The amazing thing about the internet is that, even when I'm in the UAE, I can still post about basketball. (Can I say how cool it is to see google instructions in Arabic?)

Val Whiting was kind enough to forward her latest piece for Delaware at Play: "Swimmer steps out of comfort zone and into world of triathlons."

Experts say 95 percent of us will retreat to our comfort zone when we try something new but don't succeed.

Kate Hastings is one of the 5 percent of us who will try something new and keep at it, no matter how difficult it is.

The 11-year-old's primary sport is swimming. She competes with Delaware Swim Team and has qualified for both Summer and Winter Junior Olympics, representing the Middle Atlantic Zone. Kate placed second in her age group at the 2007 Delaware state championships.