Just Keep Swimming

[Roderick Faulkner]

@running9
Danielle A. St George
Indigo Blume
Jon Atticus McCloud
Marguerite Girardeau
Lucas Aidan Walker

Rod unlocked the doors to the locker room and pool a few minutes before his students were supposed to arrive. The pool was all set up for the morning practice, and he was careful to make sure everything was in working order. Today would be an easy session with a warm-up to see where everyone was at in terms of ability, a short race, and a cool down. Just before the break, he sent out an email detailing the times and days of swim practice. They were free to pick any available locker to store their clothes, and he had extra locks for anyone who needed one. Goggles and swim caps were encouraged, but not mandatory. Sleeping in was not a good reason to be late. He expected everyone to be ready to swim by 6:00am, and the locker room would be open from 5:45am.

He dropped his coat and bag down in the pool office. The cold weather always made his leg and arm ache more than usual. Rod sighed at the thought that he would have to tell the swim team about the boating accident. He couldn't wear long sleeves and pants all the time, and they would no doubt wonder why their coach walked with a cane and never got in the water. He certainly couldn't hold a clipboard in one hand and jot down notes in the other. He half wished he had an assistant coach to help out instead of constantly relying on Gail, but swimming was his passion. He would find a way to overcome these difficulties for the sake of his students.

The clipboard he prepared the previous night set the roster and warm-up routine side by side for easier viewing. Six lanes were set up in the pool, and any less confident swimmer could use the lane closest to the wall. He grabbed a black dry erase marker for the whiteboard next to the pool and tried to stifle a yawn.

Warm-Up
5min easy effort
10min freestyle, catch up every other length
10 min moderate effort, rest 30sec between lengths
4 length best effort, rest 60sec between lengths
5min easy effort

TRY TO USE DIFFERENT STROKES

He checked off each student against the roster and watched the clock until it was exactly 6:00 before starting. Rod left his cane leaning against the whiteboard within arm's reach. If he was just standing, he didn't need to use it. The clipboard he had wedged between the crook of his elbow and his curled fingers. Sometimes biology did work in his favor, though any sudden tilts would send the clipboard to the ground.

"Good morning! I hope you all had a nice break. I am Coach Faulkner, and I also teach Geometry. I just want to go over a few ground rules before we get started with the warm-up this morning. You are more than welcome to use this time for stretching. In the future, I expect everyone to be in the water and ready to swim at six o'clock. To reiterate some of what I sent you in the email, practice will be from six until seven-thirty every weekday. Fridays are game days. We will spend the first thirty minutes warming up and doing drills, and the rest of the time will be a more relaxed and fun activity. You have fifteen minutes before and after to change and shower. If you need a lock, please talk to me after practice. I understand that everyone is at a slightly different place in terms of swimming ability, so exercises will be tailored to fit your weaknesses. If you think a drill is too easy, just remember that someone else is struggling, and the next day, it might be you. I have no tolerance for swearing or insulting your fellow swimmers. We are here to support one another and share in our interest in swimming. Keep the locker rooms clean, and put away any equipment. Not only is equipment lying around a safety hazard, dirty locker rooms are just gross. And, normal pool rules still apply--no running, no diving, no food or drink, no glass, no street clothes, no pushing, shoving, or horseplay, no bags on the pool deck, tell me if you have an open wound, infection, diarrhea, or contagious disease."

Rod paused a moment to answer any questions before continuing. He was dreading having to talk about himself, but it was far better to come clean about it at the beginning than let active teenage imaginations get creative.

"A bit about myself. I was born in Rochester, Minnesota and swam for about twenty years at a local swim club, high school, and college. A couple years ago, I was involved in a boating accident that severely injured my right arm and leg. I can't swim, and my ability to demonstrate techniques to you on land is limited. Please ask questions if you don't understand an explanation. With that said, are there any questions?"

He waited a few moments for any hands before continuing with the rest of the lecture. Rod figured they all wanted to get in the water and start swimming.

"For the warm-up, the instructions are written on the board. Today is a chance for me to see where you all are at in terms of ability. I'll start the clock once everyone is in the water. For catch up, put both arms over your head and make one full stroke. Don't begin the second stroke until you're back in the starting position. I'll blow my whistle when it's time to move on to the next drill. When it says easy effort, just go at a steady pace, but don't overexert yourself to get down to the other side. Moderate effort, swim with purpose like you have someplace to be. Best effort is as fast as you can go. After the warm-up, come to this side of the pool, and I'll explain the rest of the workout. Any questions? If not, you're free to get in the water."

Rod waited until everyone was ready in the water before counting down from three and giving a single short whistle blast for 'Go!'. He started the clock, and the red LED numbers ticked by hundredths of seconds.

[Danielle A. St George]

Dani's alarm went off at five that morning, and it was difficult to be out of bed that early. Smothering a yawn, she resisted the temptation to press the snooze button and go back to sleep, after all, she had swim practice in an hour. Gathering her things, she went to the bathroom and closed the door, changing into the black one piece swimming costume. Brushing her teeth and washing her face, she checked the time. She brushed her hair back into a bun, which would make it easier for her to put the cap on once she was at the pull. Over her costume, she put on a pair of track pants and a long sleeved shirt. In her gym bag, she had two towels, her goggles, and a change of clothes, seeing that she would have to go take care of Aladdin as soon as swim practice was over.

