So I have decided to join USMS at the ripe age of 35, after spending the past 12 years teaching myself to swim. I've never been able to be a part of an organized USMS team due to work schedule or being in the middle of po-dunk America with no teams nearby.
So with my recent move back from Korea, I now have a good opportunity to train with a team, a real coach, and get good at this.
My first observation is this: I suck. I mean I REALLY suck. Everything I thought I had been doing right for the last decade, the coach quickly pointed out everything I was doing wrong. Which is good of course, because I want to learn and do it right and get better. But this is going to be tough, I can tell.
My question to everyone is this: Am I unique in the age I join and try to be on an organized team? Is it worth my time and effort to do this?
My first observation is this: I suck. I mean I REALLY suck. Everything I thought I had been doing right for the last decade, the coach quickly pointed out everything I was doing wrong. Which is good of course, because I want to learn and do it right and get better. But this is going to be tough, I can tell.
When I first read this, I'll have to admit I :lmao:. I wasn't making fun of you, I was just laughing at how funny YOU are. Then, I realized you may have been dead serious, and you weren't being funny at all. In that case, I offer you a sincere :bighug:. If you are indeed being serious, I apologize for laughing! (Just so you know, I read it to my husband, and he laughed, too, so you may be mad at both of us now.)
ANYWAY, there are so many advantages to joining USMS as YOUNG as you are. If you stick with it (and, I hope you will), think of how many years you have ahead of you to improve! I joined USMS in 2010 when I was 48, and just when I felt like I was really making strides, age and congenital-related injuries kept yanking me back. I can't tell you how many times I have had to start over after recovering from this (non-swimming-related) injury or that surgery.
You, my friend, are just a KID at 35! "Ripe age"? To quote Sumorunner, "Pfffft!"
Ok, so you taught yourself to swim over the past 12 years. Kudos to you! What happened, though, is that you may have
taught yourself (or ingrained) some bad habits without realizing it. Now, you are in a situation where somebody can watch you objectively, and those ingrained bad habits are being pointed out. Please don't be discouraged! Be thankful those corrections are being made at your YOUNG age!
I hope you will be patient with yourself and stick with it-- and, stick with us here on the Forums. Your fellow Forumites have a lot to offer, including encouragement, great tips, and a great community spirit of support.
If you can get somebody to shoot some video of your swimming (good quality, close-up footage), go ahead and upload the video to YouTube and post the links here. If you ask us Forumites to offer constructive criticism, I guarantee you that you will receive excellent "coaching" from some top USMS experts. Do you need help with breaststroke? My fellow frog, "King Frog" (Allen Stark) is a World Record holder in the 200 Breaststroke (65-69 age group), and gives fantastic feedback.
Stick around, 'poke, ok?
Good luck!
:cheerleader:
My first observation is this: I suck. I mean I REALLY suck. Everything I thought I had been doing right for the last decade, the coach quickly pointed out everything I was doing wrong. Which is good of course, because I want to learn and do it right and get better. But this is going to be tough, I can tell.
When I first read this, I'll have to admit I :lmao:. I wasn't making fun of you, I was just laughing at how funny YOU are. Then, I realized you may have been dead serious, and you weren't being funny at all. In that case, I offer you a sincere :bighug:. If you are indeed being serious, I apologize for laughing! (Just so you know, I read it to my husband, and he laughed, too, so you may be mad at both of us now.)
ANYWAY, there are so many advantages to joining USMS as YOUNG as you are. If you stick with it (and, I hope you will), think of how many years you have ahead of you to improve! I joined USMS in 2010 when I was 48, and just when I felt like I was really making strides, age and congenital-related injuries kept yanking me back. I can't tell you how many times I have had to start over after recovering from this (non-swimming-related) injury or that surgery.
You, my friend, are just a KID at 35! "Ripe age"? To quote Sumorunner, "Pfffft!"
Ok, so you taught yourself to swim over the past 12 years. Kudos to you! What happened, though, is that you may have
taught yourself (or ingrained) some bad habits without realizing it. Now, you are in a situation where somebody can watch you objectively, and those ingrained bad habits are being pointed out. Please don't be discouraged! Be thankful those corrections are being made at your YOUNG age!
I hope you will be patient with yourself and stick with it-- and, stick with us here on the Forums. Your fellow Forumites have a lot to offer, including encouragement, great tips, and a great community spirit of support.
If you can get somebody to shoot some video of your swimming (good quality, close-up footage), go ahead and upload the video to YouTube and post the links here. If you ask us Forumites to offer constructive criticism, I guarantee you that you will receive excellent "coaching" from some top USMS experts. Do you need help with breaststroke? My fellow frog, "King Frog" (Allen Stark) is a World Record holder in the 200 Breaststroke (65-69 age group), and gives fantastic feedback.
Stick around, 'poke, ok?
Good luck!
:cheerleader:
