all done!

Last Friday, August 8, I finished grad school!

An auspicious day -- 8-8-08.

I am thrilled to be done. I'm a wee bit of a perfectionist (stop laughing, all of you!) so it was tough for me to balance grad school with a full time job and a part time coaching job and do a good job in all of them. I'm still waiting for my final grade, and then I'll get a diploma in September.

Our synchro season is also done for the year. Well, the kids have most of July and August off, although I'm busy planning for next year.

Last year, because of my school schedule, I didn't coach every practice. I assisted with our oldest teams, mostly high school girls.

This year, because I'll be able to coach more, I'll take on full responsibility for our 11-12 and 13-15 year old teams. It's been a few years since I worked with this age group. These swimmers will need to build strong basic skills, which is why I'm taking them on. Plus, there are some real personalities in the group, from what I hear, and they need some strong guidance :)

Here are a few photos of our older swimmers from competitions this past year. Remember that they never touch the bottom of the pool -- they're treading water, or doing the equivalent with their hands/arms when they are upside down.

Our "B" team does a lift.


They look something like this when they set up underwater, although our "flyer" starts with her head near the surface, not her feet. (This photo is of Team USA.)

Same team, heads up. They are swimming to music from the movie "Prince of Egypt."One of our duets ... remember, this is without touching the bottom!
Same girls, end of the routine.
One of our soloists:
And another younger one ... nice flexibility :)
We train for flexibility ... and I do some of the exercises with the girls. Some of you know that I can still do a flat split. And have been known to demonstrate at fiber festivals, but only when plied with adult beverages...

I wish I could show you some photos of their beautiful custom-made swimsuits, but I try not to post closeups where you can see their faces ...

If anyone wants to watch the synchro competition in the Olympics, team finals will be televised on Saturday, August 23. Duet competition and team prelims are shown Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday on a minor network -- Oxygen, I think, how appropriate for swimmers who hold their breath! :)

I have a few more things "all done" to show you, but I think this post is long enough. Maybe this weekend :)

Speaking of which, I hope to see my local peeps at tomorrow's Fiber Revival!