Following the Feet is an 8-week summer series on SwimSwam. Written by Stina Oakes, the series follows the eight weeks of summer club season at Silver Spring, Maryland’s Daleview Swim Club, whose team mascot is the “Feet.” In relaying stories from the Feet’s season, Oakes hopes to capture the beautiful and unique connection each swimmer has to his or her local pool and club.
Part 1 – Opening Day
Part 2 – It’s Worth It
Part 3 – Time Trials
Part 4 – First “A” Meet
Part 5 – Big Foot, Little Foot
Not Defeated
“Never cry about swimming,” the senior swimmer consoles the younger girl who shivers under her towel. Her head is bent and tears stream down her face. “Besides, you have more races today. Don’t waste your energy on crying about something that’s already done.”
Photo credit: Tim Male
The weather is dismal – mid-60s and raining. We’re five races into Saturday morning’s A meet. Around the pool groups huddle under umbrellas, partly to keep dry, partly for warmth. Swimmers are wrapped in towels. Parents check their cells phones every few minutes, secretly hoping for weather alerts including thunderstorms. Swimmers finishing their races warn others: the air is so much colder than the pool water that when they dive in their muscles tense up.
The disappointed swimmer looks at the older girl and gives a half smile. She didn’t swim as well as she thought she could, her muscles didn’t react the way they normally do. In her mind, it wasn’t a “good” race.
The older girl rubs the younger girl’s shoulders. “It wasn’t that bad. Don’t be so hard on yourself. C’mon. You can do this.”
***
Photo credit: Tim Male
“Make sure she’s having fun. Swimming should be fun. She should like doing it,” the head coach advised me four years ago when I asked her what I should do about winter swimming for my daughter. I was new to the whole swimming world and didn’t know how it all worked. What winter club should she join? How often should she swim? I was overwhelmed with the decisions and possibilities.
When she told me this, I was momentarily surprised. The majority of our team lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, which shares a border with Washington, D.C.; we live in a high-pressure environment with unrelenting expectations. During the school year, it’s not uncommon for kids to spend hours every night on homework and weekends booked with cultural and sporting events. Their schools are demanding; I can’t tell you how many parents I’ve heard comment that school is now more strenuous and advanced than it ever was for them. In most facets of their lives, these kids are pushed to always excel.
Yet, the coach’s advice was straightforward and simple, so logical: swimming should be fun.
***
“Bad Blood” blares out of the speakers as the timers walk to the other end of the pool. The 25 meter backstroke races are about the start. The eight-year-old boys line up at the edge of the deep end. We can see their bodies shaking from across the pool. The rain is cold and relentless.
Behind the swimmers, one of the assistant coaches starts dancing. He’s clapping his hands and singing. He dances over to each Daleview boy and pats him on his head. Whatever he says makes them smile. Their shoulders loosen and they look less apprehensive.
The referee blows the whistle. They hop into the pool and crouch into their backstroke start.
***
Photo credit: Tim Male
“What are you swimming today?” a parent asks an eight-and-under girl sitting next to her.
“Free. I already swam. I’m not swimming anymore today,” she answers.
“How was it?” the parent asks.
“Good.”
“What was your time? What place did you get?”
“I don’t know,” she answers. “It was fun!”
“You know, you could go home. You don’t have to stay here in the rain,” the parent tells her.
“I know,” the swimmer answers, “but I need to stay to cheer for my team.”
***
At halftime, the score is announced. We’re losing. By about 60 points. I had braced myself for the reaction. The team we’re up against is stronger. Last year we won our division so we moved up two divisions. This summer we had a huge success with our first meet, unexpectedly winning. Then last week we lost by only 11 points. This week we knew these outcomes were unlikely. In fact, one of the assistant coaches had told the team jokingly if they won this meet, then Monday and Tuesday practice would be just playing water polo.
Photo credit: Tim Male
After the score announcement, all the Daleview swimmers have the same reaction: none. No one seems particularly upset or frustrated. A group of thirteen-fourteen boys are playing cards. They stop to hear the score, but resume their game immediately after as if nothing has happened. Some kids shrug their shoulders. Others look at each other, make a squashy face, and say, “Oh, well.” Generally, the reaction is more of a “Yeah, sounds about right” response.
I realize I had needlessly worried about the importance of winning. Who doesn’t want to be the best at something? But, in their response I see that these kids are truly in it for the team, for the joy. Sometimes they win, but sometimes they lose. They may be briefly disappointed in themselves or their team, but they see beyond the one moment; their coaches have taught them this. These kids love swimming and they love their team. They are the Feet.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stina Oakes is a member of Daleview Swim Club where she swims with the Masters group. She is new to swimming, having only learned how in the past year. She is the mother of two swimmers (ages 12 and 8) and one future swimmer (age 2). She is a Professorial Lecturer in the Writing Program at American University.
We are the Feet and we couldn’t be prouder and if you can’t hear us, we’ll yell a little louder.
Thanks Stina for another great article!
It was a bit of a miserable day but the kids all swam as well as they could given massive shivering and shaking at the start and I heard very little complaining – even from the parents. Daleview is a really nice team and we’re happy to have them in our division this summer.