Karen's Swim Meet Read online

On the way home, Daddy said, “We believe what you and your friends told us about Coach Carson. But he seemed fine tonight.”

  “We will need to see for ourselves what he is doing wrong before we can decide what to do,” said Elizabeth.

  “You will have another chance to see him in action on Monday,” I replied. “We are going to Rockville for a second meet.”

  “We will drive as many of your team members as we can to the meet,” said Daddy. “And we will invite your coach to join us. Maybe we can get a better idea what he is like in closer quarters.”

  But on Monday at the meet, Coach was just as nice. He had even been nice at our practice that morning. For the first time, he gave us a demonstration. He wanted to show us that we did not have to lift our heads much when we turned to breathe during the freestyle.

  It was exciting to watch a famous swimmer dive into the pool right in front of us. He hardly even splashed. Then he swam across the pool. He made it look easy, but I had never seen anyone go so fast.

  Boo. Our coach was being too nice. I had never thought I would wish for a person to be mean. I needed Daddy and Elizabeth to see for themselves what I was talking about. But Coach Carson would not cooperate.

  At the meet that night he led our cheers. He gave us last-minute pointers about our strokes. And when the Rockville team wanted pictures of the visiting star, he posed for them. He was friendly the whole time.

  The coach’s good mood did not help our swimming, though. We lost to Rockville by just a few points.

  “Now Daddy and Elizabeth will see his true self,” I whispered to Kristin and Terri.

  But I was wrong. The coach said we should all try harder next time. That was all. Everyone, including the coach, was quiet on the ride home.

  I wondered if Daddy and Elizabeth would ever get to see him when he was being mean. Maybe he was just mean to kids when he was alone with them. Maybe he was ashamed of himself for being mean and was afraid to let other grown-ups see.

  I needed a plan. I am very good at making plans. But I could come up with only one idea. My idea was to do something very bad in front of the coach while Daddy and Elizabeth were watching. Then they would see him be mean to me. But it was not a very good plan. I would probably end up in more trouble than the coach.

  I had made it through two weeks of the swim team. I could make it through two more.

  Racing Dives

  Tuesday was chilly and gray.

  “You do not have to go to practice today if you do not want to,” said Elizabeth.

  “Maybe it would be good for you to take a day off, since you have been having problems with Coach Carson,” said Daddy.

  “That is okay,” I replied. “I want to go. Even if the coach is a meanie-mo, he is still right about some things. He says we should stick to our routines. And that is a good idea.”

  “I am proud of you, Karen,” said Daddy. “You are being very grown-up in a difficult situation.”

  That was a nice thing to hear. I felt gigundoly proud of myself.

  Daddy dropped me off in front of the Community Center and I met my friends at the pool. Our coach did not look happy.

  “I failed to teach you something important,” he said. “I should have had you all working on this from the start. You need to work on your racing dives. Racing dives can turn you into winners.”

  I heard Kristin gasp.

  “Racing dives give you your fastest start. A good dive will put you halfway across the pool before you come up for air,” he said. “I want everyone on this team to learn this dive and learn it well.”

  “I cannot do it!” whispered Kristin. “I will have to quit the team.”

  “Do not quit yet,” I replied. “Maybe if you watch the other kids doing the dives, you will not be so scared.”

  As usual, Coach Carson started helping the best swimmers first. He asked the rest of us to watch.

  He told the kids to climb up onto the starting blocks. I could see some of them shivering in the chilly morning air. They listened to the coach’s instructions. Then he blew the whistle.

  They all dove into the water. Only a couple of kids made it even a quarter of the way across the pool.

  “That was pitiful!” said the coach. “Back on the blocks.”

  The kids got out of the water and climbed back up on the blocks. They listened to the coach explain what they had done wrong. I could see them shivering harder than before. One girl’s teeth were chattering.

  “I cannot do this,” whispered Kristin again.

  “Keep watching,” I said.

  Coach made the same kids dive in the water then climb back onto the blocks five times in a row. By the fifth time on the blocks, their lips had turned blue.

