2017 Swim Classification # 2

It was an interesting evening.  Not a particularly busy evening, but interesting none the less.  We had rented one lane of a pool for our second swim classification session of the year.  We only had 6 people take the test, 5 scouts and 1 adult, so we weren't full trying to get everyone in within the hour. Most of the swimmers passed the BSA swim test with little difficulty, all except for one new scout. This particular scout didn't say anything when he came in, preferring to let his mom gather information.  We operate on a first in first out basis, and this particular scout was a little later than the others, so his time was after most everyone else had left.

When it was time, I offered the scout the opportunity to get into the water first, and get used to the water temperature. He took me up on the offer, but never let go of the ladder.  I noticed, but said nothing.  Mom let me know they were going after the beginner swimmer requirements.  No problem, we measured off 25 feet, and stationed mom at the mark, and continued with the instructions.  First, jump into the water over your head, and swim 25 feet, turn around and swim back.  The scout worked up the nerve to sit down and slide into the water - which is not the same as jumping in.  So we started over.  Uh-oh, the scout didn't really want to give this swimming thing any more effort.  No problem, I marked him down as a white swimmer.  But, I noticed they didn't leave.

We didn't have any more people to take the swim test and we had about 40 minutes of lane rental left. Mom asked if he could practice at the other end of the pool, which was no problem.  I sat far away so he would forget I was there, and I watched his progress.  Meanwhile, another young scout who had passed his test already, was watching also.  The scout who was practicing was showing signs of improvement.  As the other scout and his dad were preparing to leave, I had an idea.  I ran (well walked faster than normal) after them, asked if they were in a hurry, and asked the scout who had passed if he was willing to get into the water and give the practicing scout some pointers because he was having some trouble getting the hang of this.

Well, they didn't leave, and the scout got into the water, and I went and sat down far away, and continued to watch.  Time was running out, we had the lane for about another 10 minutes.  So I went down to where they were, and measured off 25 feet, positioned mom, and the other dad as the measuring posts.  I asked the practicing scout if he would be willing to jump in down by the dad, and swim to his mom and come back.  He said he would try.  His first try was going great, until about 3/4 of the way through, he got a face full of water, started to cough, and stopped his swim.  Ugh, he was so close.

After he got a chance to catch his breath, he said he was willing to try again.  He jumped in...YES.  He began to swim...YES.  He reached where his mom was stationed....so far so good.  He got turned around and began to swim back to the other dad....YES.  This time he made it!! He qualified as a red swimmer or beginner swimmer. We were all cheering for him, Mom, the other dad, the other scout, and me.  The scout was smiling, obviously pretty pleased with his accomplishment.  So I upgraded his test record from a non-swimmer (white), to a beginner swimmer (red).

I told his mom that he really lived the scout law today - a scout is brave, and he was certainly brave not to give up.  As we were leaving, I got to the parking lot, and forgot to tell him something, so I turned around and went back into the pool facility.  I asked the scout if he had brought his scout handbook, which he did not.  I asked him if he was coming to our next meeting, and could he bring his scout handbook with him, it was important because he had just passed a 2nd class rank requirement and we needed to get that signed off.  You would have thought I told him he had just won the Publisher's Clearing House contest.  His face lit up as he realized he had actually accomplished something important.  For the first time, he answered my question directly, and told me he would bring his book to the next meeting.  The look on his face was priceless.

As I walked out to the parking lot again, I heard this quiet, shy scout, call my name and tell me good bye.  I had to smile.  It was a good day.