Julien Lery '20 Recruiting Profile

I had just finished one of my hardest races. I struggled to pull myself out of the pool, and then hobbled over to my coach. I see my time out of the corner of my eye. I thought it would be easy. I thought I had prepared enough, and that of course I would get a faster time than what I had, I was sixteen. Most kids my age swimming here could get close to or under 2 minutes. My ears were pounding, and I could barely hear the chatter of the pool. When I saw the coach's face, I put my head down. I couldn’t stand to look him in the eye after failing. I braced for harsh criticism, and the usual stuff that a coach would say. “More effort”, “kick faster”, “Why didn’t you try harder?”. 

I knew feedback, even of the “constructive” kind, would hurt more coming from my favorite coach, the one I had known for the longest. “You’ve improved so much from last year you know? Last year, you probably wouldn’t have even been able to swim for that long, let alone getting a decent time in the race!” he told me. “Uh huh,'' I replied, eyes wide and tearing up a little bit. “Just stick with it, you’ll get there eventually”. “Thanks”, was all I said, and I walked off, feeling more confident than ever. 

As I walked away, I noticed my family giving me a thumbs up, smiles on their faces. I walked back to the changing room, which didn’t feel so cold anymore. Even though I didn’t realize it  at the time, looking back on that experience I realize now that it is also a strength to recognize one’s limitations in order to strive to overcome them. . Also, I learned that it is okay to be satisfied with progress towards the end goal, not only in achieving the end goal itself. These experiences have not only made me a better swimmer, but I believe they have taught me how to work hard at whatever activity I commit myself to, whether it is in school, or with family, or other activities.