100%
“Hey man you’re up after this heat.” I nod my head and thank my coach, upbeat music pounding through my headphones. I felt like I had been sitting on the same metal chair for a lifetime just waiting to be called. I stand up and stretch one last time. I quickly grab my ankle and pull my leg up, feeling the strain of the muscle as it slowly stretches out. “Quads, hamstrings, and shoulders” I quietly said to myself, a phrase coach Marsh always had us repeat in our dry land warm-ups. The loud electronic noise of the buzzer blares through the whole aquatic center, bringing everyone at the edge of their seats as the first heat begins. The whole crowd sits totally engaged in the ongoing 200m . I begin to walk over to the stands and prepare for the 100m breast stroke. Ever since I was a young child I had loved being in the water. In the neighborhood I lived in I was able to go to the pool every day in the summer, and it became a second home to me. Many long days were spent at the YMCA pool in Cornelius where I would play common pool games and compete in races with all the other kids. As I grew up I continued to stay in the water with the introduction of new hobbies such as surfing and wakeboarding. After what appeared to be ages, senior year came around and I decided I wanted to swim competitively for my school, something I had never done in the past. After training for a couple of months I found myself doing well and after a great season I ended up swimming in our regional championship meet. With the ongoing race coming to a close, I stand up and cheer for my teammate. “You’ve got this Elliot finish strong, only a few more pulls and you’ve got him!” The race ends, every swimmers’ hands touching the walls within seconds of each other. Coach Marsh walks over to the edge of the pool and congratulates Elliot for qualifying for the final round. “Go sit down and drink something, be sure you stretch too.” As the swimmers from the previous race exit the pool, I quickly rid myself of the hot, stuffy warm ups and tighten my goggles one last time. As I step up to the block of lane 8, the farthest left lane, I look to my right and see 7 more swimmers with the same tense, determined look cemented on all of our faced. Over the buzzer I hear “take your mark” and immediately tense up in preparation for the start of the race. I sat there crouched and prepared to win, waiting for the final beep to sound over the loudspeaker which signified the start of the race. All of a sudden the buzzer loudly sounds, and I take the plunge into the pool. I meet the surface of the water with a small splash. For a few seconds I glide underneath the surface with a short dolphin kick. I come up with my arms extended, approaching a quick and smooth breast stroke. I follow through with the stroke and then throw myself back underwater, using my legs and feet to propel me through the stroke. Every time I come up for air I can hear teammates, coaches and family members cheering every one of us to swim harder and go faster. Half way to the other end of the pool I find that I am using all of my strength and speed to get the other side. As I touch the wall and kick off I look to my left and see the other swimmer a couple strokes in front of me. Fighting with every stroke I touch the wall and go back in for the second lap. The lukewarm water flows over my skin, cooling the hard working muscles in my body. In my mind I am picturing the proper technique for the breast stroke. “I have to use a stronger kick and quick pulls with my arms,” I think to myself. Again I look over at the swimmers in the other lane and realize I’m gradually catching up. Using every last bit of strength and will power in me, I push myself harder. In the corner of my eye I can see that I have passed the swimmer in first! With the wall only a few feet in from of me I reach my arm out, firmly punching the rubber time pad. Quickly I take my goggles off and look at the scoreboard for my place and time. “lane 8, 1:10.25 seconds. That’s me!” I had beaten my goal time by 2.75 seconds, and I won first place at our regional swim meet. I climbed out of the pool and congratulated all the other swimmers. After walking back to my chair my coach congratulates me and starts giving instructions to swimmers in the next heat. The rest of the swim meet passed by, I only swam in one other main event. Our team tried our hardest, but the competition got the best of us. After swimming in 200m freestyle I was met with the same outcome. Throughout the rest of the day and while I swam in other events I could not help but think of how maybe I just got lucky in the 100m breaststroke. On the way home from the meet I received a phone call from my grandmother asking how everything went. I told her about the breaststroke and communicated my feelings about my win. “Did you try your best? Did you honestly put forth 100% of your effort of working towards your goal?” I thought about what she said for a second and answered her. “Yes grandma, I did.” She paused for a minute and said “well, you should have no regrets. You gave it your all, and I respect that.” That moment I realized that no matter what it is you do, do it with 100% of your effort and you will not be disappointed. Even if you don’t succeed at something the first time, you know what they say: practice makes perfect. If you really want something you must follow after your ambitions and goals until you achieve them.