Before we knew it, it was the beginning of April and that meant that it was time for the state championships. The entire team went this time, even though they weren't all going to be swimming. There were only so many events that were available to us, however, we were also limited to a set number of events that we could each compete in.
Coach split me, Makai, Ben and Ryan up for this tournament. Being that we were the four fastest guys on the team, he wanted to make sure that we were spread out and able to win more. This ended up being a good strategy too. We ended up sweeping all of the individual and team events for the men. And with the girls' team performing at the top of their game and splitting up as well, they were able to win more than half of their events as well. With them having won more than half, they technically came in first for the competition and were moving onto the regionals with the rest of us. That was pretty good in my opinion.
Since the Regionals were being held not that far from us, we didn't need to make any big preparations to travel for them. Hell, even Nationals were happening in California this year. That meant that if we made it all the way to them, we didn't need to fly to them or travel for days on end. It was all going to be a lot better and easier for us all.
The regionals were also held just the week after the state championships. We just needed to drive a couple of hours south to San Diego. We were staying overnight there, but it all went pretty well. We stayed in our split groups that we had been in for the last heats. We swam our best and ended with better results. I think that a lot of it had to do with the fact that everyone was so happy and keyed up from having won the last time. Not only that, but they had those of us that swept the invitationals with them and they were confident that they would win with us on their teams.
I was just so proud of everyone that was on my entire swim team. They were doing their best and it made me want to just cheer for them nonstop. It also made me think about the fact that I was not going to be on the team much longer. We were graduating. We were going to be leaving them. They would have to go on without us. That was fine though, I had faith in them all. They were going to do amazing no matter what, because they were still going to have Coach Dickson with them.
Regionals were done and we had made it through to the next level. It was time for the nationals now. The level of excitement and enthusiasm that was running through the team and the entire school itself was so high that everyone was being affected by it. None of us from the swim team could go anywhere in the entire school without someone congratulating us and cheering for us. They were proud of us and happy for us. And I personally couldn't have been happier with the attention that everyone else was getting. They all deserved it too.
It was two weeks after the regionals that nationals were being held. We all practiced almost nonstop for it. Everyday each member of the swim team was seen giving their all to hone their skills before the final meet of the season. This wasn't just any meet. They were going to be going up against all the top schools in the country. Everyone that had won their regional tournament and had been invited to the nationals.
I was happy that they had given everyone an extra week to make the arrangements for their travel needs. Not all of the schools that were coming were going to be able to travel so quickly to their destination.
Actually, as it turns out, we were still going to be driving about eight hours to the nationals event. It was being held in San Francisco. We were heading north this time, but we were OK with that. We just wanted to make sure that we made it there and gave it our all.
We got to San Francisco the night before the tournament and checked into the hotel. Makai didn't upgrade everything like he did last time. I think that his parents didn't want to overstep this time, but it was fine. The accommodations were a little nicer than they usually were, and I could guess that the cost for it all probably came from the money that Mr. Gray had sent to our school.
Well, I had thought that anyway, but when we checked in the staff of the hotel was there to greet us and congratulate us on the wins in Florida as well as the wins at state and regionals. I guess our little school was getting some serious recognition in the world of swimming.
"Welcome, all of you. We hope that you enjoy your stay, and that you represent California well in tomorrow's tournament." The manager smiled at us as he handed us the keys to our rooms.
"Thank you. We appreciate that very much." Coach Dickson couldn't stop smiling at that moment. I think he was happy to be the coach to such an amazing team, and to know that he had had such an impact on all of us.
The night went pretty smoothly. We ate pizza in the rooms and relaxed while we waited for the night to pass. It was calm and relaxing, which was a really good thing. We all needed to be well rested and relaxed when we competed for the top spot in the country. If we won this, it was something that we would all be able to put on our college applications. I mean, they were all pretty much set in stone, but we might get extra scholarships and things like that if we finished in first. And that wasn't just for me, Makai, Ben and Ryan. I wanted everyone else to be able to do that as well. I wanted everyone on our team to be able to get as much assistance as they possibly could. They needed it more than we did at the moment.
When morning came, we all went over to the venue for this particular competition. There were less schools than I thought there would be, but I guess that was to be expected. I mean, the only teams here were the winners of the regionals. That meant that there would be a lot less people competing.