As Dani walked down to the gym, she marveled at how quiet the campus was. It was just gone quarter to five when she went into the gym, and made her way to the pool changing rooms. She already had a locker that she was using, and so just left her bag in her locker, taking out her swim cap and her goggles, wrapping a towel around her waist after she had taken off her sweats and t-shirt. In the change room, she went through a few basic stretches and then just before six, she left the locker room.

Morning Coach, Dani St. George, she introduced herself, as she folded the towel and placed it on the bench. She kept stretching as the rest of the students arrived, and then pulled on her cap and goggles, keeping the latter on her forehead until she was in the water.

Dani listened as Coach talked, reading the whiteboard and taking note of everything that was to be done. She decided she would do breaststroke for her moderate swim, and then butterfly for her best effort. Easy effort would consist of backstroke. She chose the middle lane, and slid into the water, positioning her goggles over her eyes and then going into position for backstroke.

It felt great to be back in the water, and while she had been swimming since she arrived at the Academy, she was used to a coach, since she had one from 6 years old. Everything felt as if it was coming back, and she cut through the water with a quick ease.

<<Lyrics>> Flashlight - Jesse Jay
<<Lyric Banner>> Onzy
<<Image Credit>> Line @ Caution 2.0
<<Notes>>

[Marguerite Girardeau]

Meg had always enjoyed swimming. Learning how to swim at an early age had been an important milestone for every kid in Honfleur, since the town was built around a harbor. There weren't really any fences or barriers around the water, which meant children who weren't careful could easily end up falling in. Meg was slightly embarrassed to confess that she'd accidentally tumbled in more than once, and her mother had scolded her pretty harshly every single time. However there were times she jumped in on her own accord as well. Often in the early mornings during the summer, she and several other children would race to the port, jumping in the water and taking a refreshing swim before the harbor became active and too many tourists' eyes were watching them. 

It was because of this experience that being in the locker room so early was not such an outrageous or foreign concept to her. 6 was about the time she used to be in the water back in France. Yawning and shivering from the cold, she rubbed her eyes before changing into her pale blue bathing suit. She was a little self conscious about her body, though ballet had taken care of most of her body image problems. She'd worn enough tight fitting dance-wear to know better than to be self conscious in a bathing suit. Once she'd changed, she tied up her hair, grabbed her goggles and towel, and headed out into the pool area. She didn't have a swim cap, but she intended to get one soon. In the meantime, she braided her hair into a tight flat bun against her head, which she was confident wouldn't go anywhere no matter how hard she swam. 

When she spotted her coach she smiled politely and approached, "Good morning! I'm Marguerite, but you may just call me Meg," she said cheerfully. Once she'd finished introducing herself, she found a bench to claim, folding her towel over it. While they waited for the rest of the group, she did some stretches to warm up. Her body felt slightly stiff from the cold, and she hated the feeling. Once the last person entered the pool area she walked over to where everyone was gathered, giving her coach her full attention. 

She listened to the entire lecture, before looking at the board to find out their instruction. Her English was still not perfect, but she understood it well enough and pulled on her goggles excitedly. She chose a lane one over from the edge of the pool, wishing to give it to someone who might truly need it since she genuinely wasn't sure whether she would or not. She was a confident swimmer, but it had been a long time and she wasn't sure what sort of endurance she had. However being a ballet dancer, she took a chance and assumed she would most likely be perfectly fine. 

Plunging into the water, she smiled and grabbed the edge of the pool. Once the coach said go she launched herself off the edge, starting with the breaststroke for her easy effort. As she swam she felt refreshed and happy, though she couldn't help but feel she was a little slow compared to some of the others. But she felt optimistic that she would improve over time, and she was pretty excited about it.  

[Indigo Blume]

Indigo had been up an hour an a half before she needed to be, studying her campus map. She had spun it in circles as she tried to teach herself to read the thing. Why could t her parents have just taught her how to use a map instead of leading her everywhere? She sighed and stood up, moving into her bathroom and changing into her teal swimming costume. She pulled a t-shirt, jacket, and track pants over the top. She grabbed her bag that contained her towel, a change of clothes, her cap, and her goggles. She left her dorm and walked towards the gym.

Indigo was glad she had left early, since it took her half an hour longer than necessary to get from her dorm to the pool. When she arrived she went straight to the coach and the few others that were already there.
"Good Morning. I'm Indigo Blume." She greeted her coach with a warm smile. She sat on the pool floor and stretched her legs and arms while Coach Faulkner spoke. When the talking was over, Indigo stood and put her bag away in the locker room. She took off her outer clothes, tied her hair into a bun and secured her cap over her head.

Indigo studied the warm up board, eager to get in the pool. It had been a while since she last swum, and while she would be a bit rusty, she had always loved swimming. She hoped her fitness hadn't dropped too much since her travel to the academy. Indigo slid into the first lane of the pool, fastened her goggles over her eyes and set off on her backstroke easy effort. Once that was done she started the catchup laps, her least favourite activity. Indigo felt that catchup freestyle was slow, and she adored fast swimming.

Indigo swum breaststroke for her moderate effort, hands gliding smoothly through the water as she moved from one end of the pool to the other. For her best effort, she swum butterfly, her best stroke. She swam as fast as she could, not worrying about the others in the pool, though she was aware of where they were so she was out of the way. Swimming focussed Indigo, and was her go-to place when she needed to clear her head. She smiled when she did her last lengths at an easy backstroke. It was amazing to be back in the water, and she couldn't wait for further swim practiced.