Western Zone Camp by Nils Golhlke

Aug 24, 2009

 

 
 
    I woke up at 5:45 a.m. on Monday, August 5, to get ready to drive to the airport. I had packed all of my stuff the previous day. I was a little nervous on the way to the airport because I only knew one person on the whole team. As we got to the airport, I met my coach, Veronica Hernandez. She was very nice, and she told me that she was the coach for West Coast Aquatics. When we entered the airport, I said goodbye to my mom and dad and joined my friend Brian Sun. I quickly got to know the other people in my age group: Brian Sun, Forest White, Ben Wong, Stanley Wu, and Grant Watson.
 
   After we all checked in our bags, each of us we were given ten dollars for food. We still had a little time before we had to board the plane. Once we were up in the air, we all started to play Mario Cart. We did this for most of the flight. Once we landed and got our luggage, the weather was very warm. We waited in the airport for the coaches to get the vans. After that, we drove to the hotel and had lunch and also got our room keys. The rooms were huge! After half an hour, we went to the pool for team pictures and a team warm up.
 
     Back at the hotel, we had dinner and found out that lights out was at 9:30 p.m. Once all my friends had finished eating, we visited each others rooms because all of them were a little different. The next morning we mostly cheered only for the 13+ swimmers who swam the mile. We went back to the hotel to have lunch and get ready for the 400 Free Relays that afternoon. Once we got to the pool, we got straight into the water and warmed up. Our relay was up within the hour. Our relay team was: Grant, Nils, Brian, and Stanley.  First swimmer, Grant, swam a 1:03.87, next I swam a 1:01.93, Stanley swam a 1:04.80, and last, Brian swam a 1:01.57. We ended up second and were very happy with our times!
 
     The next day, the individual events started. My first event was the 100 Breast. I placed eighth in finals. Ben Wong also made finals in that event, placing sixth. Forest White made finals in the 100 Back. That day, I also swam the 50 Free and became an alternate. At finals, I got a little nervous again but not a lot. I stepped up to the blocks, swam a great race with a time of 1:19.36. Ben finished seventh with 1:19.86. It was a long day for all of us, and we were all tired. 
 
     The next morning we had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. and have breakfast because warm up started at 6:45 a.m.  Waking up wasn’t the hard part because it was so warm. The hard part was getting into the pool. That was hard. That day, I swam the 50 Fly and the 200 IM. I made finals in the 200 IM and so did Brian. I finished fourth in the finals and Brian was second. It was another tiring day for all of us. Even the people who didn’t make finals were tired because they had to stay and cheer for the team. We had a great dinner that night and went to bed.
 
     The next day we had to wake up even earlier, at 4:45 a.m., because warm ups started at 6:15 a.m. That day, I had to swim the 50 Breast, and placed seventh, and in finals I ended up fifth. We also had to swim the 200 Medley Relay that afternoon. Our relay team was Forest, Nils, Brian, Grant. We ended up with a time of 2:09.97. I wasn’t super tired after that day because I hadn’t been swimming that much, but it was still a lot.
 
      The last day of Western Zone Championships, nerves were running high because we were in second place but only by 20 points. That day, all I had to swim was the 100 Free and the 200 Free Relay. I made finals in the 100 Free in eighth place, but I really didn’t want to swim finals because not many people made finals, and it was the last day. In finals, I finished in eighth place, again, but dropped another second. Our relay team was Grant, Forest, Nils, and Brian. We finished third with a time of 1:54.77. We were quiet happy with our time and looked forward to going to the water park that night. So after the swim meet (by the way, we did get second), we went to the water park. We stayed there till 10:00 p.m. and had a really good time.
 
      That afternoon, we packed all of our stuff and started to get ready for the flight back home the next day. None of us were looking forward to it because none of us really enjoy flying. But we all got on the airplane the next day and left Hawaii. While in flight, we played Mario Cart and other games again, and in no time had landed in Oakland. During the trip, the time felt like an age while it lasted, but now that we were back home, it only felt like a day or two. I got off the airplane and met my parents, and we went to get my luggage. I said goodbye to all my new friends and my old ones, and left the airport. On the way home, I told my parents all about the trip and when we got home, I fell into bed and fell asleep.
                                                       
   I recommend this trip to everyone on our swim team because I think that all of you could make it one day. I think every one on our swim team can make it because we have the best team, the best coaches, and the best swimmers I have ever seen. Also to make this camp, you have to try hard in every practice and give your best in meets and do what the coaches tell you.
 
   I hope Frank becomes our Head Coach because he’s the funniest, coolest and best dam coach in the universe.
 
   Thank you Carol, Pat, and all the other parents, swimmers and coaches who have made this team the best in the world!
 
keep swimming!!!