Here is my story:
I am a 63-year old male who is looking to started swimming instruction. I was very afraid of the water growing up and avoided swimming lessons througout childhood and adolescence, although my two younger siblings learned without trouble. I was the typical shy, glasses-wearing nerd-type, tall and thin, with mostly intellectual interests. I did try several sports when young but didn't do well at any of them. I gave those up by tenth grade and have only walked for exercise since. I had zero water experience exxcept for some summertime wading in lakes.
I didn't learn to swim in high school, since none of the local high schools then required it. I often wonder what I would have done if they had.
After watching the 1972 Olympics, I finally decided to face my fear and, at age 27, enroll in an adult swimming class. Despite a humiliating experience in the first session ("OK, let's everyone swim down to the end of the pool and back.") I persevered and kept coming. That first session I submerged for the first time, simple but very scary. We worked on very basic skills. It took some courage just to open my eyes underwater.
I worked on the basic stuff, but never enjoyed it. There was minimal emphasis on building confidence and relaxation before moving on to stroke mechanics. We were introduced to deep-water adjustment skills, which I was not really ready for. They included descending the ladder to the bottom in the deep end, deep-water entry, and jumping off the diving board. The last two were terrifying. All I could think of was to get back and grab the side as soon as I could.
I never got totally comfortable with my face in the water. Every time I was in a prone in the water I thought of what it was like to drown.
Being in the prone position in the deep was especially scary. I just couldn't do it.
I took swimming classes off and on for about ten years with only modest success. I did learn the elementary back stroke and back crawl, but couldn't do any storkes on the front. I was given a kick board to practice the flutter kick but, despite much trying, couldn't move an inch. Strangely enough, I could kick across the pool, slowly, without using a board.
Parents
Former Member
Dear Beginnner63:
I really admire your willingness to persist. I think it's brave.
Anna Lea's idea about breaststroke seems like an excellent place to start.
I was a swimmer in high school and took twenty-some years off before coming back to the sport, and in the process I worked with a coach on some mechanics, which involved rebuilding my freestyle practically from scratch. Two years later, I am still drawing on those drills, which have some overlap with the TI approach.
I would give the private TI a try. There is a very satisfying sense of balance that can be gained in the water, that makes it feel like a medium of support. Those TI drills helped me gain a better sense of balance, and I'm glad of it.
It's true that goggles will reveal just how deep the water is. But they give a sense of perspective, too. Without them the water is something that happens to you--you're in it, and that's about all you can say. The perspective adds a sense of self-possession in what first seems like an alien environment.
You can do it! Best of luck.
Dear Beginnner63:
I really admire your willingness to persist. I think it's brave.
Anna Lea's idea about breaststroke seems like an excellent place to start.
I was a swimmer in high school and took twenty-some years off before coming back to the sport, and in the process I worked with a coach on some mechanics, which involved rebuilding my freestyle practically from scratch. Two years later, I am still drawing on those drills, which have some overlap with the TI approach.
I would give the private TI a try. There is a very satisfying sense of balance that can be gained in the water, that makes it feel like a medium of support. Those TI drills helped me gain a better sense of balance, and I'm glad of it.
It's true that goggles will reveal just how deep the water is. But they give a sense of perspective, too. Without them the water is something that happens to you--you're in it, and that's about all you can say. The perspective adds a sense of self-possession in what first seems like an alien environment.
You can do it! Best of luck.
