My mother was a professional dancer and my dad is also very sportive. Growing up my parents took me/ us skiing in the winter, paid for tennis lessons and always encouraged us be active and to engage in sports. Of course my mom had the hope that I would dance too. So I had ballet classes in kindergarten, 1st and second grade. If you know me today, you will know that dancing and me are two completely different things. I want to use my power, feel my breath and don't have the patience required for ballet. So I quit and went to athletics with my little brother. There I discovered my passion for long distance running. Both me and my brother were pretty good at it, but our coach prefered the other disciplines like sprint or long jump. There was not much support for us, I did not like my team mates and so I/we left. When I left I was thirteen, very frustrated and not very self-concious. I did not do anything for half a year.
Since I was five my family and I went to a swimming club every Saturday. On day one of the coaches told me I had talent and should train a little more. Honey for my soul! However, this swimming club only trains kids form 4- 12 which meant I had to find a different club. So, I tried out for a club near my hometown. I did not know any of the kids but still started to practise with them. The problem with sports and Germany is that it is totally independent from school. Thus, you get no support from school and often sport interferes with school. If you want to have good grades in school, you can't do too much sport. Hence, most of the swimming kids were not good at school The club wanted me to train 9 times a week and often spend my whole weekend at competetions. I know this is common in the US, yet it does not seem to work here. So, I quit again after a year. I decided to become my own coach and I was good at it. I read a lot of books and really achieved something. I must have had great discipline:) Additionally, I had fallen in love with Lance Armstrongs books when I was thirteen so I rode my bike on the days I did not swim (at least in the warmer half of the year). I was certainly fit!
One day the coach of a different team asked me if I would like to join them since he had seen me training on my own. I said yes and discovered that a classmate I did not really like was on the team as well. Umph! However, i got to know her better and a friendship started to develop. Together with my brother, who joined me as well, we had a lot of fun. I liked the team, I liked th coach. Everything was perfect. We went to school, did our homework and went swimming almost every day. This team did not make me swim as many competitions as the other one and the pressure was lower. It was simply awesome.
Me and some of the little kids
Our team at a team competition
When I graduated and went to college I stayed home with the hope that my swimming life would continue (I was naive, I know). However, most of the swimmers my age left and after battling and slowly starting to hate siwmming I left as well. I miss it and often think of the great times we had. I did not join another swimming team when I moved, but I started running a lot. I go to the gym and run on the tread mill together with my boyfriend. On Saturdays I go to the pool by myself again, like I did when I was 13. Saturdays have been my swimming day since I was 5 and they always will be. Some things never change!
What kind of sports do you do?
