The schedule of youth sports has grown congested and noisy. Every year, new leagues emerge, uniform costs rise, and sidelines are crowded with parents haggling…
Swimming used to be thought of in the same way as weekend soccer or piano lessons, which parents enjoyed but put off when their schedules…
When parents notice a pattern that seems remarkably similar across playgrounds and parking lots where competitive sports gradually replace joy with urgency, leaving children exhausted…
The parking lots outside the community pools are more crowded on weeknights than they were in the past. Not with birthday parties or competitive teams,…
The quietness of swimming is frequently the first thing people notice. Once your ears submerge, sound dulls and disappears, even in a crowded pool. Breath,…
When adults sat in plastic chairs and believed that proximity was enough to provide protection, the public pool used to feel like an unofficial trust…
No one lists the secret skill on college applications, and there is no certificate for it. It is learned in private, frequently at a young…
There was no loud announcement of the shift. It took place early in the morning, when the rest of the school was dark and the…
In a scene that has become remarkably familiar in recent years, children shuffle toward the pool with towels trailing the floor and goggles bouncing against…
The pool sounds different from the rest of the recreation center on a weekday afternoon. Don’t whistle. No yelled directions reverberating off walls. Only the…