Summer Swim Team | Emily Brunner Photography

I guarantee you that there are tears at every summer swim meet. Some of the kids end up crying for a whole slew of reasons, the grown ups for another reason all together. A reason that we might not understand ourselves. Every time I hear the whole team shout "Idee, Idee, Idee, Oh" I tear up a little and I don't even really know what those words mean. The two months of the summer that my family spends at the pool for swim team are some of my favorite days of the year. I love seeing how the big kids take the little kids under their wings, how the little kids swim so bravely even when their goggles fall off, and how everyone screams and cheers for their teammates. I'm so lucky that my family is a part of an awesome swim club and team here on the Main Line.

'll admit that I usually like to leave my camera at home on meet days. Swim races go by super fast and I really like to be in the moment, watching my kids swim across the pool for those few seconds. Watching the races from behind a lens isn't quite the same experience.  However, I do love to go to a couple of meets a season as the photographer, rather than as the swim mom.  There are so many amazing moments to capture at any given meet and I really love looking back through my photos in the cold weeks of winter to remind me of those endless summer days.  There is no place I'd rather be in the summer as a swim mom and as a youth sports photographer!