Post by: TallDude on July 30, 2017, 05:27:30 PM
I started as a very little dude. Maybe 3 or 4 yrs old at a local indoor pool. Kicking with kick boards back and forth. Then on to the YMCA swim program where you graduate through various levels. I remember the 'shark level' where you had to swim across the bottom of the pool back and forth holding your breath the whole time. We moved to the beach when I was 7 yrs old. One of my first friends introduced me to surfing about that time. I learned how to swim in the ocean from my dad ( body surfing with fins) and my friends I surfed with. I didn't have a leash back then because they were more dangerous to use at first. Just wax and a board. I would say body surfing really got me comfortable in the ocean.
I just got back from a week in Lake Tahoe. The water is warmer this year, and the lake level is maxed. I did a good amount of swimming and just floating each day. Just relaxing and floating on my back reminded me of my swimming roots as a kid.
Swimming laps in a pool, I'd give myself a 4.
Swimming in the ocean, a 6. A 7 if I have to chase my board.
Post by: seadart on July 30, 2017, 05:57:51 PM
Post by: CascadeSup on July 30, 2017, 06:15:26 PM
In addition to SUP, I've windsurfed since 1979, and can swim far and fast enough to catch my board when it gets away in high wind crashes. My usual windsurf spot is a lake, 1 mile across shore to shore, 5 miles upwind/downwind, and the water is cold. These days, swimming in unassisted from the middle would be a challenge, but with my impact vest, I'm sure I could stay afloat long enough to get somewhere.
I've never done laps in a pool, but I do get some additional swimming practice in the lakes in the summer.
Open water, I'd give myself about a 3.
Post by: SUPcheat on July 30, 2017, 07:08:21 PM
My father was in the Navy so there were nice pools everywhere he posted. In grammar school, I won a few competitions, but didn't keep up the competitive part and became a nerd.
I would rate my pool swimming a 4 and my ocean swimming a 3 handing it to myself.
A proper swimming stroke can feel unnatural until you get used to it, so coaching is almost always necessary if you want to get past a certain point.
Post by: Dusk Patrol on July 30, 2017, 08:09:08 PM
Post by: Bean on July 30, 2017, 08:14:46 PM
I learned to swim in a cold murky lake in Norway when I was about 5. I had gotten too deep and it was swim or drown. Swimming in Norway just wasn't big back then because there was such a short seasonal window. Unfortunately, kids drowned every year. Now, virtually every school there has an indoor pool.
Post by: hbsteve on July 30, 2017, 08:15:36 PM
Fortunately, my dads best friend owned a 56 foot schooner in Newport Beach. He would only allow me to go to Catalina Island if I could swim in deep water. Swimming from an anchored boat is different than swimming from the beach. It's all deep. I made it.
Then we moved to Newport Beach CA. The swim lessons were at the beach. Many summer afternoons we went bodysurfing.
For two years during high school I was on the water polo and swim teams. If during water polo practice you let your feet touch the bottom, you were sent to the dive pool. There they made us go thru treading water drills. I wasn't the fastest swimmer, but I sure had endurance.
During this time I started bodysurfing by the point around 17th to 19th streets, in any size. I used the rip tides to help me get out to the waves. I always felt comfortable that I could get out of the rip tides, once outside.
I surfed for a long time, long boards before leashes, piapo boards, rafts, boogie boards etc..
I can still swim. But, today, I'm probably a 3.
Post by: stoneaxe on July 30, 2017, 08:29:29 PM
Pono and my brother Dave also got me hooked on snorkeling/spearfishing when I was a kid...and I hooked a friend who I used to vacation with on the beach in Marshfield for two weeks each summer....it was routine at 10 years old to be cruising the bottom in 30' of water with a sweatshirt to keep us warm and a home made Hawaiian sling spear.
Great memories..... 8)
That said I can't believe how much of it I've lost.
