:badday:I just got back from practice and basically the coach told me I'd get more out of swim lessons than masters. I thought I was doing pretty well, but I guess he was blowing smoke up my skirt (or swimsuit) when he told me that during my first practice. Basically, if I don't want to swim with other people, masters probably isn't for me.
I feel badly because I thought I'd found a home with this team. I know he's trying to do his best for me and is willing to give me lessons to improve my technique and get me comfortable enough to swim with the other beginners. But it feels like I've been sent to remedial swim class. So my confidence has been completely deflated. I joined masters because I thought I'd get a better workout than swimming alone. I know being in the lane with others makes you push yourself more, and I was working my way to that, and he said he wants me on his team. But honestly, I'm not interested in being on a team. I just want to get in the freakin' pool and swim for fitness.
habu987, thank you for your comments (and having my favorite Dr. Who for your avatar LOL). I do hear what you're saying, but where I swim, it's not at all crowded and there's hardly ever anyone swimming in the lanes we don't use. So it isn't a question of space. I told the coach before I ever came to the first practice that I'm concerned about swimming with others. And that I'm not comfortable in deep water. At first he seemed on board, and in fact, the pool is mostly shallow (but strangely, the novice swimmers are in the one deep lane). I'd worked out with him before I set foot in the pool that I'd swim on my own until I had enough aerobic capacity and confidence to jump in with others. The reason I joined masters is that a coach told me I'd get a better workout and better instruction than taking lessons.
If you know the DC/Alex area, you know how crowded practices can be. I made the mistake of getting into a lane with five other people at an early practice, and yes, I got pushed into the ropes and whacked, and I wasn't ready for it. I have, actually, shared lanes with folks at my rec center, and it's never been a big deal. I can swim with others, just not a lot of others, and I always feel like I'm holding people up.
I think it's rather difficult for most folks here on the boards to sympathize if you've been swimming/coaching for a while, and many of you have probably been swimming since at least high school. I don't object to taking lessons. I have had a couple private lessons and taken county classes, which to be honest aren't the greatest (overcrowded and you get half the lane). I think it's that I felt like I'd been doing well and there was a place for me here, and now I find there is not. Two coaches have told me I'm a good swimmer. So maybe this one doesn't agree.
habu987, thank you for your comments (and having my favorite Dr. Who for your avatar LOL). I do hear what you're saying, but where I swim, it's not at all crowded and there's hardly ever anyone swimming in the lanes we don't use. So it isn't a question of space. I told the coach before I ever came to the first practice that I'm concerned about swimming with others. And that I'm not comfortable in deep water. At first he seemed on board, and in fact, the pool is mostly shallow (but strangely, the novice swimmers are in the one deep lane). I'd worked out with him before I set foot in the pool that I'd swim on my own until I had enough aerobic capacity and confidence to jump in with others. The reason I joined masters is that a coach told me I'd get a better workout and better instruction than taking lessons.
If you know the DC/Alex area, you know how crowded practices can be. I made the mistake of getting into a lane with five other people at an early practice, and yes, I got pushed into the ropes and whacked, and I wasn't ready for it. I have, actually, shared lanes with folks at my rec center, and it's never been a big deal. I can swim with others, just not a lot of others, and I always feel like I'm holding people up.
I think it's rather difficult for most folks here on the boards to sympathize if you've been swimming/coaching for a while, and many of you have probably been swimming since at least high school. I don't object to taking lessons. I have had a couple private lessons and taken county classes, which to be honest aren't the greatest (overcrowded and you get half the lane). I think it's that I felt like I'd been doing well and there was a place for me here, and now I find there is not. Two coaches have told me I'm a good swimmer. So maybe this one doesn't agree.
