Narrative Essay On High School Swim

613 Words3 Pages
I crouched down on the block, ready to dive into the icy water. I felt ready to release the tension and let my adrenaline flow. It was spring of 2013 and I was a freshman on the high school swim team. The team had a reputation as a swimming powerhouse to uphold and my race would be paramount in proving their strength. I was determined to prove myself. Back in middle school I was the fastest girl in my favorite event, the 100 breaststroke. However after aggressively playing soccer for years, my knees were hurting and I discovered that I could not keep up my previous fast pace in the pool. I lagged behind in practices and developed an “I can’t do it!” mindset. The minute I stepped up to the dive block I dreaded what was to come next. Negativity…show more content…
I was placed into a 100 breaststroke race, pitted against older, more experienced girls. My coach’s expectation was that I would both gain points for the team, and swim fast enough to earn a varsity time. However, my nerves and negative mindset got the better of me, and I swam an erratic race with too much movement in my limbs. I was four seconds off from a varsity time and from being in the top three. I had let my coach, my teammates, and myself down, and it felt horrible. I resolved to not ever let myself feel like that again. The first step in improving my swimming was to make mental changes. Before I dived off to swim at practice, I visualized myself leading the race and swimming with perfect form. , Instead of thinking “I can’t do it!” before a race, I trained myself to think “I can do this!” Letting the mental chains go was the first step in regaining my former confidence in the water. The next step in my journey to a varsity time was physical training. With the help of a senior teammate, I learned to concentrate not on the quantity of strokes, but the quality. I learned to glide through the water with this new focus, and I soon became both physically and mentally confident that I could earn a varsity time. My coach saw my improvement and placed me into the 100 breaststroke at the next
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