These past few months I've gotten to spend quite a bit of time with teenagers, and get this - it was awesome! I have to admit before I started coaching high school swimming in February I was pretty scared of teenagers; their attitudes, brooding and constant texting freaked me out. But I'm happy to say I had it all wrong. These kids on the swim team that I got to know are so smart, hard working, mostly level headed and often funny. I got to witness a poolside serenade to a dripping wet speedo clad swimmer from the glee club, while the entire team cheered and sang along. Another day one kid set up the most adorable prom proposal ever, again with the whole team watching and excited. Not to mention a ton of awesome hard work in the pool resulting in confident swims and countless best times at the end of the season.

This high school senior I feel proud to know, (even though he isn't a swimmer). Heck, all of Long Beach should be proud! Valedictorian, hard working and creative he'll move on to NYU in the fall and I have no doubt that he will thrive in the big city.