Laps in a pool 3-4, I can still swim all day in the ocean but i just don't get where I'm going very quickly. Sprinting...6...its a sad short sprint though... :(
Post by: JP4 on July 30, 2017, 09:42:29 PM
I guess 5 Olympic gold medals didn't get you much back then.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170731/bd734a476bebc6ceaf46630d44536401.jpg)
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Post by: nalu-sup on July 30, 2017, 10:01:08 PM
Post by: PonoBill on July 30, 2017, 10:48:41 PM
I don't remember how I learned to swim, but I did it all the time. When I was a kid the Boston city pools cost a penny. That got you in, plus you got a basket for your clothes and a number on a bungee cord you stuck on your wrist. A bus was a nickel each way, so for eleven cents I was set for the day. Pretty big pools with a separate diving pool with low and high dives. And every summer my Dad's summer vacation consisted of days at the beach. I was in the water constantly. My Uncle Al used to take us to the beach too--he was a lifelong bachelor and only worked minimal jobs. I was good underwater, learned to hold my breath long enough to swim the length of "Olympic" pools. Did a lot of freediving, and later lots of Scuba. I logged over 300 dives before I quit logging them.
Now my shoulders are pretty toasted--multiple surgeries on both sides. My stroke is fairly pathetic but I can keep going for a long time. I've swum in from some pretty long distances, but it takes me all day. Boyum is trying to improve my swimming, but I think he's pushing sand uphill.
Post by: pdxmike on July 31, 2017, 12:18:40 AM
Took lessons at the Lewis and Clark College pool from this guy in the late 60's. You wouldn't know it from watching me swim though (https://emoji.tapatalk-cdn.com/emoji854.png)I heard that, at least a few years ago, he'd occasionally show up to swim on friends' relays at masters meets, under the pseudonym "Donut Boy". I bet he's still fast. I also heard he could kick 100 yards faster than normal humans can swim.
I guess 5 Olympic gold medals didn't get you much back then.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170731/bd734a476bebc6ceaf46630d44536401.jpg)
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Post by: headmount on July 31, 2017, 01:20:40 AM
My Dad was thrown into Maliko Gulch when he was four. I was 7 and learned from a Marine at the pool in Fort Belvoir Virginia in 1957. This guy had swam in to do prep work at Inchon, Korea.
Post by: yugi on July 31, 2017, 02:51:39 AM
I don't remember tossing Bob in. He probably fell in--the kid was clumsy. It's not the kind of thing I would do.
...
I can see how years of practice saying that with a straight face prepped you for your success in marketing.
Post by: Badger on July 31, 2017, 03:25:14 AM
In 1964 at the age of seven, I took my first summer of weekly swimming lessons at our town beach which is on an inland tidal bay in NH. There were no pools in our town back then. Pretty cold water (60-65F) in July. By mid august it would warm up to (75F). It wasn't too bad as long as the air was warmer than the water. The instructor always said, if you fall off a boat, the water is going to be cold, so get used to the feeling.
Like all forms of schooling, I didn't like going, but I made through five summers which gave me a lifelong love of the water. I never was a strong swimmer. I'm probably a 4 or 5 on the scale. I really should spend more time just swimming, especially now that I'm entering my 60's and surfing a lot. Thanks for the reminder.
Post by: stoneaxe on July 31, 2017, 06:28:17 AM
I don't remember tossing Bob in. He probably fell in--the kid was clumsy. It's not the kind of thing I would do.
...
I can see how years of practice saying that with a straight face prepped you for your success in marketing.
;D ;D ;D.....I don't remember much past 6 years old except for the traumatic events....I can still remember my Uncle Woody storming down onto the dock and shoving Bill in.
