Running with Secrets

Untitled Part 50

She was surprised the kids didn't know they were swimming wrong. "How long has Olivia been coaching?"

"Just this year." The boy named Hal said rolling his shoulders. "She just pushes us to go faster and worked on form only a little bit."

"She's a nice girl, and probably a good swimmer. I've never seen her swim. But I can't imagine anyone giving two teams the same attention when they are going to compete against each other. Would you, Celly?" She asked a short red-headed girl.

Celly's awareness shot through the roof. "I still like her though."

"That's okay. She's not the bad guy. I think she's been a good coach, and thankfully there haven't been any meets yet so we can work on this together."

The group understood and Kristin was surprised that together they wouldn't hold any grudges against the past coaching technique. Hal spoke for the team when he said, "I think we have an advantage of speed, but no one knows how hard we work but us." He looked animated as his teammates agreed with him. "I know we can focus and fix what we need to and get this done!"

The camaraderie nearly brought tears to Kristin's eyes as these teenagers had understood something so important so early in life. "Okay, Team!" She waved them together. "Circle up." She waited for the team to surround each other. "On three. One. Two. Three."

Together, the team shouted, "Aquadillos!"

"Good!" She shouted back. "Now get in the pool. I'll get your improvements when you're done with your sets."

She looked back to the windows of Clark's office as the kids splashed jumping in. He was just stepping out as the last team member began the set.

"I thought they'd be really mad." She told the director. "They really are a great team!"

"As far as attitude goes, They are a dream. What did you tell them?" He asked with his hands on his hips.

As she replayed the discussion she just had with the team, she couldn't understand how they couldn't be more upset than she thought they should be.

"I told you they're a dream."

"I won't go as far as calling them the dream team. I'll leave that to the 1992 USA men's Olympic basketball team." Kristin smiled. "They are good kids."

Clark watched them and as the last team member finished his set, he patted Kristin on the shoulder and said, "Get to it, coach!"

*****

Swim practice ran as smooth as she could have hoped. Even better. The kids were just like the chlorine on their skin. Ready to absorb all the information and make the changes she asked them to make.

"It is going to take time to get the strokes right and tweak  everything just right, but I do believe we can get there in ample time for our first meet."

Cora looked around at the team, then at her new coach. "On behalf of the Aquadillos, Coach Kristin, I want to say thank you for teaching us how to be better swimmers."

There were murmurs of agreement when Hal broke ranks and shouted "Aquadillos! How do we show our gratitude?"

The whole group came together with Kristin in the middle of them, each one talking louder than the one beside them with their gratitude until Hal spoke again. "Aquadillos! What do we tell the rest of them?"

Together, the team shouted, "Clorine is my perfume!"

"They still say this one?" She laughed, surprised at the old cheer she grew up with. "I love it!" It really was amazing to have a group of dedicated teens working together, and even if she was afraid to tell them that she wasn't sure they'd make it for their first meet, she knew the heart of the team would carry them through and she also knew they'd be there for the other swimmers. That would go a long way with the other coaches. It made her heart swell, and drew a smile to her mouth to know her team was as good as Hal lead them to be.