C just finished her first immersion in organized athletics: aqua-tot swim class. Her father and I come from a long line of soccer, baseball, softball, hockey, and basketball playing. As youngsters, we were veterans of summer sport camps and youth leagues held in scorching heat and driving rains. Thankfully, swim classes were inside at the community pool where I teach.
Three days a week smack in the middle of morning nap, we worked on our skills while Allison Schmitt, Ryan Lochte, and Michael Phelps were going for gold in London. We diligently practiced blowing bubbles (she prefers to drink the pool water), floating on our back (ok, she's floating on her back with head on my shoulder and I am standing upright, but still), front and back crawling, and kicking. The kicking she got the hang of, not so much the crawling. For the most part, the class had little structure. For 30 minutes, moms and babies and tots would splash about, practicing a few skills but mostly enjoying the water.
Despite the abbreviated morning nap, every time we walked onto the pool deck from the locker room, C instantly kicked her feet and made her excited "oooh ooh!" exultation seeing the water and the kids in the level 3 classes. She was pumped. Sure there were days when she was tired, days when she didn't feel like floating on her back, and that was ok. I had to believe that Allison Schmitt had days as an aqua-tot when she just didn't feel like practicing her front crawl and would prefer to rest her head on her mom's shoulder.
For her efforts during the three week session, C received a Certificate of Achievement and recommendation that her next class be...aqua-tot. She is demonstrating age-appropriate developmental skills in the water; as her fine motor skills increase she will make rapid progress. I put the certificate on our fridge. She's no 1-year-old aqua-phenom, but I doubt Michael Phelps was either.