"With these few schools here, it should be over in no time at all." I commented as we entered and took our place.
"Yeah, I don't think I have seen a competition this small in my life." Ryan laughed. I knew what he was feeling though. We had made it to regionals last year, but not nationals, so we hadn't seen how few people made it to this point.
"I think you all have a fighting chance to take the number one spots again." Coach had turned to us and was giving us a pep talk while we all looked around. "However, even if you don't come in the top spots, I am immensely proud of you. You've all made it here and that is what counts. I want you all to just go out there, do your best, and have fun with it. This is an amazing achievement already and I want you all to stop stressing over things."
"We're not stressing, Coach." Toby called out to him. "We're all quite happy with everything. And I think we've all been pretty relaxed this whole time. In my opinion, that is what got us here."
"Yeah, Toby's right, Coach. You don't need to worry. We're good. So you stop stressing and just cheer us all on. We will bring the gold to our school." Katie was fired up and her enthusiasm was spreading to the others.
With smiles and excitement all around, we got down to the business. The tournament started and we all set about doing our best. The same groups as before were put together this time. And I could tell that in just the last two weeks, during the intense training sessions that we all had, everyone had improved. Toby and Charlie, who were on my team along with Ben, had gotten better and that made our team nearly impossible to beat.
Even the girls were doing better. They were sweeping their events and winning first in everything. When the competition came to a close at the end of the day, our entire swim team was standing tall as the winners. There was not a single event that we didn't win. We had done better today than we had at the other two competitions that lead up to this point. It was phenomenal, and Coach seemed to be the happiest and most excited person in the world.
The celebrations lasted all night long, but it was nothing compared to when we got back to school on Monday. There was an assembly that day with signs on all the doors that students were to report directly to the gymnasium upon arrival. The principal and Coach were there to announce to everyone the good news about our victory. Everyone cheered and celebrated what we had accomplished. And following that, the entire school day had basically been turned into a party. I think the principal was just really happy to be able to showcase to the entire state, and county for that matter, that he was the principal of such exceptional athletes. It seems that the glory and prestige was highly sought after.
Well, I guess I didn't mind him and the others being happy for us.. I mean, I was happy for us as well.
Before we knew it, it was the beginning of April and that meant that it was time for the state championships. The entire team went this time, even though they weren't all going to be swimming. There were only so many events that were available to us, however, we were also limited to a set number of events that we could each compete in.
Coach split me, Makai, Ben and Ryan up for this tournament. Being that we were the four fastest guys on the team, he wanted to make sure that we were spread out and able to win more. This ended up being a good strategy too. We ended up sweeping all of the individual and team events for the men. And with the girls' team performing at the top of their game and splitting up as well, they were able to win more than half of their events as well. With them having won more than half, they technically came in first for the competition and were moving onto the regionals with the rest of us. That was pretty good in my opinion.
Since the Regionals were being held not that far from us, we didn't need to make any big preparations to travel for them. Hell, even Nationals were happening in California this year. That meant that if we made it all the way to them, we didn't need to fly to them or travel for days on end. It was all going to be a lot better and easier for us all.
The regionals were also held just the week after the state championships. We just needed to drive a couple of hours south to San Diego. We were staying overnight there, but it all went pretty well. We stayed in our split groups that we had been in for the last heats. We swam our best and ended with better results. I think that a lot of it had to do with the fact that everyone was so happy and keyed up from having won the last time. Not only that, but they had those of us that swept the invitationals with them and they were confident that they would win with us on their teams.
I was just so proud of everyone that was on my entire swim team. They were doing their best and it made me want to just cheer for them nonstop. It also made me think about the fact that I was not going to be on the team much longer. We were graduating. We were going to be leaving them. They would have to go on without us. That was fine though, I had faith in them all. They were going to do amazing no matter what, because they were still going to have Coach Dickson with them.
Regionals were done and we had made it through to the next level. It was time for the nationals now. The level of excitement and enthusiasm that was running through the team and the entire school itself was so high that everyone was being affected by it. None of us from the swim team could go anywhere in the entire school without someone congratulating us and cheering for us. They were proud of us and happy for us. And I personally couldn't have been happier with the attention that everyone else was getting. They all deserved it too.
