Winding Down a Sports Career

This is my last year sitting through swim meets.
Tucker is a senior in high school and he has already decided that he doesn't want to swim in college, so the feelings are a little bittersweet.
Yes, swim meets are long and warm, but I'm so grateful that they aren't outside in the cold.
Tucker swam at sectionals on Saturday and won each of his events.

The beard on his face was thick and, of course, he hasn't shaved the rest of his body yet. 

Now he goes on to Districts. Every year he has shaved his head for districts but he and the other guys decided this year not to shave their heads. They don't want to be bald for prom and graduation, even though their hair would have grown back some.

And Tucker doesn't want to have to wear a wig for the high school musical a few weeks after swim season.
If he finishes in the top two at Districts, he'll go on to States the following week.
Earl has to work on Friday, so I'll be the only one in the stands to cheer on Tucker in what might be his final high school swim.

Early Baldness

I'm in an email fight with the high school swim coach.
She sent a message yesterday about preparation for the Sectional swim meet this Saturday. For boys, "On your head, hair must be completely off."
That's right. Bald.
Tucker has been fretting about this all season. He does not want to be bald.
He's 14. He's the fastest swimmer they have on the team. He can put on a swim cap -- like Michael Phelps did.
My arguments have run the gamut.
*The girls don't have to shave their heads.
*This is high school, not world-class competition.
*The world record holders are not bald.
She responded that this is a bonding experience for the boys.
I gently explained that bonding happens when people decide to do things that bring them closer together.
Bondage is when they are forced to do things.

As a freshman, Tucker has made many concessions, beginning with the tiny Speedo swimsuit. Previously, he always wore a knee-length suit. A 14-year-old does not want to put his junk on display. At 17 or 18, he may be happy, even eager, to wear a tiny Speedo. He might also joyously shave his head, first into a mohawk one week then bald the following week.
But 14-year-old boys are a little more fragile than 17-year-old boys. They worry about what people say.
Now Tucker is worried that the boys on the swim team will be mad if he doesn't shave and the kids at the high school will make fun of him if he does shave.
Ah, a teenage dilemma.
I, of course, get no credit for the things I didn't say to the coach, like, I wonder if the athletic director would support this mandate... followed by a pregnant pause while the swim coach realized I was threatening to report her.
To me, the annoying thing is that we have to fight about something that might improve Tucker's time by 1000th of a second. Work on his technique, not his hair length.
As I was writing this post, the swim coach called to talk. I still resisted threatening, although she thought my choice of the word "hazing" was a little strong.
I apologized for that.
In the end, she agreed to let the boys cut their hair very short and wear two swim caps if they do not want to join the team camaraderie.
Tucker doesn't know I fought this battle for him and he wouldn't thank me if he did. As a matter of fact, he might decide to shave his head in the spirit of the moment, but I'll know that he chose that for himself.