Half a lifeguard: A 14-year-old's journal of the Red Cross

Day one

Day one: 7/20

Duration 0.3 (0.2x1)

It was 8 in the morning. I had to get up at 6:15.

As soon as I arrived at the pool, people gawked at me, my age, my equipment, and my swimming cap from last year. I was the only person besides the coaches to have my own rash guard and the foundation's swimming cap. A few coaches gave me a wave of recognition. I didn't know what to do except slap on a smile and went with it – hopefully nobody expects too much of me. We gathered and sat at the main canopy next to the pool while the head coach introduced himself, welcomed the newbies, and ran them through the guidelines, principles, advice, and more. I tried listening, but I'm not even sure if I spaced out or just nodded off. I hope that's nothing too important or I've already remembered them last time. ...Come to think of it, I don't think I listened to the guidelines last time as well. 

The next event was a 200-meter test, and the main requirement is to not sink or stop halfway, which was easy enough for me. My record was about three minutes, so I figured I'd score three and a half. The result was 4:03 – I slacked off quite a lot. Some of the others did pretty much the same, and the rest of the others were around 4:30, or so I estimated. One person didn't complete the test though.

The test took the whole morning, so the team had half an hour left. The head coach explained and taught us the sidestroke in advance to pass the time, and that was it. The first course was soon dismissed, I went for another swim and then headed for the shower to change.

And I went home, crashed on my bed and slept for two hours.

That felt great.

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Additional notes:

* taking fewer breaths while swimming can enhance your speed.

* If you experience pain in the chest, sides and/or midriff, try not to breathe in abruptly.