  “It is too cold,” said Terri quietly. “He needs to cancel the practice. If we get sick, he will not have any swimmers at the next meet.”

  But the coach was not about to cancel practice. No way. He was headed in our direction.

  I looked at Kristin. She was shaking like a leaf. I did not think it was because of the cold. We were still dry, and she was wearing a sweatshirt. Kristin was shaking with fear.

  Rescued!

  “Up on the blocks!” said Coach Carson.

  I took off my T-shirt and stepped forward. Kristin was not the only one shaking. Terri and I were both shaking now too.

  If I was going to dive off the block, I needed someone to show me patiently how to do it. I had trouble understanding when the coach barked orders at us.

  But I did not think I had a choice. Neither did Kristin nor Terri. We climbed onto our blocks.

  I had never been on a block before. It felt awfully high up. I glanced down into the pool. It looked cold, dark, and far away.

  “Fifteen seconds to go,” said Coach Carson.

  I was trying to decide whether I actually had to go through with the dive when I heard my name being called. I turned and saw Daddy and Mr. Barkan walking toward us.

  “Daddy!” I shouted.

  My friends and I jumped down from the blocks and ran to Daddy and Terri’s father.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “We decided to stay and watch practice for awhile,” Daddy replied. “This looked like the right time to ask Mr. Carson a few questions.”

  “Thank you!” said Kristin.

  I had never seen anyone look so relieved. The five of us walked to Coach Carson together.

  “Coach, these kids look awfully unhappy to me,” said Daddy. “Can you tell us what is going on?”

  “I am trying to teach them some winning strategies, Mr. Brewer,” replied the coach. “You saw how they lost the meet last night. You were there.”

  “But it is a very chilly day. Look at these kids. They are shivering,” said Mr. Barkan.

  “I cannot do anything about the weather. But I can do something to help them win our next meet.”

  “This might be a good day to do land exercise and instruction,” said Mr. Barkan. “Or you might consider canceling practice altogether.”

  “Canceling does not make winners,” said Coach Carson.

  “These kids just want to enjoy a summer swim program. They are not trying out for the Olympics,” said Daddy. “Why is winning so important?”

  Coach Carson just stood there. He had no answer for Daddy. He looked at the faces of all the kids who had gathered around.

  “I am sorry,” he said. “I will go see the program director. I am sure someone will be out to speak with you soon.”

  Apologies

  It had started raining. So we went inside the Community Center and waited for someone to come speak with us.

  Finally Mrs. Barton, the program director, appeared.

  “Good morning, everyone,” she said. “I am sorry about this miserable weather.”

  Mrs. Barton smiled. She is a very nice person.

  “I have spoken with Mr. Carson and he explained what happened this morning,” said Mrs. Barton. “I think this brings to light a situation
that needs correction. Mr. Carson has resigned as coach of the swim team.”

  The kids all started talking at once. This had been a bad day. But no one expected the coach to resign. I had a feeling that Daddy and Mr. Barkan were not the first parents to talk with Coach Carson.

  “If you will give me a minute more, I will explain why,” said Mrs. Barton.

  Everyone settled down to listen.

  “As you know, Mr. Carson has been a winning athlete for much of his life,” said Mrs. Barton. “Part of his enjoyment of swimming comes from competing and winning. Unfortunately, Mr. Carson’s goals and the goals of the Community Center were not the same. He expected to create a winning swim team. All we wanted to offer was a summer program children could learn from and enjoy. This situation became a great frustration to Mr. Carson and we understand that some of his frustration was taken out on you. For that we are all sorry. And now I believe Mr. Carson has something to say.”

  She waved to Coach Carson, who was waiting inside. I felt confused. I did not like the way Coach Carson had been treating us. Today I had even felt a little scared of him. But he was our coach. I could still see that he was trying to do what he thought was best for us. I would have liked winning medals. (They would have looked gigundoly good in my room!) But I wanted to have fun swimming with my friends more than I wanted medals. And I definitely did not like being scolded when I was really and truly trying my best.

