I Tried Swimming At Age 19. Here’s What I Learnt.
How a 15-Day Swimming Program helped me grow.
I always feared water.
I was a kid who ran out of the pool at age 8, just because I was asked to swim. But fast forward now, I feel confident enough to swim in water. Yes, I know it’s pretty late to learn swimming, but still, How did this happen? I would like to tell you the whole story (made short)…
It was just another summer evening at my home, I was just lost thinking at all the experiences and skills I wished to learn prior to age 19, but didn’t.
‘Summer’ and ‘Camps’ go hand-in-hand. It is usually sporting activities (like cricket, football, karate) and most importantly swimming. In search of utilising my time wisely, an idea popped in my mind: “What if I learn swimming this summer”?
Pretty logical right? I mean, to learn swimming during summer.
Looking for a nearby swimming pool, I came across a place which offered a 15 days’ training programme. Hmm…I was initially doubtful if the time offered (15 days), would yield good results, but guess what? The results were rather impressive!
Being a nervous, not-so-athletic kid since childhood, I enrolled for the training hoping for a change :)
How the Process Felt Like:
The first day was quite normal as a beginner. I was told the pool etiquette and entered the pool feeling really nervous. But seeing younger kids and older guys practicing boosted my confidence! I was taught how to float in water and I learned it rather quickly.
The trainers at the camp were also kind enough to treat me with enough attention as a beginner.
On the third day, I learnt the basics of the leg-kick movements and the hand crawl underwater, but had a hard time breathing while swimming.
The fourth day was quite good as I learnt the freestyle hand movements.
Fast forward to day 10, I was consistently practicing with the freestyle and did progress well.
Then on the last day, I tried underwater swimming with the help of a few videos I saw on YouTube.
Finally, I bid farewell to the 15 days’ swimming programme and came out confident of swimming.
My Key Takeaways from the 15-Day Programme:
- Feel free and relax — It is important to take it easy and progress slowly while learning something new. It is normal for people (me included) to rush with the learning initially, but we need to calm down and learn it step by step, such that it does not feel overwhelming.
- Focus on the fundamentals — The trainers at the place were quite frank about the course; it wouldn’t turn us into first-class swimmers when completed. Instead, they emphasised the need for regular practice and develop additional skills overtime. Basics like floating, kicking and the hand movements was intensely focused on and taught.
- Theory Session —I wanted to make sure that I made the most of my time at practice, so I read through a few articles on the web explaining the physics behind swimming. This helped me to think rationally about the process.
- Doubts Session — I also had many trivial doubts during the process, such as the breathing rhythm while underwater and others. However, receiving answers to these questions, made me refine my thought process regarding the subject and learn better.
- Just Experiment —As said earlier, reading through articles and watching videos on YouTube helped me perform underwater swim and backstroke (somewhat looked like it) which is on the intermediate level for a beginner. But I seemed to get the hang of it a little, after few days of trying. Why try? I was just curious.
“Be Like Water My Friend “ — Bruce Lee
Things to look out while choosing a centre:
- Location: Look out for a training centre nearby your residence as it would not make travelling seem overwhelming.
- Facilities: Make sure the pool has basic facilities to help you with the learning.
3. Opt for a good environment: Choose a centre which has good trainers and other fellow learners as it would create a community of leaners who share similar views about the learning.
Conclusion
On the whole, this was a great experience and I would hope these kind of experiences help me connect the dots in my future endeavours. Thanks to all the new people and to first of all getting to know the training centre, and to the idea in my mind to do so.
So, just make investments in new experiences such that it feeds your soul and you grow!
