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| Sophomore Gina Riggle |
5:30 AM…. Coffee. That’s usually the first thing that comes to my mind that early in the morning. The next thing that comes to mind: coaching. After waking up this early, I get ready and drive to morning practice to coach the coolest kids ever. Ages 6 to 18, there is never a dull moment at that pool in the morning. Today, they are learning dives. I know that at the age of 6 years old I never was able to dive, let alone leave the sight of my mom for more than 5 minutes. After being behind the blocks for the 8 and under practice and showing them how far to jump and how to enter hands first, I’m soaked. At this point, it’s time to get in the water and teach my level one and level two swim lessons. Getting their hair wet and blowing bubbles (aka, talking to Jeffery the fish that lives in the deep end) is the lesson for today. My day wouldn’t be complete without seeing the swimmers on my team and seeing the kids in my lesson… It makes you realize how much an 8 year old can brighten up your day.
At about noon it’s time to go home. Now I enjoy naps as much as the next person… but I enjoy those two to three hour naps. I don’t get them often in the school year, so I take advantage of the summer snoozing opportunities as much as possible. Once I finally wake up, I head over to my old high school pool to get in a swim workout and a small dry land session. There are no mini jacks included in this, but there are some squats and planks. After practice, I go home and either make some dinner or devour my mom’s cooking.
After the work, and the naps, and the exercise, it’s time for that summer fun. Going to concerts is probably one of my favorite summer activities. Tonight is Blues Traveler at Red Rocks, and then later on in the week I’ll head up to the mountains for a Reggae Fest on the Poudre River. This summer has by far, been one of the bests. But, I can’t wait to come back to good old Butler-Hancock, and see all the great girls on the team. With all the hard work in the pool and the weight room, the Bears will definitely shine this year.
