Barracudas, Barracudas, CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP!

The Nashville Swim League City Meet is this weekend and Cooper and Cole both swam their hearts out to help put Seven Hills into their current 11-point lead over Hillwood Country Club.  The last day of the meet is today and we are hoping the 11-18 year olds can hang on to bring home the monster trophy for the team!

This was Cooper's first City Meet while veteran Cole competed for the 5th time.  6 and Under events ran on Friday and Seven Hills had a great showing - finishing the day with a 1 point lead.  We arrived at 12:45 for our 1pm warm-ups and Cooper was fired up.  He swam 3 events - 25y Freestyle, 25y Backstroke and the Boys B Freestyle Relay.

After warm-ups, he wanted to get his "promised" Icee and I made the mistake of opting for the GIANT one with the souvenir cup that allows for cheap refills for the rest of the weekend.  He slurped it down and waited his turn.  Then came his first event - the 25 Free - and off he went to the clerk of course.  By the time he got to the start, the little guy had to pee so badly that he was dancing around and holding his "wee-nis" worse than I'd ever seen him.  It was terribly sad for Mama because I never even thought about taking him to the potty beforehand.  But the entire crowd noticed his dance of shame and it was quite a memorable moment of the day.  BUT, on a positive note, the little guy dove off and swam a 42.93 seconds (shattering his personal best of 59.19!)  He placed 94th out of 127 competitors!  Dad stood in waiting to whisk him off to the john because, I'm proud to announce, he STILL had to go when he reached the other end of the pool.

A great treat for the 6 and Unders this year is that after their first event each swimmer received a medal when they got out of the pool.  On one side is the Nashville Swim League 2010 logo and on the other is "6 and Under" etched in black.  All he talked about was getting that medal and he can't wait to hang it from his new bulletin board that Giddy gave him that will display all of his ribbons and medals he has earned.  Cole has had one in their room for several years and Cooper is so proud to have one of his own like "Brother's."

Next was the backstroke and again he broke his record of 1:08:06 by swimming a 57:23 and placing 92nd out of 114.  Coaches Amy and Garner cheered him on from the pool deck as he "flew" down the pool in lane 8.  As usual, he smiled the entire way!

His final event was the free relay and his gaggle of guys did great!  With a time of 3:56:25, they placed 8th and will get a medal at Monday night's banquet!  I'll be sure to post pics once they get their awards.  For Cooper, it was an amazing experience and we are thrilled that he went from the struggle of holding onto the lane line at the beginning of June to rocking down the pool victorious by mid-July!  Joining Seven Hills this year was a great choice for us and the kids have truly benefited with fun, fitness and lots and lots of self-confidence.

Saturday morning came early for Cole and me and we arrived at the Sportsplex at 6:30am for 7-8 warm-ups.  Jason came with the other two at 9am for the start of the meet.  With one day down, we knew that Cooper and Ivy could only stand so much so this worked out best for everyone.  I took the Pack-N-Play with me and nabbed our spot at the top of the bleachers.  

Cole was entered in 6 events: 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast, 100 IM, Free Relay and Medley Relay.  In the regular season, the top 3 spots get points for the team.  But at the City Meet, the top 8 spots get team points.  Swimmers who finish in 1st place to 8th place get the following team points: 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 respectively.  The top 8 individuals in each event get medals and the swimmers placing 9th-16th get ribbons.  With Seven Hills vying for their 9th straight City Championship, it is icing on the cake to not only place individually but to help the team reach their goal.

Cole's first event was the 25 free and he was in the top heat, lane 1.  He had a slightly late start but did a great shallow dive and kicked it in gear immediately.  His stroke is beautiful and he came from behind to catch up and pass some of the pack to place 6th overall (out of 109) and take .36 seconds off his best time by swimming a 17.70!  3 points for the team.

Cole's next event was backstroke and he was seeded in the second-to-last heat (the last heat is the fastest).  After a great start and a beautiful streamline and butterfly kick, he blew to the front of the pack and held on to win his heat - beating out a boy who glided to the wall rather than charged - and finished with a time of 23.16 (3.43 seconds off his best time.)  He got a heat ribbon and awaited the final race.  His 23.16 ranked him ahead of one of the guys in the final and he came out with an 8th place out of 100 contenders - gathering another individual medal and another point for the team.

Up next was the 25 breaststroke and he was in the second-to-last heat (lane 3) with a seed time of 27.44.  A great start and an amazing underwater pull/kick, and he finished with a best-ever 26.91 to place 8th overall out of 64 for another medal and point for the team.  

His last individual event was the 100 IM (individual medley).  Top heat, lane 8 and he looked great!  After 1 lap each of fly, back, breast and free he came out with a 10th place overall out of 50 and a time of 1:55:94 - a bit more than 3 seconds slower than his best time - but he was super proud to place and get a much needed rest.

His last two events were the Free and Medley relays.  For the free relay, Seven Hills A was seeded in the top heat and the top lane (lane 4) with a 1:10:36.  Cole was Anchorman and after the other three swam their legs we were in the back third of the pack.  Cole came on strong and passed a few along the way and they finished in 4th place with a time of 1:19:70 - 8 pts for the team!

He swam the breaststroke leg in the Medley and they were again in the top heat/lane 5.  It, too, was a great race and the guys came in 3rd with a time of 1:33:15 gathering 10 more points for Seven Hills!  The guys were awesome and proud and it was so much fun! 

Last but not least was little Ivy!  Trapped in her pack-n-play at the top of the stands for most of the day, I quickly realized that in order to watch any event without complete chaos, I just decided to give the child whatever the hell she wanted.  As you'll notice in the pictures, this free-for-all included a jumbo Icee and the latest issue of Teen Beat!  Who can whine and fuss when you're busy reading about Justin Bieber?