Last night was the last Greystone Gators home swim meet at our beloved "Swamp". That's not a very glorious name for a neighborhood pool, but fitting since the Gators "ate up" the competition at the meet last evening with a lead of more than 100 points! GO GATORS! We have two more away meets before wrapping up the swim season. Whew!
The Second Little Nguyen, listening intently to his coaches... 
Receiving his first-ever ribbons...YAY!
The Second Little Nguyen swam his first main events ever and could not have been more excited! He swam both freestyle and backstroke! For a child who, two weeks ago, could not even swim backstroke by himself, he tore up the water last night. We were so proud of him because he gave it his all and even managed to keep up with the usual first heat swimmers. As his coach intimated earlier in the day, "He's only five? Yeah! I get him for another year!" Being part of the swim team has given him a lot of confidence in what he can make his body do. I hope he wants to be a part of the Gator team next summer. I think he will do amazing things with another year's growth in mind and body.
Ribbons and a look of approval from Coach Andrew...
A little disappointed...
The Second Little Nguyen, listening intently to his coaches... Receiving his first-ever ribbons...YAY!The Second Little Nguyen swam his first main events ever and could not have been more excited! He swam both freestyle and backstroke! For a child who, two weeks ago, could not even swim backstroke by himself, he tore up the water last night. We were so proud of him because he gave it his all and even managed to keep up with the usual first heat swimmers. As his coach intimated earlier in the day, "He's only five? Yeah! I get him for another year!" Being part of the swim team has given him a lot of confidence in what he can make his body do. I hope he wants to be a part of the Gator team next summer. I think he will do amazing things with another year's growth in mind and body.
A little disappointed...
And the First Little Nguyen swam three main events (freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke) as well as the medley and freestyle relays in the competition. Yay! The backstroke race was so close, but he managed to hold his own and earned a 4th place ribbon. It made me sad when I realized that he was disappointed with that as well as his 6th place breaststroke finish, but that's all part of the life lesson in competition: learning how to win and lose with a good attitude. That's a difficult lesson to have to watch him learn, but sometimes those things can lead up to good discussions about setting goals and being determined. The reality is that he may never earn that coveted 1st place ribbon, but what matters more is the determination he has to give his team everything he's got, to swim his true best on every event. During the past few weeks, he has been first heat backstroke, so last night was a real test of his stamina and endurance with six races. He was dead tired by the end of the evening. 
Proud of his achievements!
An array of colors and, finally, a smile...
Next up for our Little Gators? An o'dark-of-morning warm-up time on Sunday for the First Little Nguyen -- 6:45 a.m.! Whew! He received an invitation from his coaches to swim in the TSA (Tarheel Swimming Association) area meet. And next Sunday, the Second Little Nguyen will be swimming in the North Raleigh Championships at Ravenscroft. Guess we'll be heading to Saturday evening Mass instead of our usual 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed for them to do their best and swim hard! I'll keep you posted.
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