I have just returned from attending a former swimmer's wedding. Adam Sioui swam for me as an age group swimmer, narrowly missing the Olympic Team in 2000. He then went on to swim for the University of Florida where he won the 200 yard free at NCAA's in his freshman year. He went on to graduate from UF and make the Olympic Team in 2008. I attended his wedding in Fort Pierce, Florida this weekend, a spectacular wedding I might add, and met some of my former Canadian swimmers and alumni friends of Adam's from the University of Florida and the University of Calgary Swim Club.
Adam's alumni friends are all extraordinary people. These swimmers are successful, productive members of society. They have all come from different areas throughout Canada and the United States, have bonded through our great sport and have gone on to become doctors, surgeons, dentists and successful business men and women. As I looked around I realized quite clearly that the demands of our sport and the influence of their coaches have helped shape the lives of these young people. They know how to work hard, how to focus on their goals, maintain motivation and how to strive in a positive manner to insure their success. Swimming has taught them extraordinary life skills that they now bring to their daily lives and their families. I was in awe after meeting swimmer after swimmer and finding out what they do now for a living. There is life after swimming, and if you are like all of these former swimmers at this wedding, it is pretty awesome!
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