Synchronized Swimming

Chapter 30: Lifts

Sang

Mr. Blackbourne calls all the swimmers over to him. All of the boys stand next to each other. The Guppies group on the other side of Mr. Blackbourne, leaving me confused as to the point of this clinic. Wasn't one of the reasons we did this to work on making teams friendlier with each other? I glance at the boys, then hesitantly walk over to the Guppies.

Grace and Jenna spot me first. "Sang!" they yell at the same time. They stand on either side of me so that I'm in the middle of the group.

"Hey Sang!" Tasia says with a sweet smile. I smile back before looking over at the boys. They're all looking at me with confusion and hurt in their eyes. I try to communicate that I'm just being friendly with the other team through my body language, but I'm not sure how clear I am. The boys huddle together and whisper for a few seconds before Kota, North, and Victor come and join me.

"Good idea Sang." Kota praises. I blush, but have no time to reply because Mr. Blackbourne starts talking.

"Hello everyone. We're starting lifts right now, so I want to lay down a few ground rules. I know you all have been doing lifts for a while, but it never hurts to get a reminder. First, remember that lifts are dangerous. Anyone who is roughhousing or otherwise not taking them seriously will be pulled from the exercise. Second, pay attention to your surroundings. Multiple lifts will be going on at the same time and I don't want anyone getting landed on. Finally, if anyone gets hurt, tell a coach immediately. Don't try to push through the pain as that can aggravate the injury. Understand?" he asks. The swimmers nod, looking excited.

I can't wait to start lifts! I've never done one before since you need multiple swimmers, but I've always watched them closely at meets and have a pretty good idea of how they work. We're starting with big, whole team lifts, so for right now we're staying in one group but after that we'll split off as the lifts need fewer people.

"We'll start off with a basic stack lift. Who has experience being a base?" Mr. Blackbourne asks. Tasia, Kota, and Luke raise their hands.

"What about being lifted?" he continues. This time, Madeleine, Jenna, Victor, Luke, and Gabriel raise their hands.

"You've never been lifted, Ms. Sorenson?" he questions. I shyly shake my head. When would I have had a chance to be lifted? Mr. Blackbourne says that I should try later, but for right now we'll start with people who already have experience as a warmup.

For our first try, Kota is the base and Jenna is the liftee. Since only six people can push on the lift so that the total doesn't exceed eight, I watch the setup instead of pushing. The first time they try the lift, Jenna falls off with a shriek. She looks embarrassed when she surfaces, but Mr. Blackbourne puts her at ease with his gentle corrections. The second time she's a bit wobbly when she stands up, on the third try she stands without making any noises, and by the eight try she stands up with confidence. Mr. Blackbourne calls for all the positions to rotate.

"Would you like to try pushing now?" he asks me. I consider asking to watch for another round, but decide to go for it when the rest of the Synchro Sharks wave encouragingly. This time, Luke is the base and Madeleine is the liftee. North instructs me to grab a heel and shows me how to push Luke's foot.

"We're pushing on one and I'm starting on five. Ready, under!" Gabriel says. I carefully grab Luke's foot and prepare to push. Once Gabriel's count reaches one, we push together and Luke stands with an explosive movement. When Madeleine stands on top of Luke her force pushes the rest of us to the bottom of the pool, causing me to be pinned by Silas on the ground. He quickly moves away, allowing me to swim towards the surface.

"Are you okay Aggele Mou?" he asks with worry. I smile reassuringly.

"I'm great- that was so much fun!" I exclaim.

We only have to lift Madeleine five times because she has more experience than Jenna. After she's finished, Mr. Blackbourne says that I can be lifted now if I want to, with Kota as the base again. Having the other two girls succeed gives me enough confidence to try it, so Victor gives me the run down on what it's like to be lifted.

"You're going to get out really high- higher than you think you will. It's important to keep your core tight so you don't fall right off the lift. If you think you're going to fall, try to fall forwards so that you don't land on the people pushing behind you. Got it?" Victor asks. I nod nervously and get into position.

"Ready, under!" Gabriel calls out. I search out Kota's shoulders and place my feet on them. Don't squeeze his head too tight! Victor's words come back to me as I realize that my calves have a death grip on Kota's head. I loosen up right as the count reaches one and the lifters push.

When Victor said that the lift would get out higher than I thought it would, he neglected to add that the push would come as a wave of pure force. I was expecting to stand on something that felt pretty much like land- solid and immobile. Instead, I try to stand on a rapidly rising base that moves from side to side a bit. Despite all that, I manage to get into a half-crouch without falling off.

Mr. Blackbourne has his millimeter smile when I surface. "That was very good for a first try, Ms. Sorenson. You managed to stand up which is the most challenging part; now you just have to push your hips through and stand in one quick motion." he says.

We go under to try again. I'm careful not to squeeze Kota's head and am prepared for the push this time. When I stand, I do so confidently and push my hips through so that I'm ramrod straight. I so got this! Just as the lift starts to sink, Kota wobbles and I lose my focus. In a fraction of a second, I go from completely steady to pinwheeling my arms to maintain my balance. It's not enough to keep me from falling, though.

I plummet face first into the water. All of my air whooshes out on impact, causing me to inhale reflexively. Since I'm still underwater, I get a lungful of water and surface wheezing. Someone grabs my arm and pulls me to the wall.

"Ms. Sorenson, are you okay?" Mr. Blackbourne asks urgently. I'm still coughing so I settle with a nod to show I'm alright.

"Why don't you sit out for the rest of the lifts?" Sean suggests. Normally I would protest sitting out of anything, but falling off the lift frightened me and my throat burns from my violent coughing.

"Sounds good." I say in between breaths.

I look around and notice all seven boys right behind me. They have matching worried expressions, which I try to soothe with a happy grin. I don't know if I pull it off, but at least I tried. "I'm fine guys." I reassure them. The tension eases somewhat, but it's still there.

I pull myself onto the pool deck to watch the remaining lifts. After about a minute, Raven crouches down next to me. "Do you want to do something that will knock those boys out of their funk?" he asks.

"Sure, what do you have in mind?" I wonder. His eyes widen with excitement.

"Swim a duet with me."