Swim Meet = Success

This time she did it!  I am such a proud mama. It is amazing what a difference can occur in just one week's time.

After the disaster at time trials, I thought that between having a team full of strangers and being at a strange pool, there was no way Froggy would do well.
She did amazing.  She did not want to get in the water for warm ups and ended up missing most of it as we talked about it but she did get in and participate eventually with some bribery.  I am willing to use bribery to help a child past a fear.  I won't bribe her or force her to stay on the team or compete in meets if she decided at some point she did not like.  I will however do pretty much anything in my power to help her overcome what amounts to stage fright, to take a child who is very eager and excited about an event and then chickening out a the last minute.
After warmups she was much better.  I was still scared because we had gotten this far before.  But she was much more animated and playing with her friends and seemed very confident rather than nervous.  That's okay because I was nervous enough for both of us.  

 

 She went off to the holding pen clerk of courts with her friends with an easy wave

 Look we get to be in the lanes next to each other isn't that great?

 "On deck"

 Swimmers take your mark!

 She swam like a trooper.  She finished right in the middle of her heat. Her time is 1:35. She placed 19th out 23 swimmers.  Luckily they give ribbons up to 20th place in her age group so she will get one at her next practice.

 

Yippee!! We did it!!  Froggy with her best bud. 

 

And they stayed to cheer their team mates on 

I told Froggy the goal for each meet is to do better than the last one.  She did that this time by making it across the pool.  We now have a goal for the next meet which is to beat her time.  If she remembers to kick the whole time, she should be able to do it with ease.