Continued from page 71
Although I cannot say that I have ever won a swimming competition, I can say that I have always, through high school and college, been in the running with the best swimmers of my age for first place and that was always my goal. It was never my goal to win first place, but instead it was my goal to swim my race better than the last time. Some of my best swims were accomplished with a goal to just have fun swimming my race.
Q
Have you coached swimming? If so, what was your most memorable moment as a swim coach?
Cummings: My best moments coaching and teaching are when I see how happy someone is when they have accomplished their goals in swimming. It doesn't matter if it is an adult finally putting their head under water despite their fear, or a high school swimmer winning their event at a championship meet. The rewards for me are the same. It reminds me of what it is all about. This is why we moved to Bakersfield.
a trouble maker. At one point I had to ask her to get out of the pool, so I could talk to her and tell her to stop pulling on another swimmer’s legs, and when I asked her why she was pulling on her, she attempted to give me excuse after excuse. I could tell that she was struggling to come up with reasonable excuses and after patiently listening to them all of them and saying no more to her than “That wasn’t very nice,” she eventually noticed my disappointed look and stopped abruptly in mid-excuse with a defeated look and said, “OK.” I remember this moment the most because my favorite swimmer couldn’t bear to see me disappointed with her even if it meant she had to accept that what she did was wrong. The fact that she wanted to please her coach made me feel special and made me feel like I was doing my job well. I could also relate to her because I always, since I began swimming when I was 8 years old, disliked it the most when I disappointed my coach.
Q
Do you swim year-round?
Hamm: No.
Cummings: Year-round, rain or shine. I actually like swimming in the cold and the rain better than in the heat of summer. When the temperature in the water is 40 degrees warmer than the air, it is a real treat. The hard part is getting out and into the locker room.
Duran: Yes, my most memorable moment as a swim coach was with one of my favorite 8-year-old swimmers who was kind of
Cheney: I swim year-round whenever the pool is open. I love to swim in all kinds of weather.
Cheney: No.
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72
Bakersfield Life
July 2011
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