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.
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Former Member
What great advice I have received from those posting on this forum! I have, in fact, been in touch with Mike Daley, the TI coach in Wisconsin, who lives near here. He has suggested I work with him one-on-one, as he feels that learning swimming that way would be best for someone like me, a rather serious aquaphobe. I have been considering taking up his proposal for quite some time. You have persuaded me to give him a try.
It would mean an eighty-mile round trip for each lesson, but I feel it may be the best chance for me to achieve my goal.
I'd also like to, know, though, how does the TI method of teaching fearful nonswimmers compare with that of Melon Dash, of Miracle Swimming? Which would be better for dealing with this type of problem? I have also been in contact with her, but her workshops, like those of other intensive programs for curing aquaphobia, are effective, but cost a lot. I like the idea of learning close to home from a master teacher. It would also give me the opportunity to get in a lot of practice time, which I would not be able to do if I had to stay in a distant location while I am learning to swim. Mr. Daley requires three hours of practice time
for every hour of lessons. Unfortunately, the warm-water pool he uses initially is shallow, with a cold, deep-water pool used later for more advanced skills. It is better to acquire deep-water adjustment skills in warm water. I can't tolerate cold water for learning relaxation and general water-adjustment, which are absoutely vital, nor do I like being in a cold pool.
It is very hard to find a warm, deep-water pool, since most facilities have either a single, cold-water pool, or else a warm shallow pool used for teaching and a larger cold pool used for lap swimming. It would be ideal if Mr. Daley would agree to do his teaching in a warm-water pool that is also deep. I do know of a pool like that at a nearby YMCA, but it is quite unlikely he would agree to use it--it is about fifty miles from where he lives and I don't know if that facility would allow him to use it. I have been in that pool and it is absolutely delightful. He'd expect his student to learn swimming skills in the shallow pool I mentioned above and then transfer them to the colder, deep pool later. Still, I will follow up on the suggestions made here. Please let me know what you think and give me more ideas about my problems concerning my situation.
What great advice I have received from those posting on this forum! I have, in fact, been in touch with Mike Daley, the TI coach in Wisconsin, who lives near here. He has suggested I work with him one-on-one, as he feels that learning swimming that way would be best for someone like me, a rather serious aquaphobe. I have been considering taking up his proposal for quite some time. You have persuaded me to give him a try.
It would mean an eighty-mile round trip for each lesson, but I feel it may be the best chance for me to achieve my goal.
I'd also like to, know, though, how does the TI method of teaching fearful nonswimmers compare with that of Melon Dash, of Miracle Swimming? Which would be better for dealing with this type of problem? I have also been in contact with her, but her workshops, like those of other intensive programs for curing aquaphobia, are effective, but cost a lot. I like the idea of learning close to home from a master teacher. It would also give me the opportunity to get in a lot of practice time, which I would not be able to do if I had to stay in a distant location while I am learning to swim. Mr. Daley requires three hours of practice time
for every hour of lessons. Unfortunately, the warm-water pool he uses initially is shallow, with a cold, deep-water pool used later for more advanced skills. It is better to acquire deep-water adjustment skills in warm water. I can't tolerate cold water for learning relaxation and general water-adjustment, which are absoutely vital, nor do I like being in a cold pool.
It is very hard to find a warm, deep-water pool, since most facilities have either a single, cold-water pool, or else a warm shallow pool used for teaching and a larger cold pool used for lap swimming. It would be ideal if Mr. Daley would agree to do his teaching in a warm-water pool that is also deep. I do know of a pool like that at a nearby YMCA, but it is quite unlikely he would agree to use it--it is about fifty miles from where he lives and I don't know if that facility would allow him to use it. I have been in that pool and it is absolutely delightful. He'd expect his student to learn swimming skills in the shallow pool I mentioned above and then transfer them to the colder, deep pool later. Still, I will follow up on the suggestions made here. Please let me know what you think and give me more ideas about my problems concerning my situation.
