Sequel: Swimmers Story ›
My 3 Dedications And Me
Work Hard But No Play
She walked down the corridor to the waiting room. The girls in there were very different from any others before, these were serious girls. Serious about this and seriously making their money at it. Her phone vibrated in her bag 'Don't you dare panic! Your own races Dolphin! I'm here and I'm watching you; earplugs, earrings and headphones! Good luck x' she read getting a glare from a girl nearby.
She put her earplugs in pushing her headphones over the top, seemed pointless to her but Michael insisted that they helped. She'd argue against it but it was coach Michael speaking! She wasn't used to this feeling, she'd been relatively the big fish in the pool and now she was the smallest fish possible.
Her first swim she finished 5th and the next one she was 6th before she went through qualifying for the next day. Michael hung around the poolside talking to his friends watching her like a hawk and when she returned to her hotel room to find Michael sat waiting for her. "You need to sort this out. You're letting them intimidate you! You're a grown up Phoenix and you're letting them girls push you out of a race because you're nervous, you need to get stuck in there and focus on you not what someone's doing 4 lanes down from you" he yelled at her and she looked at him.
"You're wasting our time if that's what you're doing! I don't waste my time and you don't have the money to waste, if you don't want to do this pack and we'll leave right now!" he snapped and she looked at him "Are we leaving or are you trying for something tomorrow?" he shouted his hands on her shoulders and she nodded slowly. "Which?" "S-staying, I-I'll t-try tomor-row" she stumbled out and he nodded letting her go sitting down again.
She watched as he smiled at her "So did the headphones help?" he quizzed and she looked at him "Oh don't give me that look, you weren't anywhere near trying out there!" he lectured her and she sighed. She collapsed on the bed and woke up later to see Michael sat at her side brushing the hair from her face throwing the cover over her and pulling it tight up to her neck. "You okay?" he whispered and she nodded slowly making him smile, but it wasn't that happy smile, "Look I can't stay in here, if anyone found out and realised I was your coach we'd be in trouble I think. I'm next door though and that door connects the room okay?" he reasoned and she nodded again.
He looked at her unconvinced "I'll leave the door open or at least unlocked, you know I don't or can't sleep with doors open" he offered as she smiled rubbing her eyes. "Okay, sleep well Dolphin! If you need me or want me I'm right through there" he pointed to the door and she nodded again as he kissed the top of her head squeezing her hand before forcing himself up and out the room.
He stood inside the doorway looking as she rolled over before turning back again and falling asleep, she'd fallen asleep watching TV hours ago and he'd been preoccupied with whatever was on. He heard her make a noise and she'd been talking in her sleep, he'd become worried of her 'mental state' a long time ago. The girl forced the worry and sadness from her mind by swimming but he thought that was her escape, it'd been his. But Dolly was escaping something difficult and he thought he was coping with it but after tonight he wasn't so sure.
After about 20 minutes she'd started mumbling about her mother and the things she'd been saying really worried him, she sounded so scared and he was pushing hard to make her something and he was doubting if her mental state was up to it. He heard her snore lightly and smiled before letting himself go to sleep.
He knew he had to push in her head more than her physical training these days and he tried everything he had, he knew he had to get her mentally fit otherwise it'd all fall apart. He wished he'd had more time to push and work on it but right now he was sat hopelessly waiting, his pass shoved in his pocket so nobody saw it. He'd taken a trip down to see some old friends of his ex coach and he'd pulled some strings, there was a loophole stating that he could actually use in circumstances deemed extraneous a coach had the right to remain anonymous, it had to be okayed by the head coach of American swimming but luckily Bob Bowman was a friend of his and had allowed Michael to go plead his case. His argument went something along the lines of 'If a coach is new or unheard of people don't judge the swimmer badly off it but if the coach is known or good the swimmer is judged off that. Surely being who I am people will judge her from me and not from her talent, that's not fair I'm sure we agree' and they did and so from now on Dolly's trainer was known as Michael Davisson.
He watched as the girls filed out and he felt sick with nerves, he heard her name and she wandered out not looking around at the people but he knew she was nervous. He waited as she lined up and he hated the starts, she was at the disadvantage in them but he had her working them everyday to get her right. The whole meet went by in complete tension and almost silence between them, nothing was spoken that wasn't related to the last swim and the next one. Her times seemed to have reached the peak and she wasn't exactly getting any faster and she was yet to replicate the time she'd swim against him that day and this frustrated him more than anything else.
He had to believe she would be selected because if she wasn't what had all this been about, she has the sheer talent for it and she was a hard worker but he doubted himself. He'd never coached before and he was being selfish with her and he knew that, he should've gotten her a real coach to take her on but part of him thought she wouldn't have accepted that.
