Jan Week 2: Mid Week-Extra Curriculars-Swim Team

Today was the first meeting for the swim team, and even though it was just administrative—no one would so much as dip a toe in the pool this week—she found herself fidgeting with the packet of handouts she'd prepared, straightening rows of empty chairs as if some collegiate scout might walk in and judge her on symmetry.

Pleasant Plains was, frankly, spoiled. Most comparative schools in the county could only dream of one decent natatorium, let alone a full indoor and outdoor setup complete with digital scoreboards and a snack bar. This made the Cougars a perennial favorite in the regional swim scene, and, as Leah had quickly learned, it also attracted a certain breed of hyper-competitive parent. Last year's district meet featured two fistfights in the parking lot and a Change.org petition to "Ban Unfair Chlorination Practices" that had made the local news.

She was expected to play diplomat, den mother, and drill sergeant all at once, and it made her stomach wriggle with a cocktail of anxiety and pride. She had never coached swimming before, but she was a quick study, and besides—Principal Howard had all but demanded she take the position as a condition getting tenure.

Leah was ready for when the students started to filter in. Her syllabus was color-coded (copied from another school’s swim team website and reworked), her expectations were low but she thought reasonable, and her sense of humor, she thought, was perfectly tuned to the hormonal freakshow that could be a spring high school sport.

Leah was responsible for the varsity swim team at PPHS so only about 15 students showed up. Some poor first-year teacher had been stuck with the junior varsity team and was already over the top meeting in the mornings trying to prove herself. Leah welcomed the students and they all went through introductions with the similar routine of having a new class.

It was all just a meeting to touch base and set expectations. Luckily, Leah had missed all the dryland workouts that had been a huge part of the fall semester swim team meetings. Swim practices would actually start to turn into meets (or official matches) in late February. As it was just an info session, Leah ended the meeting early.

The whole thing took less than thirty minutes, but as she watched the kids hoist their backpacks and lope out the door, Leah felt something both bleak and bright. They knew she wasn't a professional and they could probably tell she wasn't too keen on leading them to a state championship but they all seemed to radiate a careful, polite nonchalance around it, as if she was a substitute teacher who might come or go at any moment.