To my Club Swim Coach,

Thank you for all of the thankless early and late hours you arrived at the pool to deal with my “happy” a**. There are not enough words in the English language to describe all of the things you have done for me other than just kill me in the pool. When I started competitively swimming at age 10 I could not have ever imagined the impact you and this sport would have on me.

I am everything but an Olympic swimmer and I am okay with that because of you. You taught me valuable lessons about how I should be humble in competition, how being healthy physically makes your mental health that much better! You’ve taught me to be a morning person even though I’ve fought that with a burning passion sometimes. You’ve taught me how warmup is actually a good thing for your body and recovery is key. You’ve taught me that my teammates are family and that no matter what, once a swimmer, always a swimmer!

When I look back over the last decade I have swam, I notice all the little interactions we’ve had that have mattered to me the most, and most of them have nothing to do with swimming. Sure, I might have been talking to you about how this or that feels off in my stroke and you respond with asking how I am doing. I realize that it’s not something I’m doing wrong with the stroke, it’s that I had a lot on my mind. You were always there for the good and the bad races, the “Way to go champ” with the infamous shoulder grab or a “What did you think about that race?” You were there when I did something stupid during dryland and rolled my ankle or when I actually did my breaststroke kick right for once. You were there for me when I had lost all confidence. You were the one who taught me how to pick myself up and out of that “plateau.”

Thank you for the countless smiles, and on the tops (For non-swimmers, on the 60 of the pace clock), and the “if you don’t get moving, we’re all doing butterfly.” You taught me discipline and work ethic. How to balance many different tasks from school work to clubs to practice. You taught me to reach for the stars and that if at first I don’t succeed, to reach again and again until I do. You taught me to be realistic about my goals compared to my level of commitment. You taught me to fight until the end and to look to my left and my right on the block and say, “not today, today is my day.”

When I look back on those awesome summers and never ending winter training weeks, I realize it’s not always my best swims I remember the most, but the amazing lessons you taught me about life and myself. I remember our talks on the side of the pool deck that originally start out talking about technique, but then end up with my life and something fun that might have happened at school that day. I remember the fun times you allowed my teammates and I to have, like our inter-squad meets, movies in between prelims and finals, and of course, the shaving parties! I remember the days and hours you helped me with college recruitment and talking to coaches for me. I remember the last few practices I had with you as my coach before I left for college. Now, I’m sitting here as a junior in college wondering where all the years went. How reminiscing on the good old’ club days never seem to end.

Thank you for all you have done to shape me into who I am as a person and the collegiate swimmer I am today. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to swim fast or be the person I am today!