"Why do you like being a coach?"
This question from an eight-year-old girl was one of the many that the kids I coach ask me. Some questions are difficult and others are simple, but this question got me thinking about what it is that I love so much about being a swim coach.
Every summer morning for the past three years I have had the privilege of being a coach on the same summer league swim team that sparked my love for swimming. Every morning that I walk onto the pool deck, ready to bestow my knowledge of swimming upon the swimmers, I find myself learning more lessons from them than I would have expected.
Lesson Number One: Brace yourself for the impending sugar rush that the Snow Cone truck brings along with them at Saturday morning meets. A giant snow cone in a cup is a delicious treat that seems relatively harmless – that is, until you remember that it is essentially ice and pure sugar.
This can be great for helping the kids to swim fast, but getting a group of fifteen or more eight-and-under kids focused and sitting down for relays doesn't go as well as planned when there is a cup's worth of sugar pumping through their veins.
"I need Jimmy! Wait where is Jimmy? He was just here. He was literally right beside me two seconds ago!"
When I finally find Jimmy, what else would he have than another Snow Cone in hand? Even though I am not exactly sure where he got the new cone, all I can do is laugh and take him by the hand to lead him where he needs to be.
Lesson Number Two: Kids are honest – brutally and hilariously honest. The younger they are, the more honest they are.
"Guess what, Coach!" is a phrase whose impending answer never seems to disappoint me. I suddenly know that Jimmy ate Captain Crunch for breakfast, went outside and played while still in his pajamas (which to an eight-year-old is quite exciting and scandalous), went back inside only to go to the bathroom, played with the next door neighbor who has a cat named Fluffy, then finally went back inside to change because he had to look good for his play date with his girlfriend. I smile and tell him his day was way more exciting than mine. Sometimes it is; other times it is just nice to see them smile when they realize they are way cooler than their coach is.
Lesson Number Three: The eight-and-under swimmers are way cooler than you. This has nothing to do with how many followers they have on Instagram or how many retweets they got, because an eight-year-old probably doesn't even know what any of that means. They are cooler than you because they think every day is a good day. Even when it's not a good day, it's a good day to an eight-year-old.
The simple things turn the day around for a little kid, like the donuts they get after Funday Monday practice or knowing that they were better than you at mini-golf on Spirit Day. I find myself wishing I could spend just a few days as a little kid again, because they remind me of how much more fun life was back then.
Lesson Number Four: The job wouldn't be worth it if it wasn't for them. It isn't about winning the meet, it's about the smiles on their faces when they bring you their Heat Winner ribbon and the piece of candy they got for it. It's an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment when they are legal in Butterfly for the first time and they jump up and down when they finish. It's the smile they give you every time you give them a high five before their race and how proud they are of themselves when they drop time.
So when I answer the question, "Why do you like being a coach?" My answer is, "Because I get to see you guys every day!"
Usually the kid who asked thinks for a moment, then shrugs and continues to talk about his or her day with me. They remind me that there is no other place I'd rather spend my morning than on the pool deck with them.
