Unlike most of my fellow gators,
I didn’t start swim team when i was 6. I moved to Virginia when I was
eight and didn’t become a gator until the following summer. Although I
was a newcomer and most kids had their friend groups, I never once felt like I
didn’t belong.Ii was instantly accepted into the gator family. This is
one of my favorite things about being a gator.
For the past three years I have
had the privilege of being a swim coach. Coaching has become one of my
favorite things about swim team. Meeting all the swimmers and watching
them grow throughout the season is always amazing. You meet so many kids
with so many different quirks and so many different personalities they begin to
rub off on you. Also, I can’t forget the great nicknames they give
you. Apparently I’m “Coach Laugh-A-Lot”...haha.
Audrey Dittman will be attending James Madison University in the fall.
I remember swimming in my first
and only A-meet. It was the meet that was supposed to be away but got switched
to MVP due to a crazy storm that ended up killing our power for a week. I
was so nervous to swim and of course I was swimming my least favorite stroke at
the time, backstroke. I remember thinking “just don’t get last, just
don’t get last”.
The whole time before my swim I was nervous beyond
belief. When it was time to actually swim my nervousness was replaced with
anxiousness and adrenaline. The race felt like a blur. I swam my
heart out and when I got out of the pool and looked at my time it turned out I
got a best time AND didn’t get last. Walking back to the team area I was
met with lots of much appreciated high fives and “good jobs” from my
teammates. That is a meet I will never forget.
The Gators will always hold a
very special place in my heart. They were my first ever competitive swim
team and my longest. These past 9 years were filled with great memories
such as shaving cream fights during pep rallies, water polo (even though I did
a fair share of watching rather than playing), dancing to the one and only
T-Swizzle during practice, diving board competitions, jumping off the diving
board trying to touch the backstroke flags, personal bests, gator grunts and so
many great friends.
As a Gator I gained so many things but the thing that
stands out most to me is my sportsmanship. No matter what the score was
showing, Coach Paul always made sure we were at the fence giving high fives and
giving handshakes after our races no matter our place or time. Thank you
Coach Paul. Even though you still call me Abby...sorry Abby.
And finally a message to the
younger Gators: enjoy it. Life happens faster than you think. I
promise going to morning swim every morning isn't that bad in the long
run. You'll miss it one day.
Thank you to everyone who made
this swim team and my swim experience what it was, it was truly an amazing
experience. And thank you to my parents for signing me up to do swim team back
in 2006 even though I wasn’t too jazzed up about it when you did it.
Peace out, Gators. It's been a blast.
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