Today marked the final home swim meet for Zachary and the other seniors on his swim team. Following team tradition, the five seniors were honored with a call-out by Coach Don, a run through the team tunnel and a gift (purchased by their parents; presented by cheerleaders). The guys beamed as they took the blocks for a moment of honor during a short break in the swim meet after the diving competition. The gifts this year, embroidered team towels, seemed to be a big hit, and rather more useful than a bouquet of flowers as presented in previous years. Although Zachary has been home schooled since kindergarten, our high school PE curriculum centered around participation in sports through the local public high school.
Coach Don congratulates Zac on his four years as a varsity swimmer.
Zachary's senior gift, presented by cheerleaders~~from the high school he never attended but represented well as a four year letter man and team captain.
Although Zachary was quite forced to join his first public school sports team as a home schooled ninth grader (freshman), he developed a great love of especially swim team. Zachary participated on the (phenomenal) cross country team for three years and the track team for one, but swim team became such a focus that he rejoined the club swim team last winter to train all year in preparation for this final varsity season. Together with his coach, he set high, yet realistic goals, and stands a good chance of reaching them in the next few swims before the final varsity splash in a few weeks.
Ezra in air
Ezra took first place in the diving competition, beating out three divers from the opposing team. His dive scores weren't as high on the whole, but the six dives he performed ranked at higher degrees of difficulty, so adjusted scores gave him the win.
Our local newspaper covered today's swim & dive meet: gallery here. Enjoy!
