I spent a lot of time at the pool cheering, encouraging, and generally supporting Isabelle and her team. I've done this sort of thing before for Isabelle, but before that I was a coach for a few years and spent lots of time supporting teams in one way or another. This, however, is the first time I've truly realized what my parents did for me during all those years of volleyball (and hockey, and so on). You see I was driven, sometimes very early in the morning, from one end of the province to the other to play, practice, and train for volleyball when I was in high school. They drove me through snow and darkness to get to all sorts of rinks for hockey. Now I think I have a much better appreciation of what that was all about and the amount of time it took. It certainly made me a better player and helped to make me who I am today, so for that I just want to say "Thank You" to my parents, my several adoptive families, and everyone else who helped me along the way. Again, Thank You.
Now for Isabelle. I have had a pretty good volleyball career with several provincial championships in two separate provinces but it took me a while to get there. Isabelle on the other hand is the fastest seven year old in the state for the backstroke for 25 and 50 yards. That's technically a state champion at age seven, not too bad! She also did really well in her breaststroke, her freestyle, and helped the team improve in both the 100 medley relay and the 4x25 freestyle relay. All in all, it was a great weekend for here and the team. Here are some pics and the videos of the two backstrokes.
First in the 25 yard backstroke.
First in the 50 yard backstroke.
Jane marking her races and heats on her arm in marker so she will remember.
The happy swimmer.
Cool as a cucumber before the race.
The start of one of her other races.
The finish at the breast stroke. She wasn't in the fastest heat but there was no one near her in this one.
Now since this meet Jane has done some research and it appears Isabelle is somewhere around 87th for her backstroke in the country! That's the whole USA! Pretty cool when you consider how many thousand kids are swimming competitively. Needless to say we are very proud of her.