By the end of the meet she'd done okay but they had to wait for the go ahead in a few days time.
She put her earplugs in pushing her headphones over the top, seemed pointless to her but Michael insisted that they helped. She'd argue against it but it was coach Michael speaking! She wasn't used to this feeling, she'd been relatively the big fish in the pool and now she was the smallest fish possible.
Her first swim she finished 5th and the next one she was 6th before she went through qualifying for the next day. Michael hung around the poolside talking to his friends watching her like a hawk and when she returned to her hotel room to find Michael sat waiting for her. "You need to sort this out. You're letting them intimidate you! You're a grown up Phoenix and you're letting them girls push you out of a race because you're nervous, you need to get stuck in there and focus on you not what someone's doing 4 lanes down from you" he yelled at her and she looked at him.
"You're wasting our time if that's what you're doing! I don't waste my time and you don't have the money to waste, if you don't want to do this pack and we'll leave right now!" he snapped and she looked at him "Are we leaving or are you trying for something tomorrow?" he shouted his hands on her shoulders and she nodded slowly. "Which?" "S-staying, I-I'll t-try tomor-row" she stumbled out and he nodded letting her go sitting down again.
She watched as he smiled at her "So did the headphones help?" he quizzed and she looked at him "Oh don't give me that look, you weren't anywhere near trying out there!" he lectured her and she sighed. She collapsed on the bed and woke up later to see Michael sat at her side brushing the hair from her face throwing the cover over her and pulling it tight up to her neck. "You okay?" he whispered and she nodded slowly making him smile, but it wasn't that happy smile, "Look I can't stay in here, if anyone found out and realised I was your coach we'd be in trouble I think. I'm next door though and that door connects the room okay?" he reasoned and she nodded again.
He looked at her unconvinced "I'll leave the door open or at least unlocked, you know I don't or can't sleep with doors open" he offered as she smiled rubbing her eyes. "Okay, sleep well Dolphin! If you need me or want me I'm right through there" he pointed to the door and she nodded again as he kissed the top of her head squeezing her hand before forcing himself up and out the room.
He stood inside the doorway looking as she rolled over before turning back again and falling asleep, she'd fallen asleep watching TV hours ago and he'd been preoccupied with whatever was on. He heard her make a noise and she'd been talking in her sleep, he'd become worried of her 'mental state' a long time ago. The girl forced the worry and sadness from her mind by swimming but he thought that was her escape, it'd been his. But Dolly was escaping something difficult and he thought he was coping with it but after tonight he wasn't so sure.
After about 20 minutes she'd started mumbling about her mother and the things she'd been saying really worried him, she sounded so scared and he was pushing hard to make her something and he was doubting if her mental state was up to it. He heard her snore lightly and smiled before letting himself go to sleep.
He knew he had to push in her head more than her physical training these days and he tried everything he had, he knew he had to get her mentally fit otherwise it'd all fall apart. He wished he'd had more time to push and work on it but right now he was sat hopelessly waiting, his pass shoved in his pocket so nobody saw it. He'd taken a trip down to see some old friends of his ex coach and he'd pulled some strings, there was a loophole stating that he could actually use in circumstances deemed extraneous a coach had the right to remain anonymous, it had to be okayed by the head coach of American swimming but luckily Bob Bowman was a friend of his and had allowed Michael to go plead his case. His argument went something along the lines of 'If a coach is new or unheard of people don't judge the swimmer badly off it but if the coach is known or good the swimmer is judged off that. Surely being who I am people will judge her from me and not from her talent, that's not fair I'm sure we agree' and they did and so from now on Dolly's trainer was known as Michael Davisson.
He watched as the girls filed out and he felt sick with nerves, he heard her name and she wandered out not looking around at the people but he knew she was nervous. He waited as she lined up and he hated the starts, she was at the disadvantage in them but he had her working them everyday to get her right. The whole meet went by in complete tension and almost silence between them, nothing was spoken that wasn't related to the last swim and the next one. Her times seemed to have reached the peak and she wasn't exactly getting any faster and she was yet to replicate the time she'd swim against him that day and this frustrated him more than anything else.
He had to believe she would be selected because if she wasn't what had all this been about, she has the sheer talent for it and she was a hard worker but he doubted himself. He'd never coached before and he was being selfish with her and he knew that, he should've gotten her a real coach to take her on but part of him thought she wouldn't have accepted that.
By the end of the meet she'd done okay but they had to wait for the go ahead in a few days time.