Courageous Chloe SCR

Courageous Chloe

1 Chloe loved swimming more than anything. Every summer, she spent hours at the neighborhood pool practicing her strokes, dreaming of joining a real swim team one day. One Saturday morning, Chloe woke up to the sound of rain tapping against her window. She groaned, “Great, now I can’t go to the pool.” But when the rain cleared that afternoon, she grabbed her swim bag and begged her mom to drive her to practice.

2 At the pool, her coach announced, “We’re going to practice diving today.” Chloe froze. Diving was her least favorite skill, and the thought of jumping off the tall starting block made her stomach twist into knots. “Come on, Chloe, you can do this,” her best friend Maya whispered. Chloe climbed the ladder slowly, her knees shaking, and looked down at the water far below. Everyone was watching.

3 “Ready… go!” the coach called. Chloe closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and leapt forward. SPLASH! She hit the water with a big belly flop. Her chest stung, and her face turned red with embarrassment. “I’m terrible at this,” Chloe muttered as she climbed out. But Coach smiled and said, “That was a brave first try. Every great swimmer has to start somewhere.”

4 The next day, Chloe practiced again. And again. She belly-flopped more times than she could count. By the end of the week, though, she finally dove straight and clean into the pool. A month later, it was time for Chloe’s first swim meet. Her event was the 50-meter freestyle, and she had to start with a dive. Standing on the block, she felt the same twist in her stomach, but she remembered Coach’s words.

5 “On your mark… get set… GO!” Chloe dove, smooth and straight into the water. She swam with all her strength, arms pulling and legs kicking. She didn’t win first place, but she did earn a shiny second-place ribbon. Beaming with pride, Chloe told her mom, “I may not be the fastest, but I finally learned to be brave.”

What is the author’s message in paragraph 5 of Courageous Chloe?