The Path to Positivity by Abigail

The Path to Positivity by Abigail - January 2025 Scholarship Essay

I still remember the first time I walked into that garage-turned-into-a-four-lane- swimming-pool. In fact, it had taken my parents ten minutes of driving in circles to even find the place. It was my very first day of swim-team practice, and it turned out to be the new coach’s very first day too. His name was Clyde Smith, and I had surprisingly met him once before. Two years earlier, the previous swim team I was on had been searching for a new head coach. Clyde had been one of the candidates, but they had ended up hiring someone else. As luck would have it, Clyde and the new team I joined would end up having a huge impact on my life.
As I walked into practice that first day, Clyde was sitting on a stack of kickboards coaching the group before my sister and me. He introduced himself to my parents and chatted a bit with them. Not surprisingly, the practice that day ended up being tough for the little ten-year old I was, but not impossible. I knew it would be a big change from the practices I was used to. Every coach has a different style of coaching, and I wasn’t sure about this one yet.
After a few years of hard and easy practices alike, swim meets, and getting to know my coach, I began to appreciate his style of coaching. We had moved to a brand-new recreation center with an eight-lane pool. I was getting faster, which is the whole goal of swimming. The hard practices were worth it, because I was seeing results at competitions. Clyde was funny; he made me laugh every day I saw him. He had a habit of putting two fingers on his neck when someone would say something utterly ridiculous. When we would ask why, he would say he needed to check his pulse to “make sure he wasn’t dreaming.” Everyone I knew had a deep respect for him. If any girl began talking about boy troubles at practice, they could expect being sat down and given a “princess talk” by Clyde. Basically, he would tell us how we deserved to be treated, and not to settle for anything less. One day, before practice started, Clyde sat us all down for a talk. He told us that, as a team, we needed to be more of a team. He was hearing too many negative attitudes during practice. We needed to start holding each other accountable and be speaking positively. If you were having a bad day, that was okay. But that did not mean you were allowed to complain during practice and make everyone else have a bad day too. Swimming is supposed to be hard, and definitely not comfortable. Practices are designed to help you improve and get better at swimming.
I remember Clyde telling us after our serious talk about a time when a swimmer had complained that he “didn’t want to be there, and practice was going to be so hard.” Clyde had told him, “If you don’t want to be here, then leave.” The boy got up, picked up his stuff, and left. That story stuck with me throughout every hard practice we had. Every time I wanted to complain about what we were doing, I remembered that if I didn’t truly want to be there, I could leave. The negative mindset that would start to creep up on me would slink right back down.
The following season, Clyde told us that he wanted us to win the spirit award at our next state championship meet. The spirit award is given to the team that cheers on others the most consistently, has the best team culture, and the most encouraging athletes. We worked hard on our team culture that season, calling each negative comment out if it came up. By the time our state meet came around, we had planned dress-up days, team cheers, and even drew up posters the day before to hang up at the meet. Our team culture was possibly the best it had ever been. On the last day of the meet, they announced that we had won the spirit award! We even ended up winning the spirit award at the next two state meets, winning three times in a row! The environment at practices and around our teammates had become fun and encouraging. We went on team trips, which made us grow even closer. Even just recently, I still reminisce with my teammates about the good times we had during those years.
One day at practice, Coach Clyde sat us all down for another talk, only this time, to my disappointment, he told us that this would be his last season as our coach. His grandmother and uncle were in a precarious point of life, and he felt a duty to care for them. He would be moving across the country. I was the first to break into tears, but I was soon joined by pretty much every other teammate present. Clyde’s impact on our team was immense and is still felt today. The way he was there for us whenever we needed him meant so much. The important lessons he taught us applied to our real lives. I will never forget the laughter, the hard work, or the influence that Coach Clyde had on me.