It was two weeks after the regionals that nationals were being held. We all practiced almost nonstop for it. Everyday each member of the swim team was seen giving their all to hone their skills before the final meet of the season. This wasn't just any meet. They were going to be going up against all the top schools in the country. Everyone that had won their regional tournament and had been invited to the nationals.
I was happy that they had given everyone an extra week to make the arrangements for their travel needs. Not all of the schools that were coming were going to be able to travel so quickly to their destination.
Actually, as it turns out, we were still going to be driving about eight hours to the nationals event. It was being held in San Francisco. We were heading north this time, but we were OK with that. We just wanted to make sure that we made it there and gave it our all.
We got to San Francisco the night before the tournament and checked into the hotel. Makai didn't upgrade everything like he did last time. I think that his parents didn't want to overstep this time, but it was fine. The accommodations were a little nicer than they usually were, and I could guess that the cost for it all probably came from the money that Mr. Gray had sent to our school.
Well, I had thought that anyway, but when we checked in the staff of the hotel was there to greet us and congratulate us on the wins in Florida as well as the wins at state and regionals. I guess our little school was getting some serious recognition in the world of swimming.
"Welcome, all of you. We hope that you enjoy your stay, and that you represent California well in tomorrow's tournament." The manager smiled at us as he handed us the keys to our rooms.
"Thank you. We appreciate that very much." Coach Dickson couldn't stop smiling at that moment. I think he was happy to be the coach to such an amazing team, and to know that he had had such an impact on all of us.
The night went pretty smoothly. We ate pizza in the rooms and relaxed while we waited for the night to pass. It was calm and relaxing, which was a really good thing. We all needed to be well rested and relaxed when we competed for the top spot in the country. If we won this, it was something that we would all be able to put on our college applications. I mean, they were all pretty much set in stone, but we might get extra scholarships and things like that if we finished in first. And that wasn't just for me, Makai, Ben and Ryan. I wanted everyone else to be able to do that as well. I wanted everyone on our team to be able to get as much assistance as they possibly could. They needed it more than we did at the moment.
When morning came, we all went over to the venue for this particular competition. There were less schools than I thought there would be, but I guess that was to be expected. I mean, the only teams here were the winners of the regionals. That meant that there would be a lot less people competing.
"With these few schools here, it should be over in no time at all." I commented as we entered and took our place.
"Yeah, I don't think I have seen a competition this small in my life." Ryan laughed. I knew what he was feeling though. We had made it to regionals last year, but not nationals, so we hadn't seen how few people made it to this point.
"I think you all have a fighting chance to take the number one spots again." Coach had turned to us and was giving us a pep talk while we all looked around. "However, even if you don't come in the top spots, I am immensely proud of you. You've all made it here and that is what counts. I want you all to just go out there, do your best, and have fun with it. This is an amazing achievement already and I want you all to stop stressing over things."
"We're not stressing, Coach." Toby called out to him. "We're all quite happy with everything. And I think we've all been pretty relaxed this whole time. In my opinion, that is what got us here."
"Yeah, Toby's right, Coach. You don't need to worry. We're good. So you stop stressing and just cheer us all on. We will bring the gold to our school." Katie was fired up and her enthusiasm was spreading to the others.
With smiles and excitement all around, we got down to the business. The tournament started and we all set about doing our best. The same groups as before were put together this time. And I could tell that in just the last two weeks, during the intense training sessions that we all had, everyone had improved. Toby and Charlie, who were on my team along with Ben, had gotten better and that made our team nearly impossible to beat.
Even the girls were doing better. They were sweeping their events and winning first in everything. When the competition came to a close at the end of the day, our entire swim team was standing tall as the winners. There was not a single event that we didn't win. We had done better today than we had at the other two competitions that lead up to this point. It was phenomenal, and Coach seemed to be the happiest and most excited person in the world.
The celebrations lasted all night long, but it was nothing compared to when we got back to school on Monday. There was an assembly that day with signs on all the doors that students were to report directly to the gymnasium upon arrival. The principal and Coach were there to announce to everyone the good news about our victory. Everyone cheered and celebrated what we had accomplished. And following that, the entire school day had basically been turned into a party. I think the principal was just really happy to be able to showcase to the entire state, and county for that matter, that he was the principal of such exceptional athletes. It seems that the glory and prestige was highly sought after.
Well, I guess I didn't mind him and the others being happy for us.. I mean, I was happy for us as well.
