As I've said in past posts, AJ didn't know how to swim across the pool at the beginning of summer. But he joined Cruisers and did fantastic! Cruisers isn't a competitive team; you really just compete against yourself. It's very relaxed, but fun.
Once Cruisers ended, Jason and I wanted AJ to continue to swim and improve his skills. So, we looked into The Rock swim team, which is at the Rec Center. This team requires try outs and is year round. Kids practice 4 days a week and there are also swim meets some weekends. At first, I really wasn't sure about that kind of commitment, but I wanted AJ to at least try out.
On our way to try outs, AJ was nervous and told us he hoped he didn't make it. Jason and I told him to just do his best. If he doesn't make it, no big deal. If he does, we'll talk about it.
We had to do the make up try outs, so we didn't really get to see the other kids and compare them to AJ. But he did a great job; swam all 4 strokes, listened to the instructor and really did his best. I found out that night that they had 30 open spots, but 55 people trying out. Honestly, I wasn't sure if he'd make it. While we were watching him, Jason and I both agreed- we wanted him to make it! With Jason traveling and me working and AJ having homework, going across town 4 nights a week for swim practice would be A LOT of work. But Jason agreed that we would do what we can to make it work.
When AJ got out of the water, he said "That was SO FUN!" I was thrilled to hear that! I wasn't sure if he'd still not want to be on the team; in fact I expected him to say it was fun, but he doesn't want to do it. (That's what's been happening lately.)
Yesterday at work, I kept checking my email waiting for the coach's email saying either he made it or didn't... And HE MADE IT! I can't even tell you how proud Jason and I are. This is so exciting!
I told AJ at tryouts that I'd get him a medium icee for trying out, and an extra large icee if he made the team. So, I picked him up from school yesterday; didn't mention anything about swimming and started to drive to the gas station where they have icee's. He was confused- asking me where we're going. Then realized it was Maverick. He said he knew he was getting a medium. I didn't really say anything... And then it hit him.. and his eyes got big and he got super excited and said "Did I make it? Can I get an extra large??" He was BEYOND happy! So proud of himself! I explained to him that it's a 4 day a week commitment and was he ok with that. He said he was so happy to be on the team and really wanted to do it. I was THRILLED.
And to top it off, he REALLY enjoyed the icee!