  Then Mr. Carson came into the room and stood in front of us.

  “I will be brief,” he said. “First of all, I am sorry if I made any of you kids uncomfortable. I meant to help, not hurt you. I see I was not very good at it. I hope that in these couple of weeks at least a few of you have learned to swim a little better. I learned a lot about myself from this experience. Maybe my skills and goals are better suited to coaching older kids. Enjoy the rest of your summer vacation. And keep swimming!”

  Mr. Carson walked away quickly. Mrs. Barton told us that she would try to find another swim coach as soon as possible.

  “It may take a little time to find a coach. But we will hire an extra lifeguard immediately and the pool will open during swim team hours for recreational swimming.”

  That was it. Coach Carson was gone. I gave Daddy a hug. Then my friends and I linked arms and headed outside.

  Happy Fourth of July!

  When I woke up on Wednesday morning, I felt lost. For weeks I had been waking up in time for practice. Now there was none.

  My friends and I had decided to take the day off from the Community Center. (Terri’s mom was dropping her off at Kristin’s aunt’s house on her way to work.) It was not a day for swimming anyway. It was chilly and gray again.

  I thought about curling up under the covers and going back to sleep. Then I remembered something else I had to look forward to. The Fourth of July! I hopped out of bed and ran downstairs.

  “You are up early,” said Nannie.

  “I have things to do!” I said. “I mean, we have things to do. Can we start making candy for the picnic?”

  “We certainly can,” said Nannie. “Would you like to invite your friends to come help us?”

  “Sure!” I replied.

  I ate breakfast, then called Kristin’s aunt’s house. I invited Kristin and Terri to come for lunch and candy-making.

  * * *

  The rest of June passed in a blur. Before I knew it, it was the Fourth of July and I was hosting our picnic at the Kormans’ pool. My guests were Hannie, Nancy, Kristin, Terri, and Tammy. Nannie, Emily, and Daddy were there too. We were having our dessert.

  “Pass the taffy, please,” said Hannie.

  “Red, white, or blue?” I asked.

  “One of each!” replied Hannie.

  Hannie and Nancy already knew Terri and Tammy from school. And they were glad to meet Kristin. They liked her a lot. I was happy all my friends were getting along so well.

  “This taffy is delicious!” said Hannie.

  “Do not get too full. We have one more surprise dessert,” I said.

  I ran into the Kormans’ house. Nannie and I had put the Popsicles in the freezer.

  “Ta-daa!” I said when I returned with a tray of them. I explained the No-Drip Contest rules to Hannie and Nancy. Guess who won. Me!

  Later, when our stomachs had settled down after our meal, we got into the pool.

  “Who wants to race?” I asked.

  “Um, what stroke will we be doing?” asked Kristin.

  “We will do your favorite. The backstroke!” I replied.

  “Thank goodness you did not say breaststroke,” said Terri. “I still cannot get that kick right.”

  I raced hard, but lost. Hannie was the winner.

  “You are a good swimmer,” said Kristin.

  “I swam almost every day on my vacation,” Hannie replied. “My mom loves to swim. She taught me the strokes.”

  “I am sure she did not bark orders at you like our coach did,” I said.

  It was the best picnic. After my friends left and my family and I had cleaned up, I got back into the pool.

  “Emily, do you want to try blowing bubbles again?” I asked.

  My sister looked worried. Our first try had not gone very well. But finally Emily said okay.

  I made sure to be very patient. On her first few tries, Emily blew too hard. Then she hardly blew at all. I told her to think of the story about the Three Bears.

  “You do not want to blow too hard. You do not want to blow too softly. You want to blow just right,” I said.

  After many more tries, Emily put her face in the water and blew one more time.

  “You did it just right!” I said.

  Emily’s face lit up. I decided I might never make it to the Olympics as a swimmer. But maybe someday I could be a coach. Emily was my first student. And she and I were both doing very well.

  About the Author

  ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.

  Copyright © 1999 by Ann M. Martin

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First edition, 1999

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-06276-2