Starting block phobia!

Hey Karen - do you swim with Walnut Creek Masters?! I'll probably see you in the near future! I'm going to try one of your scheduled Sat. workouts and I'm also signed up for the Training Camp in March. And..thanks for the starting block ideas...! Guvnuh, Mattson and SWinkleblech - thanks for the words of encouragement and starting block thoughts. As I mentioned earlier, I'm looking forward to trying out these great ideas - uh....with a pool :-) vs. a pole... :eek:

i used to coach age-group swimming where i grew up (south-central PA) and i had lots of 8&unders that were petrified of the blocks. rob's suggestion of leaning on someone's shoulder is an excellent idea- my fellow coach and i would help the kids up on the block. many times, once they were up there, they had no problems. so once you can get yourself to stand on the block, you might find that you're not as afraid as you thought. but once that happens, don't go right to doing a dive. just try stepping off or even jumping off the block, feet first. the key is taking it a little at a time. if you can convince yourself that you're not afraid anymore, a start will be a piece of cake. trust me- i was terrified of jumping off the 10-meter platform, but the day i told myself i wasn't afraid was the day that i jumped off and realized that it's almost kinda fun! :cool: best of luck!

what wonderful caring coaches. When I was learning who to go off of hte blocks, my fahter had my oldest brother stand on the blocks holding me. then he threw me into the water.

Hi, I do swim with Walnut Creek. We'd love to have you come for practice. For Saturday mornings call ahead of time though. Sometimes they're at 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, you get the idea. That's a pretty long drive to be an hour late or early :) The workout on Sat usually 4,000-4,500y and about an hour to an hour and a half. It's about 4 to a lane, which isn't bad. The pool's number is (925) 943-5856 and ask for Kerry O'Brien. He's not there on Wednesdays though. I am doing the training camp. They're great. Can't wait to meet you. You'll probably get to meet Patrick the diver!

Fishgrrl, I too was once in your shoes, I too had a fear of the blocks and as an added bonus, the low dive. Reason: When I was eight, I had swim lessons in the summer and our swim instructor forced us to jump off the high dive, which scared the pants off of me. Later, when I was in high school, taking a phys ed Swim class, we had to jump off the low dive (since that's what we had in the pool) as an added assessment in the class. Although it wasn't easy getting off the board, I faced my fears one day when I jumped off the low dive. It didn't take me as long as the lady that Laneybug meantioned in her story, but I faced my fear with a little encouragement and a reassurance that nothing bad was going to happen to me. A year later, when I was a member of the swim team, we had the privilege of working on starts with the small, white starting blocks. Boy were they small! I felt like I was going to fall and kill myself, but again, I faced my fear. Now I LOOK FORWARD to getting on that starting block! It's like what I say in my song "Swimmer's Ballad": (See The Meaning of Swimming thread****) "...Getting on that starting block is a feeling that is never the same..." So, hang in there, you're not alone. With a little courage and perseverence, you'll be starting off that block in a meet in the not-so-distant future, I know it! Sonic

fishgrrl, just a quick tip about your goggles... if you're worried about them falling off on your starts, try putting them on under your cap... when your goggles are under your cap, there's not usually enough slack in the straps for them to fall off. i've been doing this since i switched age group teams (which was a long long time ago) nearly all of my college teammates (at both colleges!) also did this, and i've seen many top level swimmers do the same thing. and i know most of my masters teammates that compete also do it... i even will put my goggles under my cap if we practice starts. good luck with everything!

I can't relate to the starting block phobia as this is my favorite part of competing. I do have a few things to add however... First, I find I feel much more stable doing a track start. I also have much better starts with the track start. I also close my eyes until I'm all the way in the water. This is a weird habit that I started in gymnastics (not a good habit either). However for dives it is ok. And I had a massive back tumbling fear when I was a gymnast. I would crappily front tumble for days. Some days I would be able to back tumble well other days I wouldn't back tumble AT ALL! A very strange mental block I found a few others along the way shared. The coaches that were the most successful in working me through this problem were the ones that were patient and let me take things slow and easy. We started back to the lovely level 5 drills and worked our way up. This must have proved to be extremely frustrating to my coaches as this was a very common occurrence. The last bit of advice is picture the worst thing that could happen. Block now HAVE to be in deep water so you aren't going to hit the bottom (barring some miracle of physics). The worst thing really is that your goggles could come off. (Big deal happens to someone every meet - even happend to Amanda Beard in a big meet). Even if you have a terrible start and smack the water the blocks are low enough that a mild sting would be the absolute worst case senario. I always visualize myself going through my whole race (block start and all) as I'm getting ready for my heat. I think visualization is key. Positive thoughts! Julie Fody (I think it might be another woman's soccer player) has this quote along the lines of ..."Your mind can only hold one thought at a time, it's up to whether it's a positive one or a negative one."

Hey Heather! Wow - I can totally relate to the back tumbling fear - never was a gymnast but I can sense from your description that the concept is very similar. My fear really is a mental block. And it's kind of a relief to know that even Amanda Beard's goggles have fallen off! I once swam a 50 fly with my goggles around my neck (had to pull 'em outa my mouth! - yikes!). I have a tape on starts that was put together by Richard Quick and he has the swimmer demonstrating a track start, and to me it actually looks more stable, though I've never tried it. Well, my excuses are over. I've gotten so much good advice and it's not cold anymore (mid 60's for a while!) so I can't use the "excuse" that it's too cold outside to practice my starts! Thanks for the positive input! Ciao.:)

Mollie - cool idea!! Makes sense too. I'll give it a try.... Thanks! 'Cause let me tell ya, a 50 fly is not pleasant with goggles in your mouth...!

Hi Karen! That's great - then I'll probably see you on a Sat. in the very near future. Who is Patrick the diver??! Looking forward to meeting you! Kari:cool: