3. “Getting over a painful experience is much like
crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some
point in order to move forward.”
-C.S Lewis
4. Before:
I was a swimmer for 13 years
I was a Georgia swimming State Finalist (3 years)
4 Year Varsity Athlete and Team Captain
I was motivated, a hard worker, and very inspired
Always positive
A leader when it came to training
My coach gave me a lot of attention
5. "I wouldn't say anything is impossible. I think that everything is
possible as long as you put your mind to it and put the work
and time into it". ~Michael
Phelps
-My Inspiration
(side note: I was going to
swim practice at Georgia
Tech, where a USA
Nationals meet was going
on, so I stopped Michael to
get his autograph and
picture.)
-This was taken before the
London and Beijing
olympics
6. During:
I Started to decline in my athletics
-I lost motivation because of my 1st coach
- As a result, he stopped giving me attention
-I suffered through two years of swimming, and hated
the sport I loved the most
-I did not feel like I belonged to a team
- I felt very down and unhappy, and nothing seemed
to go my way
7. After:
I decided to reverse rolls and become a Coach instead of
an athlete.
I make every one of my swimmers feel like they matter,
because I do not want any kid to feel like they do not matter,
like I experienced.
Although I am not a swimmer, I am coaching my swimmers to
be the best they can be, and to enjoy their sport instead of
suffering through something they do not enjoy
I want to share my experience and expertise with my
swimmers
8. ~Communicating my Shift~
I want everyone to know that I do not regret my
change from an athlete to a coach
Everyone was very supportive of my decision but
shocked to see me quit the thing I loved the most
I informed everyone that it was time for me to
move on and share my years of experience with
younger children
I am still be around swimming in college because I
am one of the swim team managers for University
of Kentucky
9. My Swimmers:
Here are a few of my swimmers I have been coaching for over 3 years
and they have made drastic improvement.
10. ~Response to shift~
My parents were upset for a while, but discovered
quickly that it was making me unhappy
My friends see how happy I am that I am not stressed
with swimming and school work daily
My family understands my love for children and my
love for swimming
11. My Feelings now:
I am so happy to still be involved, but I feel like I
matter now
I could not be happier with my decision
I have time to experience many more things I never
got the chance to do, because of my very busy
schedule
