Swimming lessons
Jul 20, 2016One of the things that you’re never really prepared for as a parent is the sheer amount of time you spend on the school run. And that doesn't include the constant ferrying around to all the various after-school clubs!
We have four children in three different schools, which is challenging enough. But add in guitar, piano, golf, chess, swimming, mad science .. not to mention school assemblies, school plays, parents evenings, family assemblies .. and that’s without birthday parties of practically all the class mates of each child .. and then play dates on top!
I think it's easy for parents to slide inexorably into becoming bad tempered taxi drivers!
One day I had taken Amelie and Leon to their swimming class and to try and make some use of the dead time, I decided to swim myself while I was waiting.
I had been trying to become a better swimmer for some time but just couldn’t get it right. I was fit and so I could put a lot of power into my strokes, but I got tired out so quickly. I would rest briefly after every 50 or 100 metres to catch my breath and then swim again. Then rest again. And so on. I actually got a good workout, but I knew it shouldn’t be so hard.
I remember stopping for my rest that day and then looking at the children in the lane next to me racing through the water like seals! They were probably 7 or 8 years old and they were flying! And not for just 10 or 20 yards .. they were going constantly up and down the lane while I had been stopping every few lenghts. And I was an adult!
I watched them I thought to myself, they must be swimming in different water...
As I wondered what was wrong with me, I started listening to the advice the swimming teacher was telling them periodically. I watched as she demonstrated the correct stroke with her hands .. and then the most brilliant idea hit me.
If I brought them to their swimming lessons every week, I could sit and pretend to watch the kids but actually listen in on the teaching and find out how to swim! Brilliant! I was feeling very pleased with myself indeed!
When I got home, Susan was in the kitchen, so I rushed in and told her of my plan.
‘Do you know how much it costs to get private swimming lessons with Steve, one on one for 30 minutes?’ Susan asked me, looking decidedly unimpressed with my plan.
‘No’ I said.
‘Twenty pounds’ she said. ‘Twenty pounds for exactly the help you need when you need it. And he's an ex-olympic swimmer!’
I stared at her with a similar perplexed look on my face that you’d expect if she had just hit me over the head with a cucumber from the fridge! I don’t know why, but I had never thought of that!
I took Susan’s advice and the improvement in my swimming was immediate.
First lesson: ‘You’re going through the water at an angle’ Steve said. ‘That’s creating an enormous amount of drag. You’re trying to put more strength into each stroke, but you’re facing too much resistance, so the power can’t go anywhere. Even if you double the power you will only increase the speed slightly. But if you reduce the drag by even just 10% you’ll increase your speed significantly. You’ve got to lie MUCH flatter in the water.’
That one explanation of what it would take me to improve my swimming COMPLETELY changed my concept of swimming .. and changed my results. The advice and feedback from someone who had been there and knew what to look for was simply invaluable. I can’t believe that I was seriously considering wasting hours listening to someone coaching someone else in the hope that I would pick up something that could be useful to me!
I will never forget the terrible thinking I slipped into without really thinking at all. Help is always available. Yes sometimes you will have to pay for it, but it’s worth it. Getting good advice is worth every penny.
Until next time ..
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