though high school as well you helped me though a lot and made practice something to look forward to. Paul, you took over when everyone else left, you taught me a lot about not only swimming but swimming correctly and how to teach it to others. Ann, you coached me a little but I have more memories of coaching with you, I learned so much from you. Eric, I started with you four years ago, it has been a rough four years for me but I made it and I have you to thank for your encouragement and support in helping me when I was hurt and understanding that I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. Thank you for understanding that I am sometimes late for practice or don’t make it at all because of class and my research. I know, I know damn Biology majors. Mike, I haven’t known you long but thanks for joining the team and helping out. I thank all of you because without you I would not be the athlete or person that I am today. Thank you for believing in me. I learned a lot from each one of you, even though I still can not swim backstroke or flutter kick. But, hey I still try. To my fellow swimmers, both old and new, you have been though it all with me, tough practices, easy practices, meets, sore muscles, tears and smiles. We have had good and bad times but I will always cherish the memories that we have made together both in and out of the water. The memories and the friends are the things I will miss the most but I plan to carry both with me in my heart for the rest of my life. Yes, I will even remember the little things like counting for Logan and the long rides to and from the airport with Heidi. Some of the memories that stand out the most in my mind include: • The summer lake swims up in Alexandria with the team mini golfing and go carting. I must have gone around that track a thousands of different times with each of the seven and eight year olds who weren’t quite tall enough to go by themselves. • The rainy outdoor meets, in Winona, where the Todd and the rest of the Red Wing Swim Club joined in doing the Hokey Pokey as we waited until it was time to get back in the pool to swim. • The dance contests on deck during swim practices, the yearly trips to the Mall of America. Feather, I still think you are crazy for taking 50 girls shopping. • The Red Wing dance line of 10 and under kids on their way to the starting blocks before their races. • The long water polo trips and the many games that we played are something that I will never forget. • The fun practices in the snow. Ok, so we learned that none of us are football stars but we still had fun. To all of my SMU teammates you guys are awesome and I am glad that I have had the chance to get to know each and everyone of you. You all hold a special place in my heart. Abby, Brian, Heidi and Tony we started here four years ago and now we are finishing up on our final season as swimmers. I am glad that I got to share my last four years as a swimmer with you guys. It has been fun and I wouldn’t want to share it with anyone else good luck to you guys I hope you achieve your goals. To my friends thank you for the support you have given me whether it was cheering for me at the end of the pool, the stands, or in your heart, you were all there to support me when I needed it. Beth thanks for being an awesome roommate and the signs that you made me. Your enthusiasm has always been a way to keep me going and keep a smile on my face. You are my hero. Perry thanks for the phone calls and ongoing support you have given me. Even though tough times you are there to encourage me to keep going and to do my best. I will try to remember the barracuda that is chasing my toes though the water. Something that has made swimming so special to me is the opportunity that I was given to coach. It has taken me from the perspective of a swimmer and a teammate to a coach. I have learned from this a new way of looking at swimming and I am better able to understand what I am doing wrong or how to help others to better themselves. All of coaching that I have done has helped me to be a better athlete. But the relationships that I have made with my swimmers has taught me so much, I learned not only about swimming and coaching but a lot about life and myself as a person. The greatest lesson that I have learned about swimming is something that I would like to share with you all and I hope that is proves to be as good a tool for you as it has for me. This is what I got out of helping the Special Olympics Swim Team: It is not how good of athlete you are it is the amount of heart and dedication you show to the sport. I have seen a young child be the last one out of the pool, get out and look up at the crowd and their coach with the biggest smile on their face because they enjoyed what they did. This too me is the one of the greatest things I have ever seen and one of the things I will never forget. Thank you to everyone one for the time, effort, energy and love that you have given me on my journey as a swimmer. I will never forget any of you. The impact that each of you has had on my life is tremendous and I grateful to have known each of you. I will remember you always and look back on my years as a swimmer and smile at all the wonderful memories. Swimming has been a wonderful part of my life that I would never trade for anything, I hope that all of you can say that same thing about your passion whatever it may be. Live your life to the fullest and make your dreams come true. GO CARDINALS!! |