The Dolphin Badge

At Chloe's swimming club, every badge was named after a sea animal. First Starfish, for floating. Then Crab, for kicking along the side. Then Fish, for swimming a whole width. Chloe had all three badges sewn onto her towel.

The next badge was Dolphin. To get it, you had to swim a whole length of the pool, including over the deep end.

Chloe could swim a width easily. But the deep end was different. The water went dark blue, and the bottom seemed very far away. Every time she got near it, her chest went tight and her arms forgot what to do, and she grabbed the side.

"I can't do it," she told her coach, Mr. Haddad. "My body won't let me."

Mr. Haddad sat on the edge of the pool with his feet in the water. "That's your worry talking," he said. "Worry is like an alarm. It's trying to keep you safe, but sometimes it rings too loudly, even when you're okay."

"How do you turn it down?" asked Chloe.

"Three things," said Mr. Haddad. "First, breathe slowly. Slow breaths tell your body it's safe. Second, take small steps. Third, notice what is true. Is the deep end really dangerous for you, with me right here and a strong swimmer like you?"

Chloe thought about it. "I know how to float. I know how to swim. And you're here."

"Exactly," said Mr. Haddad.

So they made a plan of small steps. In week one, Chloe swam alongside the wall into the deep end, holding on whenever she wanted. In week two, she swam to the first lane rope in the deep end and back. In week three, she practiced floating on her back in the deep end, with Mr. Haddad right next to her. Floating, she discovered, was exactly the same in deep water as in shallow water.

Each time her chest got tight, she breathed slowly: in for four, out for four. Each time, the alarm got a little quieter.

In week four, it was test day. Chloe stood at the shallow end. Her tummy was full of butterflies. "That's okay," she whispered to herself. "Butterflies can come too."

She pushed off. Kick, pull, breathe. Kick, pull, breathe. The water under her went from light blue to dark blue. Her chest went tight for a moment. She breathed out slowly through her nose, and kept going.

Kick, pull, breathe. Then her hand touched the far wall.

Chloe popped up and looked back. She had done the whole length. Mr. Haddad was clapping. So was her mum in the stands, and her little brother, who was jumping up and down.

That night, her mum sewed the Dolphin badge onto her towel, next to the starfish, the crab and the fish.

"Were you still scared?" asked her brother.

"A bit," said Chloe. "But I found out that I can be scared and brave at the same time."

⭐ The End ⭐