I'm a newbie and just had my first practice yesterday sharing the lane with other swimmers. There were five of us, and it was horrible. I could barely get across one length of the pool and I actually panicked because I've never swum with others in the lane, certainly not four or five other people, and I was afraid of hitting or being hit. I stayed close to the rope, so much that I hit it a few times. Now I'm thinking, should I have joined this program? Am I one of those people who just prefers to swim alone? It was pretty scary.
I know those of you who do this all the time probably think, pffffft. No biggie. But I've never been so tense in the pool and when I swim on my own, I'm fine, do lots of laps for about an hour with very few breaks, so I know it's not my skill level. But I don't even know if I want to go back to a practice. I got bumped a few times, bumped into someone else, and basically made a fool of myself.
I also noticed that certain people displace the water an awful lot, and that was a new sensation.
Parents
Former Member
Denise, don't give up. I am also someone who started swimming with a team as an adult. I'm not a very big person so swimming in a lane with several other people was intimidating for me, too. I still hit the lane lines on a routine basis and I still gulp water once in a while. (But, guess what - even the experienced swimmers who swam in college do that once in a while too.)
The keys for successful lane-sharing are to make sure that all of the swimmers in the lane are about the same speed, and for the swimmers to communicate among themselves. The first one is a responsibility of the coach; if he sees someone who is way faster than the others he should move that person up to a faster lane. The second one is up to you. Don't be afraid to let your lanemates know that you're new and still uncomfortable about circle swimming. They'll understand; they've all been there. And if you are tired or just feeling overwhelmed, just sit out for a couple of hundreds. No one will care if you say "I'm going to sit this one out," as long as you're not standing in the middle of the lane or something.
If you are lucky enough to swim with the same core group of people at every workout, you'll get to know each other and you'll learn everyone's strengths and weaknesses. For example, I'm usually about average in my lane when we're swimming freestyle. But if we do a breaststroke set, I might be leading the lane because that's my best stroke. It's important to watch and observe the other swimmers because you don't want to push off the wall right in front of someone who is faster than you. Things work much better if the faster swimmer leads.
One of the swimmers on my old team had swum his whole life and coached for many years. He told me that his secret to successful circle swimming was to make sure that he always knew where everyone in his lane was. He said that people who have grown up on swim teams do this almost automatically. It sounds like it would be difficult but it's really not; it's something that you just sort of learn as you become more experienced.
Denise, don't give up. I am also someone who started swimming with a team as an adult. I'm not a very big person so swimming in a lane with several other people was intimidating for me, too. I still hit the lane lines on a routine basis and I still gulp water once in a while. (But, guess what - even the experienced swimmers who swam in college do that once in a while too.)
The keys for successful lane-sharing are to make sure that all of the swimmers in the lane are about the same speed, and for the swimmers to communicate among themselves. The first one is a responsibility of the coach; if he sees someone who is way faster than the others he should move that person up to a faster lane. The second one is up to you. Don't be afraid to let your lanemates know that you're new and still uncomfortable about circle swimming. They'll understand; they've all been there. And if you are tired or just feeling overwhelmed, just sit out for a couple of hundreds. No one will care if you say "I'm going to sit this one out," as long as you're not standing in the middle of the lane or something.
If you are lucky enough to swim with the same core group of people at every workout, you'll get to know each other and you'll learn everyone's strengths and weaknesses. For example, I'm usually about average in my lane when we're swimming freestyle. But if we do a breaststroke set, I might be leading the lane because that's my best stroke. It's important to watch and observe the other swimmers because you don't want to push off the wall right in front of someone who is faster than you. Things work much better if the faster swimmer leads.
One of the swimmers on my old team had swum his whole life and coached for many years. He told me that his secret to successful circle swimming was to make sure that he always knew where everyone in his lane was. He said that people who have grown up on swim teams do this almost automatically. It sounds like it would be difficult but it's really not; it's something that you just sort of learn as you become more experienced.
