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| "I am not yet a star swimmer," Johanne writes, "but I am still, I believe, a star learner!" |
By Johanne, Grade 10
I think I am a very sporty and competitive person. Although I was only in Grade 9 last year I was already on the Varsity team for volleyball, soccer and basketball. So you can imagine my humiliation back in Grade 8 when I could not even swim 12 meters without desperately gasping for air as I flailed my arms to stay afloat.
I was so relieved when our swimming unit came to an end and I could a least say I improved my performance by a 100%! I could then swim for 25 meters before I started to do my survival-gasp-for-my-life-drama.
As Grade 9 came around, so did the swimming classes. I was only able to participate in four of the ten classes because of ongoing health concerns. I guess these were all subconscious legal avoidance of potential embarrassment among my classmates who ALL swam like mermaids.
But deep inside me, I wanted to improve. I wanted to learn how to do a sport where the athlete could take in the glory of winning by herself. I wanted to be really amazing in this sport and feel a bit of Michael Phelps power and glory in me.
Even if I attended only four classes, I felt that my coach really wanted to help me. He paid attention to my swimming technique or lack thereof, and he put in so much effort that I wanted to strive even more. He took me away from the rest of the class lessons and he taught me and gave me different tasks so I could achieve my goal of swimming at least fifty meters. The day that I was able to swim freestyle for fifty meters, I was so happy! More happy then when I shot a football in a goal or shot amazing baskets in the finals of our basketball game or having the awesome bump, set, and spike in volleyball. I managed to swim the full 50 meters without gasping for air! And I did this because of perseverance; my will to learn and to not give up!
Of course, those seven classes that I missed were not going to go without any consequences. I had to do six make-up sessions that started at 6:30am in the morning and during winter! I was used to waking up at 6:45am and going to sleep at midnight. But now I had to wake up an hour earlier and go to sleep by 10:00pm or I wouldn’t wake up on time.
In the beginning, I couldn’t make myself to swim, let alone swim 800 meters for one and a half hours! It may not seem much but as a beginner it was tiring and unbelievably hard. Don't forget that my best distance was 50 meters in 80 minutes. My coach expected me to improve by 1500%!
Again my perseverance and determination paid off. By my third session, I already looked forward to swimming and have gradually increased my distance to 1,500 hundred meters. I even loved waking up early and swimming while the sky was still dark and in the middle of the swimming session, and then seeing the sun rise. I loved the discipline of going against my desire to sleep some more so I could conquer a sport that seemed to taunt me. Yes, I came because I didn’t want to fail one of my PE units, but I also learned to love the sport that I just used to only watch but now be able to do it.
I am now in Grade 10 and I am swimming in the mornings with the swim team at least once per week. Nope I am not yet a star swimmer but I am still, I believe, a star learner! I asked Mr. Jochmann, the swim coach, if I could have special swimming lessons so I can stretch and discipline myself once more. My days are fully booked after school so the morning swimming sessions are just perfect!
I am grateful to be part of this amazing sport, as many have seen in the Olympics. I am also thankful for the coaches in WAB who gave me an opportunity to be better even when I was not as far ahead in skills versus my peers at the start. I didn't have this opportunity when we were in Japan. My stay in China has opened so many wonderful doors and this is one of so many!