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
Wow! I had my first swimming lesson in a year and a half. I am starting out new with a wonderful instructor that seems to be just what I need. The facility is just right too--it has two deep-water pools. The one I am starting out in is a nice, twenty-yard long, warm-water pool (ninety degres), with a maximum depth of eight and a half feet. I had to move fast to register for lessons there because the place, an older YMCA near here, is closing in only two months. Deep, warm-water pools are near- impossible to find.
I am in private instruction twice a week with a patient, gentle instructor, whom the aquatics director chose for me in order to fit my needs. In this first lesson today, July 6, I started out wading in the shallow end, then I practiced floating on my back and then slowly kicking on my back across the pool. The instructor accompanying me, I moved slowly all the way around the pool, holding onto the gutter and each time pausing at the deep end while standing on the resting step. We circled the pool three or four times. She had me float vertically supported by swim noodles, learning to relax, while gradually moving into deeper water. She also told me what to do if I suddenly wound up in the water face down, though I didn't practice that.
I didn't do anything yet with my face in the water or submerged, but she said I'll soon be doing those things. I just worked on getting relaxed in the water and general water adjustment. And the warm water really makes a difference. She said that, in only four lessons, she might have me jump into the deep end, working up to it gradually. I couldn't believe it, since I've never been able to do that without tension and fear. This is about the first swimming lesson I have ever had that I actually enjoyed. Her manner was so relaxed and inspiring of confidence. I'm looking forward to more lessons with her. It looks like I might actually have found the right formula for learning to swim!
Wow! I had my first swimming lesson in a year and a half. I am starting out new with a wonderful instructor that seems to be just what I need. The facility is just right too--it has two deep-water pools. The one I am starting out in is a nice, twenty-yard long, warm-water pool (ninety degres), with a maximum depth of eight and a half feet. I had to move fast to register for lessons there because the place, an older YMCA near here, is closing in only two months. Deep, warm-water pools are near- impossible to find.
I am in private instruction twice a week with a patient, gentle instructor, whom the aquatics director chose for me in order to fit my needs. In this first lesson today, July 6, I started out wading in the shallow end, then I practiced floating on my back and then slowly kicking on my back across the pool. The instructor accompanying me, I moved slowly all the way around the pool, holding onto the gutter and each time pausing at the deep end while standing on the resting step. We circled the pool three or four times. She had me float vertically supported by swim noodles, learning to relax, while gradually moving into deeper water. She also told me what to do if I suddenly wound up in the water face down, though I didn't practice that.
I didn't do anything yet with my face in the water or submerged, but she said I'll soon be doing those things. I just worked on getting relaxed in the water and general water adjustment. And the warm water really makes a difference. She said that, in only four lessons, she might have me jump into the deep end, working up to it gradually. I couldn't believe it, since I've never been able to do that without tension and fear. This is about the first swimming lesson I have ever had that I actually enjoyed. Her manner was so relaxed and inspiring of confidence. I'm looking forward to more lessons with her. It looks like I might actually have found the right formula for learning to swim!
