Redemption

Welcome Back, Lovies.

During the summer breaks of high school, I would participate in summer swimming with the Napoleon Aquatic Club or NAC for short. We would have practices from 7am to 8am in the outdoor community pool. Practices were daily and extremely cold because the pool heater was broken and hadn’t been looked at in years. During summer swim, we had swim meets with other clubs such as Wauseon and Bowling Green. And at the end of the season, we had a two-day tournament entitled “Champs.” This was the last and biggest meet of the year and was held in mid-July. All the clubs in our association would get together and compete. Swimmers of all ages participated in this event. For my first Champs in 2015, we swam in Ottawa, Ohio at their outside pool. During Champs, I swam my normal high school events such as the signature 100-yard butterfly.

The meet followed the high school schedule; therefore, the fly was the halfway mark and in the middle of the afternoon. The sun was out and bright and I had to swim right into it. It wasn’t an ideal situation but, I had a race to win. I was in the last lane and on the diving blocks, I was nervous. I didn’t know if my body was prepared for this sun. I had my tinted goggles on but, were they going to be enough? “On your mark. Bang!” and I was off. I dove off the block straight into streamline position and began to dolphin kick and transition into the butterfly. The first 50 yards (2 laps) weren’t bad but, I started to feel odd. I tried to ignore and swim on because that’s what competitors do. As I swam down the pool for my 75 (3rd lap), I knew that I wasn’t going to finish the race. The sunlight and its reflection in the water was getting to me and I was losing my sense of concentration and awareness (some beginning symptoms of seizures), therefore I stopped swimming at the end of the pool. I struggled to get out and walked over to my coach to tell her what happened.

Coach Brown seemed very disappointed because it I had completed the race; I would’ve got a lot of points for our team and would’ve qualified for finals. I could tell that was what she was thinking but, I had to listen to my body or something worse off would’ve happened. And didn’t she care about my health? Anyways, I called my mom to come and be with me to monitor my activity for the rest of the day because no one else knew anything about seizures. She stayed with me and I was fine because the sun went down, and I was able to swim in the finals for the 100-yard backstroke.

The following summer, it was my time for “redemption” as Coach Weber put it, which I thought it was a bit of a low blow because I was having a seizure the year before. Anyways, Champs was in Ayersville this year at the high school so, the pool was indoors (Praise). I swam the 100 fly, again this time around and I was ready. I was still nervous because I kept thinking about this previous year and how I failed, but this time I was going to finish the race! “On your mark. Bang!” and I was off. I was in lane one this time and was happy because every swimmer likes being lane one. I dove off the block and was on a mission. I swam my first 50 with ease and was feeling good. Then I remembered that I had to swim another 50. I dreaded this because the fly is the most physically demanding stroke and takes a lot of energy to do. I was feeling my back began to hurt and began to slow down. I completed the 75 like last time and all I had to do was finish the job. I began to kick harder and take bigger strokes to cover more space in less time. I was in the zone and nothing else mattered. With just another stroke and a powerful kick, I made it to the wall! I was so proud of myself for finishing the race.

As I got out of the pool, I looked up at my time and began to cry. My mom was in attendance and I walked over to her crying like a baby. She was concerned and asked if everything was okay. I told her that I was happy because I shaved 10 seconds off my time and set a new personal record for myself! Also, I made it to the finals! Coach Brown ran up to me and gave me a high-five and she was ecstatic and so was Coach Weber. I don’t remember what happened at finals. All I know is I swam again and placed. I couldn’t be prouder of myself. I didn’t let last year discourage me or seizures overall. I came back stronger than ever. I redeemed myself. Redemption! 

DRG