“I am not afraid to fail, because if I do I will have learned more than if I had succeeded.”

Just when we wonder if there is any progress being made we have our faith rewarded. The statement above comes from Cameron.

Cameron is 15 years old, a sophomore in high school who trains and races on our club team, North Bay Aquatics. He has had a goal this year of qualifying in the 50 and 100 free for the NCSA Junior Nationals held March 12-16 in Orlando, Florida. This meet is for the fastest 18 and unders in the country. He wants to be part of that group.

The qualifying time for the 50 free for Orlando is 21.69 seconds. His best going into a qualifying meet this weekend in Clovis, CA was 21.90. He time trailed the 50 on day one and went 21.5 but was disqualified for twitching on the blocks…he “false started” so his time didn’t count. Undeterred he swam the event individually twice in prelims and finals and then once again in a time trial. He swam 21.79 and 21.8 as well as 22.0.

He texted the statement above before his last time trial today; another 22. We feel his attitude is enormously mature and will be one of the reasons he will continue to be a national level swimmer. He isn’t quite there yet based purely on time standards achieved.

Yet he is certainly far ahead of many who have already achieved those time standards because he has learned the value of taking failure in stride. No one climbs straight to the top of any mountain worth climbing. Neither to Mt. Everest nor to Orlando.

So, well done Cameron. Your attitude and wisdom helps your teammates, your coaches. We all need to remember that we get what we give. Cameron gave perspective and a positive attitude coupled with a stated “no fear of failure” posture. He will get those back tenfold over the coming months.

The message to coaches everywhere is simply this: always believe in your ability to positively impact young people...ALWAYS.