Ok. So. Cooper. The kid who plays like 4 club sports. He wants to quit one of his sports. He says just for the winter session, but last year we quit for the winter session and never picked it back up. It’s swimming, not his best sport (although he is still good at it), and he says he doesn’t want to do it because it is too cold both in the pool ad out of it in a Madison winter. I get that, but it will also be too cold in March. So, what to do?? Let him quit? Have him still go to practice 2-3 times a week (we have been doing 3-4) and skip meets? Gah. I know when the summer season rolls around he is going to want to do swim team, and I know he likes winning meets and being in the All-City final, and sticking with club swim will for sure make him a better summer swimmer. (I am not worried about the letting down the team aspect because swimming is a largely individual sport.) Also!! I think swimming a bunch makes him a better diver and hockey player because it’s SUCH good exercise, AND I think it makes him a better student because he is too tired to misbehave in class.
YOU GUYS!! Basically as soon as I finished writing that, my whole morning exploded because Coop had big feelings about his new shoes not fitting right, and THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN WHEN HE IS EXHAUSTED FROM SWIMMING. So. I think we’ll stick it out. (Even though the extra time and money is not nothing).
Uncanny:
Your posts are just such a delightful breath of fresh air. Where do I start?
ReplyDeleteThe light cover? Minnie (I mean, we should always start with Minnie - she is TOO cute, Sarah!). Your festive attire? The delicious cookies? The giant stack of holiday cards?
Love it - the joy, the chaos, the glimpse into everyday life <3
Minnie makes everything better (also harder LOL)
DeleteI just love all the photos. Your kiddos are SO cute and it seems like you all have so much fun. I feel you on the winter veggies though. Womp womp. They are all sad and limp and squishy. I am also missing summer fruit quite desperately lately.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd be inclined to respect a 4 sport athlete's feelings about dropping one. His reason may be valid, but it also may just be something he came up with that is easy to say. There are many life lessons to be learned via sport that have more to do with becoming a valuable member of everyday life than a professional athlete. This is about communication, respecting someone's feelings, time management, how to be bored, how to manage his own feelings without exhaustion ruling them. Not to mention...someone does not need to be first place at everything, which is a valuable lesson too. Not winning summer meets? Well, that will happen when you put it on the backburner, but that's OK. Are you enjoying summer swim for other reasons? If yes, then that's all there is that needs to be appreciated. I would never want my athlete to grow resentful because I didn't listen to his wishes and give him the break he needed. This is something we navigate everyday in our house, but on the opposite side of the spectrum - a diehard 1 sport (hockey) athlete. We are constantly checking in and I am always quietly monitoring his attitude toward the commitment to make sure I am not missing any signs. Our battle is more diversifying, but it's a leaf on the same tree.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you so much! We are trying really hard not to let him specialize in any sport before high school, so we try to only do things seasonally BUT! Swimming is such good exercise for the other sports.
DeleteYou're doing the festive season right. :)
ReplyDeleteI love to bake and over-decorate LOL
DeleteI grew up swimming, have taught lessons and coached competitive swimming, and now my kids swim competitively. I can remember freezing in the winter, and I now live in a place where my kids swim outdoors year round. It might be hot in the summer, but it's cold right now!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Cooper has no body fat like I did at his age and my kids do now. It is really cold in the winter, even when you're swimming indoors. My kids are teenagers now but they still come home from practice with blue lips some days. And, pools for competitive swimming are kept at lower temperatures than ones used for lessons or recreation. Does he have a parka to wear after practice? Parkas helps a lot for getting yourself from the pool to the car, and so does a pair of boots dedicated to swimming (something he can put on reasonably easily while wet, like a pair of Uggs). If he's cold while he's in the pool, have him try practicing in a cap (ideally silicone by latex will work too) -- it helps a lot.
At his age and especially because he's playing more than one sport, it is totally fine to reduce the number of practices and take a break from meets. That will keep him in great shape to be competitive in the summer and beyond, if he decides in the future he wants to be more serious about swimming.
THANK YOU! He does have a parka, but he doesn't like the way it feels inside (eye roll). I am going to encourage him to wear it after he swims. Boots are an excellent suggestion, and I found a warming cap for him to use at practice. Thanks so much for these suggestions.
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