I’ve been swimming for 14 years and have been a swimming coach for 4.

I have 150 swimmers ranging from ages 5-18, and they are my best friends and my sources of laughter and happiness. I never knew how much I could love a job until I starting coaching the swim team I started on when I was 7 years old.

I never really had a close relationship with any swim coach I have had over the past 14 years. I believe this is why I strive to have great relationships with all of my swimmers. I want them to think of me as a coach and a friend. A majority of my kids are siblings so some of them call me their adopted older sister.

Every morning I am greeted by kids locking their bikes up on the rack. I get hugs, high fives and the occasional slaps on the back (boys are so aggressive). I ask them how their day was or what they learned in school and some give me a quick answer but then others tell me every single detail down to what they had for lunch. We compare nail polish colors and polka dot patterns. We talk sports and TV shows and just about anything under the sun.

I love the age range I get when coaching swimming. I’ve got 7 year olds who want to braid my hair and 15 year olds who can laugh at jokes with me. I get a little bit of everything from every age group because they are all a little difference from each other.

Every morning I look forward to teaching these kids my favorite sport. Although there are a lot of them in the pool at once, I really try and give them one on one time when I can. I really try to know them as a person and an athlete and this is the key to being a great coach in my opinion.

I love watching them succeed and beat times and win races. What I love even more is when they mess up and lose, and they come to me so determined to work on everything and come back better than ever. When my swimmers accomplish something they have been working on in practice I probably get more excited than their parents. I was with them every minute working and working and I am filled with pride when they accomplish what they want.

When people ask me what I do, I probably talk their ear off because I never stop talking about my job. I love my kids. I love their personality and their laughter as it fills the pool deck every morning. I work so hard to make sure that they love every season. Swimming is a sport that a lot of kids start and then drop. I hope to make enough of an impact on my kids for them to stay in swimming for the rest of their athletic careers.

These kids have made me kinder, smarter, more loving, and quick on my toes. They have taught me more about myself then I could have every realized and Ill never be able to explain to them how thankful I am for them. Seeing their toothless grins everyday is the reason I wake up at 5am in the morning to watch them swim. And you know what? I would do it over and over again.