Mighty Minnow!!

He did it!  He did it!!  Our mighty minnow finally agreed to swim in an official meet.  Our pool's swim team (Sharks) sponsors a mini-team (Minnows) for the youngest and newest swimmers.  The age and ability can range from those afraid of the pool (like Michael) to those who just need a little more endurance and work on their strokes before they graduate to the Sharks.  Let's just say that Michael was terrified of going into the big pool and would not put his face underwater when he started on July 1st.  He and the coaches put in a lot of work over the past three weeks, culminating in his swim this evening!

A few things of note from the video:
1.)  Notice how he tries to cover his ears any way that he can at the beginning.  He is still afraid of the starter gun, even though he has been dragged to countless swim meets this summer.
2.)  Kickboard racers are allowed to have helpers, but the helpers are not allowed to touch the swimmer once he/she is in the water.  So, he did this all on his own....with a little birdie to encourage him the entire way!
3.)  How hilarious is it that he would not jump in at the start?  Although he has worked a lot on swimming around with the kickboard, he had not yet conquered his fear of jumping in from the side.  Thank goodness for his helper!
4.)  Sorry about the end...vantage point was definitely ruined by the timers and judges!
5.)  He did ALL of this because he greedily wants his own swimming ribbon, just like his big sister's!