Courtesy of Elizabeth Wickham
“Welcome to the funeral of my swimming identity,” a senior said at the team’s banquet following the Pac-12 championships. It was a humorous, but very truthful statement from a young woman who swam in her last meet.
Listening to seniors thank their coaches, their parents, and watching a few swim moms and swimmers cry, I thought, “Wow. This is me in a couple years.”
I sat with other swim parents on my daughter’s team, talking about the excitement of the meet, and listening to seniors reflect on their years as swimmers.
Here are common themes from seniors reaching the end of their college swimming careers:
One
Swimming has been a major part of their lives, from early childhood through college. These kids stuck with it, through good times and bad, and learned something unique by not ever giving up.
Two
They said the moments they cherish the most are not certain swim times, or achieving a particular swim goal. Rather, what stands out to them are the connections with their teammates and coaches. They were there for each other. Those memories they’ll keep close to their hearts.
Three
They really do appreciate all we’ve done for them. Every senior thanked their parents and realized the many little ways their parents supported them in their dreams of swimming success. They are old enough to know that it wasn’t always easy for us to be their chauffeur, cook, travel coordinator and that we’ve given a lot of our time and sacrificed to make it all happen.
Four
I sensed a little trepidation on what their lives will be like without their team, workouts and one more conference meet or NCAA’s to work toward. However, I believe they have a foundation that should serve them well. They certainly are more than familiar with hard work, dedication and perseverance.
Five
There were no regrets from the seniors on the choices they made along the way. They completed four years as college athletes and have the right to be proud. They will always be swimmers, and their age group and college experience has shaped who they will become in the future.
As a mom of a Junior in college I am not looking forward to my sons last meet next year. However I am ever so grateful for all that the sport has done for him as well as my family- the parent friendships, the joy of winning and the lessons of losing, the coaches who grew my children into the men and women that they are today, the lessons of making goals, of time management, of working through pain and handling winning and losing gracefully and learning to respect coaches even when you don’t agree. Above all I believe the sport fostered healthy relationships between men and women as teammates and equals. All of these things make every carpool, every… Read more »
This is a really nice piece. We have a senior swimmer who may have swum her last collegiate meet as well. As parents we all definitely sacrifice, but it’s all worth it for the very reason you cite. We simply want our kids to be happy and healthy and this activity has provided some amazing opportunities for most of our families and athletes. I know I’m preaching to the choir, but I’m forever grateful to the other paretns, coaches, and teachers along the way who’ve been so supportive of our swimmer!