Singapore National Age Group 2019

The reason for Singapore as our choice of destination this summer fully relied on the fact that R has a swimming competition there. He swam at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, Singapore Sports Hub for the 50th Singapore National Age Group competition.

afternoon warm-up with his teammates at the swim venue a day before the meet .

I honestly did not want to go to Singapore for 9 freaking long days. If fave son did not want to go compete lang, I would not even consider going back to SG. But he said he wanted to swim, so I go and support him. That's how moms are naman, di ba? We just support our kids in their passion.

Everyday, I'd wake up early to prep his breakfast because the food outlet in the hotel is still closed, and nearby restos are closed pa din. He'd walk out the door to meet his coach and teammates in the lobby and commute to go to the sports stadium.

They'd have lunch together and then rest in the afternoon and go back to the stadium again. Eat dinner together. Finally babalik na sya sa kwarto to sleep. Sometimes, they have free time and they would ride the train to Marina Bay or walk the stretch of Orchard. On their last night together, the team went to Clarke Quay, and I think he had some fun with the older teammates, which included our own Olympians, Jessie Lacuna and Jasmine Alkhaldi.

The Singapore National Age Group competition is an annual high performance swimming meet in Singapore. I did not realize how big it was until I saw Joseph Schooling's name in the meet program. If you are living under a rock and don't know who he is, Joseph is the guy who beat Michael Phelps in the 100m butterfly during the 2016 Olympics. He is the first Singaporean to win an Olympic gold medal for his country.

I mean if a swimmer of his caliber is competing, then surely its a big important meet.

I think I was more excited than R. I mean how often can a swimmer be in the same pool as an Olympic gold medalist? Di ba?

Not all swimmers can join in this competition because there are qualifying times per event. Swimmers can't also just submit a fake time because the organizers are very strict and they charge an administrative fee per event if a swimmer returns a time slower than the QET. Kaya buti naman he is within the qualifying time in all of his events.

fave son in lane 5

Eto na naman kami. 

Before the meet, he asked me to pray for him. If you've been following me for a long time, you know our struggles already dahil years na kaming ganito. Just 2017, nagkwento na ako dito. I also shared another story about it here, and even as early as 2014 ganito na din ang drama namin.

Of course, he is always in my prayers. 

I asked him to relax and just have fun. I said in jest, "no matter what happens, I'm proud of you already. Imagine, you're going to swim in the same pool as an Olympian - na nag gold medal! O di ba?" Hahaha! Walang effect kay fave son.

But I always ask him whenever he is worried about something, and I asked him again that time, "What the worst thing that will happen if you don’t win in the competition?”

He was silent. 

I continued, "di ba wala? You'll feel bad about a bad swim - that's the worst thing that could happen."

I ended with,"Just have fun. Talk with the Singaporeans, meet new friends and enjoy yourself."

I understand that he hates failing, but I'm here to tell him that he's only a failure if he doesn't get back up and try again. I mean, swimming can be a long career only if he wants it to be. A setback doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. If he learns something from it, then it's a motivation for greater things to come. I told him he's wont be a swimmer forever, but the character development that he gets out of the sport will stay with him forever. 

From the very start, his dad and I have been clear that the end goal of swimming as a sport is not so he can be the greatest Olympian. That has never been our goal for him. We encouraged him to get into sports to develop his character. Di yan press release ha, ever since, C has been very vocal that swimming is really just a means to the end for the kids. Yung goal talaga is to develop perseverance. 

Let me explain why.

A few years ago, in one of the school orientations, his legend of a school director (truly a disruptor as far as school directors go. We miss him because he's moved on to a different calling) showed us a TED talk of Angela Duckworth. The link to the transcript of that talk can be found here. It was my first time to actually listen to a full edition of a TED Talk, and it really made such an impression on me that I searched it up online and shared the link to my husband later that day.

In her TED talk, Angela shared that she collaborated with another psychologist, Carol Dweck, and together they discovered that "grittier" students, those who persevere and have the initiative to work harder, are those students with a "growth mindset. 

"While a “fixed mindset” assumes that our character is static and can’t be changed, a “growth mindset,” on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees failure as a heartening springboard for growth. The consequences of believing that character can be developed rather than being immutably ingrained traits makes the character development through sport extremely relevant, since through sports children learn that failure is not a permanent condition. While victory may increase their self-esteem, defeat, despite eventual negative effect on children’s confidence, may teach them how to overcome deficiencies and grow."

As always, for every meet he joins, fave son doesn't have to win a medal, because he already won my heart!

End of today's kwento, guys! Chika again next time.

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