beginnings

Beginnings All great things in life start with an even greater beginning. When I was 12 years old I joined my first competitive swim team; I swam for the downtown Suffolk YMCA. At first I only swam because of all of my friends that swam and I wanted to spend more time with them, but then realized how much more potential I had in swimming. After that moment I started to become more and more dedicated to swimming. I began to realize the true competitive nature of swimming and I liked it. Swimming has become a big part of my life since then and the beginning is the most important part to all good decisions. I first started swimming to be with friends and to make new friends. After we were on the same team we started to challenge each other and race one another to see who was the fastest. That’s how I began to see the competitive nature of swimming. Nick Burton and Joey Kauffman are two guys I started racing me near the beginning of my swimming career and I still race them now to get better. My family always supported me when I went to my meets. My brother would be swimming in the same meet, he could be in the next event, but he always took time to cheer for me; Then, I started to do the same for him. My mom is the only reason I could even do swimming, without her I would never have had a ride to any practices. Karen Keenan was my first coach on ODAC; she is the reason I am where I am at today. The first team I ever joined the YMCA cancelled the entire swimming team program. I had a choice put in front of me: stop sports all together, Join ODAC, or find another mediocre swim team. I chose to join ODAC; ODAC stands for Old Dominion Aquatic Club. Once I joined ODAC I began to practice more and more. I spent more and more and more energy on practices and I could feel myself getting better, so it was equivalent to a new beginning in my eyes. I was more prepared to race on a higher level and I wanted to. After I got my first tastes of true competition, all I