This is aimed towards new swimmers of the adult variety. I find that adults and kids may share similar difficulties in terms of learning how to swim, but adults are far more advanced naturally, due to the advanced motor skills. So while a child will spend years taking swimming lessons before being comfortable enough to swim, say, 100M, an adult won't take even 3 months with the right attitude. The right attitude consists of the following traits: - Trust in those who have been there longer - people are generally honest when it comes to learning new things. Talk to folks who have been where you are, and trust their words. If you go in believing you can't do it, you're sabotoging yourself and should ask yourself why you fear succeeding as a swimmer?
- Ability to let go of your pride - don't worry, that floundering around in the water, going nowhere fast is over quickly if you just put your head down and keep going for a few more workouts. Er, don't forget to breathe, but don't worry about being the "slowest" there. Even if you are for the first month, trust me, you won't be, soon. (and if you don't trust me, go back to #1 and re-read it ;) )
- Trust in the water - Yes, it may be cold, but it's not going to kill you, and once you get moving it's fine. No sense in wallowing over that fact, thinking how horrible it will be. And as for the depth, remember, you float in the shallow end, so you'll float fine in the deep end. If you feel too uncomfortable, stop - you will likely have a lane rope or the side of the pool right within arm's reach, and they're plenty strong enough to hold you afloat while you recover. And if you feel you can't swim it, you can shimmy along the lane rope. it's actually kind of fun once you get the momentum up :)
- Remember that you'll always be "working on" a million things, and the coach may seem to be giving you a million more - you're an adult, your swim program is much more relaxed than with the 18 and unders that your coach may also coach. Don't hesitate to let them know what your personal goals are in swimming, so they know specifically how to help you. But remember also, they can see you doing things you can't see yourself doing, so take every little piece of advice and ponder on it for a while, and try it out. This is all about your own awareness of your body, and the more you experiment, the more you learn! :) Plus, you may fix something they suggest, and find it helps you in dealing with something else you were working on.
- Willingness to ask questions of fellow swimmers - Most swimmers who have been there for a couple years would absolutely love to help you improve your swimming in some way - by telling you about what goes on at a meet, talking about strategies for different lengths of race, how to make a flip-turn go faster, etc, etc. And if you're not sure the coach is paying proper attention, ask another regular swimmer to take a look at your technique and critique it a bit. Sharing knowledge is a bonding experience in sport, take advantage of it :)
Adult swimming at a competitive level can be a "big" deal, or it can be a fun, social activity, depending on the meet and depending on your mental state. Provincial, National, and World competitions are certainly filled with the more competitive swimmers, but there's a nice niche of meets for people who swim for recreation, socializing and increased health and energy. We enjoy competing simply because it's yet another aspect of the whole swimming experience we enjoy so much (diving off of a block is cool when you only get to do it once in a while, and relays are neat, too), but the best part of the meet is the people, the conversations, and the good, healthy workouts that bring us together time and time again. So if you're not into competing, you don't have to, and you'll be surrounded by other folks who simply enjoy working out with the team but never go into a serious meet. So, keep at it, you'll do fine! Most of all - have fun, and enjoy! |
