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
Thanks for the suggestion Re: learning the breaststroke. In fact, I was in the process of the learning the breaststroke when I had to stop swimming around 1982 due to a case of swimmer's ear. It was difficult but I was making slow progress when I quit. It was hard but at least seemed doable as compared to the hated crawl stroke, which I had worked on more than anything else. Coordinating all the elements of the latter stroke proved impossible to master, especially the breathing. I've wanted to get back into the water to complete this unfinished task of learning swimming ever since. I do not feel that trying to become an overall competent swimmer at this point is realistic. It makes more since simply to concentrate on becoming comfortable in the water and, hopefully, learning to have fun. Forget about learning to swim. That might come later. Trying to acquire swimming skills in order to be come be safe and comfortable is putting the cart before the horse. I feel strongly that, at least for people like me, a separate course in water adjustment should PRECEDE entrance into a beginning swim class. You cannot really learn even the simplest swimming mechanics without first learning to relax and be in control. Such a course must take an extremely slow and incremental approach, and be taught by a gentle, noncritical instructor. There should be NO emphasis on teaching swimming mechanics, but rather on being relaxed and in control. These skills should involve work in both shallow and deep water. And why shouldn't the student not be taught to have fun in the water? The stress was always on the same grim series of drills attempting to teach basic swim skills. Making someone do something he does not want to do DOES NOT work. It can never work. Pupils must be allowed to view water as a wonderful source of pleasure and delight, even sensuality. You cannot feel both pleasure and fear at the same time. Everything new that he wants to do should seem like fun to the student before he attempts it. Wearing a comfortable set of goggles is a great idea. Without them you can't really see, which feeds into your fear, and also your eyes can feel quite uncomfortable. Water temperature is critical. I found that a pool temperature of at least 90 degrees works very well. That is too warm for most people, but for me it feels great. I tried to learn swimming mostly in pools that were too cold. Trying to learn essentially blinded in cold, clammy water does not work. Just those two things--googles and warm water--would be a huge, huge improvement.
Thanks for the suggestion Re: learning the breaststroke. In fact, I was in the process of the learning the breaststroke when I had to stop swimming around 1982 due to a case of swimmer's ear. It was difficult but I was making slow progress when I quit. It was hard but at least seemed doable as compared to the hated crawl stroke, which I had worked on more than anything else. Coordinating all the elements of the latter stroke proved impossible to master, especially the breathing. I've wanted to get back into the water to complete this unfinished task of learning swimming ever since. I do not feel that trying to become an overall competent swimmer at this point is realistic. It makes more since simply to concentrate on becoming comfortable in the water and, hopefully, learning to have fun. Forget about learning to swim. That might come later. Trying to acquire swimming skills in order to be come be safe and comfortable is putting the cart before the horse. I feel strongly that, at least for people like me, a separate course in water adjustment should PRECEDE entrance into a beginning swim class. You cannot really learn even the simplest swimming mechanics without first learning to relax and be in control. Such a course must take an extremely slow and incremental approach, and be taught by a gentle, noncritical instructor. There should be NO emphasis on teaching swimming mechanics, but rather on being relaxed and in control. These skills should involve work in both shallow and deep water. And why shouldn't the student not be taught to have fun in the water? The stress was always on the same grim series of drills attempting to teach basic swim skills. Making someone do something he does not want to do DOES NOT work. It can never work. Pupils must be allowed to view water as a wonderful source of pleasure and delight, even sensuality. You cannot feel both pleasure and fear at the same time. Everything new that he wants to do should seem like fun to the student before he attempts it. Wearing a comfortable set of goggles is a great idea. Without them you can't really see, which feeds into your fear, and also your eyes can feel quite uncomfortable. Water temperature is critical. I found that a pool temperature of at least 90 degrees works very well. That is too warm for most people, but for me it feels great. I tried to learn swimming mostly in pools that were too cold. Trying to learn essentially blinded in cold, clammy water does not work. Just those two things--googles and warm water--would be a huge, huge improvement.
