Outside!

Outside!

Hooray!  The start of semi-warm weather around here means that our club’s 50 meter outdoor pool opened last week.  This is great news on several fronts…it opens up lane space for the club since we now have access to two pools, the fresh air helps keep me from zoning out on the pool deck and it means that the long course season has begun—which of course means that summer is on its way.  I love summer and nothing beats swimming laps and getting a tan at the same time.

Last week, the kids were so excited to swim outside that they claimed not to have cared that the heat wasn’t on yet.  Now, it’s still pretty chilly here at night and that combined with several 50’s in an unheated pool meant that we had some pretty cold kids on our hands…but hey, they asked for it.  I think that our indoor pool is a bit cold, so it was funny to see them jumping in the indoor pool like it was a hot tub after being outside for a few minutes.

Coaching 10 year olds in a 50 meter pool can be a challenge.  The pool seems long to everyone right now, but especially to kids who frequently do sets of 25’s.  It’s also interesting to me to watch how the lane dynamic begins to change.  The ones who were the lane leaders inside are not necessarily the same kids leading the lane outside.  Some kids are just better at long course than others and already I’ve been surprised to see who is adjusting well and who is struggling.   I struggle too—I have to figure out different send off times and think of new sets, plus it’s a lot more work for me to walk up and down a 50 meter pool instead of a 25 yard one.  But, the season has just begun and I really think the change is good for everyone.  We will still swim inside a couple of time a week, which is probably better for stroke drills, but the opening of the outdoor pool for me is like the light at the end the tunnel.  No more winter, no more hats and gloves and it’s still light out when practice is over.   So, even if I don’t get to coach outside every night, at least it’s a possibility.