Season 1-2 Reflection
Throughout Season 1-2, I find a whole host of challenges that distinguish my swimming practice here from my swimming practice with my old swim team. I find the drills here more challenging in terms of endurance and complexity, which have pushed me beyond the limits of what I thought was possible for my body to undergo. Despite having reduced the number of swimming practices by half, I am making leaps and bounds in contrast to how I was with my old swim team. Of course, that is not to say I am experiencing difficulties. At times, I am frustrated with my inability to get the turn-around time or reduce my personal best. It makes me feel as if my performance had plateaued and there is no more hope for me to improve.
These realizations have forced me to confront the reality that it would be difficult for me to be on equal standing as my peers who are in the same age bracket as me, considering they have been swimming for nearly their entire lifetime. This fact can be a cruel reminder of how late I was introduced into the sport. However, this is not enough to deter me as I have always been someone who is competitive and driven to progress. This teaches me to be humble in the face of development and to be content with what I have achieved so far.
The last two weeks leading up to December break, I was feeling quite overwhelmed with school and everything that surrounded it. Swimming too was becoming an additional stressor and was not giving me the release I needed. Rather, it was demotivating to fail nearly every time I jumped into the pool and before you know it, I’m looking for excuses to miss each session. At one point, I said, “enough is enough,” I owe it to my coach, to be honest with how I was faring at the moment. Consequently, I went home with a heavy heart and told my parents about the burnout I was undergoing. They told me to take it easy, something I took as surprising, knowing my parents as people who have pushed me to do my best all my life. I guess they didn’t want me to lose my love of the sport and to find it again on my own terms.
When I came back to school in January, I slowly eased back into it, this time devoting more effort and being more forgiving of myself. I acknowledge my efforts and in doing so, realized that the uneasiness that came with every practice stemmed from my struggle to fit in with people. I had always felt excluded and not really fitting in with the family that had already been established amongst the swimmers. Now, I sought to be more open in order to make friends. Getting along with those around me has always been a good indicator of my success in any given field. Currently, I am attending sessions regularly and have established a rapport with my coach and the swimmers in my squad. I am glad that I haven’t quit and it looks like I’m not going to do so any time soon.