I took my daughter to swimming practice this afternoon. I was sitting in the bleachers watching the team.
3 of the Senior varsity guys started talking smack about how they were faster swimmers than any girl out there. The coach heard them and said “Well boys, here is your chance to prove it. 100 meter freestyle against a freshman girl.” They laughed out loud and the Coach just stared at them while saying loudly “Nina! Lane 1, show them how it’s done.”
My daughter looked a bit bewildered but she took her place on the lane 1 block. The Coach looked at the boys and said “Take a lane chumps.”
After the starting whistle blew, she had them by a full second at the first turn and finished nearly 3/4 of a pool length ahead of them by the time it was over.
After they all got out of the pool, the Coach looked at the guys and said “Boys, you have a lot of work to do...and this little girl is just a freshman. Imagine what she will be like by the time she’s a Senior.”
The boys were still doing laps when we left. My daughter never said a word about it, just gave me a sly smile and a head nod when I met her outside the locker room.