Today marks the end of the second week of spring sports. As the JV swim coach I have a love/exhausted relationship with this time of year, but when I step on deck and get to engage with our students in this different arena, I am reminded why I keep coming back to it.
Now in my third season, my JV roster has increased from about 30 swimmers (in each of the first two seasons) to 50 swimmers. For a reason I can’t quite identify, there was a huge influx of new swimmers this year, particularly freshmen and sophomores. And, to be clear, when I say “new” I mean, “no swimming experience whatsoever”.
When I share my shock with people, the common reaction is, “Well then cut some girls.” There are about 15 – 20 girls this year that are swimming competitively for the very first time and standard operating procedure would dictate that I cut them (suspending the reality that swimming is advertised as a “no cut” sport). But I can’t do it. I cannot bring myself to cut them.
First, we cannot minimize the vulnerable position a teenage girl is putting herself into by walking out in a swim suit in front of her peers and jumping in to try a sport that she has no idea how to do. In a world that feels increasingly judgmental (especially of our young people), how and why are they able to muster this kind of bravery? … (and here is my connecting point) … how can I get them to be this brave in math class? More often than not, when my students see a problem they do not know how to do, they shut down. They say they don’t know how. They say they were never taught. They question my validity as a teacher for daring to put something in front of them that I did not explicitly teach them how to do. And yet in the pool, they jump right in.
I am not exaggerating when I tell you, this group of swimmers knows next to nothing about how to swim. Only a few know how to swim freestyle, a smaller few have attempted the other strokes before this season, and none of them know how to dive or turn. THEY FAIL CONSTANTLY. And yet, they keep trying. They take every word I say to heart and I watch in awe as they try to incorporate my advice to the best of their ability. I can actually see their brains churning as they try to figure out how the heck to do a flip turn and not come up in the adjacent lane. They keep failing and keep trying again. Over and over. Belly flop after belly flop until finally they dive in clean. It is everything I want to see in my math class. How can I get them to apply to school the same growth mindset they have in swimming?
I am so proud of their bravery. Cut them? No way.
Kristina, yes! I was literally just thinking about this over the weekend. I remember trying out for Diving just to get a gym bag. I literally humiliated myself every day, earning the moniker of the "Queen of Slaps" because I was so terrible. But they didn't cut me, because they saw that I was trying my hardest, even if it was due to wanting a hideous red and gold bag (that I still own to this day and use for all of my trips).
I see the same growth mindset in leadership, but with the cautiousness of being at school. Do you think being off campus has anything to do with letting go of some of the school pressure?
Kristina, I'm so glad you wrote this blog. I think you hit on something key when you noted the vulnerability these girls are willing to put themselves through. It's harder to see in the classroom, but we want our students to exhibit the same type of vulnerability (a willingness to try and sometimes fail) in order to master the skills that we are teaching. So often though, students only see the expectation (the grade), which limits their approach and willingness to be wrong. I really think one of the best things about the math program is the mastery based component, which reframes the entire learning dynamic, and forces students to own their learning. Maybe the math program is rubbing off on our students in ways we cannot see, and your increase in swimmers has some correlation.
That's an interesting thought! One of our goals of the math program is to encourage our students to be brave and take risks. It never really occurred to me to look for this bravery outside of the classroom though!
I think there is a no risk factor that is appealing… "it is a no cut sport"…. and you combine this with a coach that they know believes in growth mindset… feels like a pretty safe pool to jump into :-).
The being off campus idea intrigues me. Considering how vulnerable and open they are on retreats, I wonder if it is an actual "thing" with our students that being off campus relieves pressure, shame, embarrassment, etc.
Great post, Kristina! Your thoughts make me wonder if sports allow us to actually see improvement in an embodied way. Take my son's sports, Cross Country and Baseball. He can see and feel his times get faster as he trains. He also can see and feel improvement in his batting, throwing velocity, etc. Perhaps sports allow us the pay off of experiencing small wins in a way the appeals to the brain, body, and the spirit. If that is so, then the question may be, how can we engage all of these things in academic pursuits?