The road to a 15th straight championship

The road to a 15th straight championship starts with cold practices in early summer and in the mornings.  You work your way through a few meets.  You win some.  You lose some.  You hopefully get good enough race times to make quals.  Then you hope to be in the top 12 at quals.

The night before the championship meet, you attend a pep rally where you get to tie dye shirts with the team's colors.  Every champ needs the opportunity to get fired up.

Hopefully, you have spent the season improving.  After the championship meet, we went through Julia's speeding tickets for the season, and she improved in every race at every meet.  Speeding tickets are awarded if you beat your previous best.

On the day of champs, you join your teammates to arrive at the meet in style. Everybody wears temporary tattoos for the meet.  Your motivation to win is heightened when it is your coach's birthday.

Your transportation options include a trolley, an old-fashioned firetruck, or a stretch Hummer limo.

Julia chose the firetruck.  Wyatt opted to stay home when he did not make champs.

You swim your best.  Your coaches cheer you on, and your Dad gets behind them for pictures.

After you finish your events, you cheer hard for the big kids finishing up the relays and wait poolside with your team for the results.  You chant and cheer because even if you don't take away the grand prize, your team should receive a grand prize in cheering and supporting each other.  It's family or a cult (just kidding).  

When your team is named the champions, you jump in the pool even if you are a coach in street clothes.  You splash, cheer, and celebrate.  Then you head back to your home pool for a pool and potluck party.

The next day you attend an 8 hour banquet.  I am not kidding - 8 hours - you read it right.  At the banquet, your coach says something about each of the 265 kids on the team including farewell speeches to the seniors. The seniors offer their farewells, and the parents of the younger kids wipe away tears as the seniors and coaches share their best memories, and you realize how much a great team means to many people.

Julia was awarded "most dedicated."  Her coach called her a rock star and stated that if she ever wants to swim year round, then watch out!  He says he gets goosebumps watching her freestyle.  It's just that powerful.  

Julia would love to swim year round.  However, she also wants to continue gymnastics and cheer.  She's at an age where she has to choose a sport.  However, she did say today that she wants to swim in college.

Julia went into the championship meet having qualified for the freestyle event.  She was an alternate for the IM and on two relay teams.  She walked away with a medal for third place for the freestyle relay.  She made it into the IM, but she was a nervous wreck because she tends to push her arms out too far on the breaststroke which leaves her flirting with a DQ.  She improved her times in both of her individual events at the big meet.

Wyatt's best stroke is the breaststroke.  His coach mentioned that he is much improved and just about has that one nailed at the banquet.  Wyatt swam a beautiful 50 breasttroke early in the season, but he did a flip turn which is an automatic DQ.  He had hoped to redeem himself but was not entered in that event again.  This was a tough year for Wyatt because he moved up an age group, so next year should be better.

After the championship meet, you enjoy the banquet that includes a dance party.  You receive your championship shirt which is so cool that your parents make plans to order shirts for themselves as soon as they become available.  

Yes, you do make sure the DJ plays Queen's "We are the Champions!" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believing."  Because you feel like family, he also throws in The Pointer Sisters "We are Family." 

Lovin every minute of it!

You go home to bed facing a week with no more morning practices.  Your mom thinks she will finally catch up the housecleaning and laundry which was really ignored through the long weekend.  She is usually wrong about this as appointments loom and so does school supply shopping - oh the horror!  Yes, the "s" word was used on the blog in mid-July.  OUCH!