So Far So Good - "Thanks!"

It has been a “Fantastic Week” so far here in Spain and I am very proud of everyone here with the way they have carried themselves so far. "Thanks!" The families of Sabadell are very happy with each one of our kids and they have loved every minute of this experience and I think the same for our swimmers. These past two days at the competition it was neat to see the three teams cheering for the same swimmers as if we were one team. Cullen Jones at the end of the meet came over to us (Sabadell-SwimMac-Bolles) and thanked the swimmers for the great energy that they gave him before the race, it make him feel very good to hear us cheer.

The meet went well for all of us; we had some great swims and some not so great but at the end of the day I can say with pride that our “Mission” was accomplished. I believe that the opportunity that we had to watch so many world class swimmers from so many different countries has been an eye opening and an incredible experience for our kids. At the end Dave Marsh had Ian Pope (one of the greatest All-Time Australian coaches) talk to our group about his swimmers (Grant Hackett, Michael Klim, Matt Welsh, etc..) and how strong mentally they were and gave us some examples of what they did and what mae them great. It was amazing and hopefully something that our swimmers will take with them and really think about it to help them with their lives.

Personally I am very happy with everything that we have been able to experience and also watching our swimmers enjoying every single day. I sure hope that this is the beginning of a strong relationship between the three clubs and that we can keep providing this type of experiences to our swimmers for many years to come. Swimming fast is very important since we work very hard and we are in a competitive sport but at the end the only things that really will last forever are the great relationships and experiences that we are able to have throughout our lives and I have no doubt that this experience has marked our swimmers (in a positive way) and hopefully they will keep the friendships that they have created for many years.

These past two days at the meet I have been able to see many of my friends that I had the privilege to train, compete and travel with as a youngster and that I have not seen for 10-15 even 20 years and I am really thankful. Life goes by so fast that we forget how many wonderful experiences we have been able to share with so many different people and how much they have helped us become the person that we are right now. It has been overwhelming going back to my past as a swimmer and I want to thank you all for giving me this chance to be here where I grew up as a swimmer and as a person as your coach.

We still have two full days ahead of us before we come back home and I have no doubt that they will be full of great emotions and memories. I know that I will be coming home being more thankful for the great life I have been able to experience with the good and that not so good moments and also ready to keep moving forward and experience many more as a father and coach. I hope that all of you back home are enjoying this blog and see you soon ;-)

Coach Sergio