LOL...having a confirmed bachelor Uncle was pretty cool I have to admit. Uncle Al would pile us kids into his car and head to the beach 1/2 dozen times a summer...of course I think it was somewhat so he would seem safe to the ladies. I don't think he ever left the beach without a number..... ;)
Post by: Ichabod Spoonbill on July 31, 2017, 06:43:01 AM
Post by: Tom on July 31, 2017, 07:02:25 AM
Post by: Night Wing on July 31, 2017, 08:10:43 AM
Post by: Old School 213 on July 31, 2017, 08:30:06 AM
Post by: SlatchJim on July 31, 2017, 09:30:56 AM
At 54, and after a heart attack, I don't have the turnover I had 15 years ago when I raced my HS Sophomore water polo playing son for a car (yea, wasn't going to lose that one), but I can still chase down a board or make it to shore. In comparison to others my age, I'm sure I'm in the 99th percentile, but compared to a masters swimmer or someone that hasn't had heart issues and I'm pretty JV. I could still swim 2 miles without dying, but I'd only rate myself a 7 at best.
p.s. the kid is much much faster than I am now.
Post by: seadart on July 31, 2017, 11:38:50 AM
Post by: digger71 on July 31, 2017, 12:31:34 PM
I have a business partner in his 60's who grew up in Illinois and told me they used to swim naked in gym class. I thought he was full of sh@t but apparently that was a thing up until the 70's
http://www.chicagonow.com/open-heart/2014/08/swimming-naked-in-gym-class-really-happened/#comments
Post by: Quickbeam on July 31, 2017, 04:30:08 PM
I don’t swim as much as I used to and find myself swimming less because I’m on my paddle board more. But I do still love to get in the water.
Post by: Tom on July 31, 2017, 05:17:42 PM
To stay on topic I learned at the local Y. But...
I have a business partner in his 60's who grew up in Illinois and told me they used to swim naked in gym class. I thought he was full of sh@t but apparently that was a thing up until the 70's
http://www.chicagonow.com/open-heart/2014/08/swimming-naked-in-gym-class-really-happened/#comments
That's the way it was in Iowa at the Y, Jr and Sr High school . At school we had 2 days of swim and 3 of gym, mandatory .
Post by: pdxmike on July 31, 2017, 10:19:41 PM
PDX Did you see that Caleb Dressel came within .04 of MP's world record in the 100 fly. 49.86!It's pretty impressive that swimmers are catching up and surpassing all the records set with tech suits.
My Dad was thrown into Maliko Gulch when he was four. I was 7 and learned from a Marine at the pool in Fort Belvoir Virginia in 1957. This guy had swam in to do prep work at Inchon, Korea.
And wow, I was born at Ft. Belvoir. If you were there beyond 1957 maybe we even met.
Post by: pdxmike on July 31, 2017, 10:50:48 PM
I feel like I only really learned to swim by joining a masters team, and swimming with some really fast people. It's really a joy to watch (and get hints from) people who've spent a lifetime perfecting every nuance of the strokes. You see that they're doing each of a hundred things better than you, and it adds up to them being staggeringly faster and more efficient. Technique is almost everything. As an example, one guy on our team (Olympic swimmer) could go the full length of a 25-yard pool underwater from a push-off. No pull or kick, just push off and glide. There's almost nothing to work with to improve that other than the push-off with your legs, and body position. It's about double what a typical good swimmer might be able to do, and all the result of getting every part of his body in better position than other people can.
Outside of my own pool, I'm pretty good, but still something like a 1 against decent kid swimmers, and maybe a 2 against my teammates. Once I drove to a national open water race that was held in Oregon and got fourth in my age group. If I'd stayed in town for my team's Saturday workout instead, I would have been 6th out of 6 in my age group. The only stroke I can do well is breaststroke. I'm a zero in backstroke. I'm slow in fly, but can do it long distances, like a mile or an hour. I learned that so the 200 fly races wouldn't intimidate me. It's another example of how technique is everything.
Post by: SlatchJim on August 01, 2017, 12:15:13 PM
Perhaps whatever you lack in a pool is a bonus out in the chop? You must be more free-range and less coop.
Post by: pdxmike on August 01, 2017, 04:06:59 PM
pdx: Open water is a whole different ball game for sure. That same son I beat as a HS Sophomore, tested for a life guard job in San Clemente after graduating. He took third in a huge group of college level swimmers. I don't know if he didn't let the 55 degree water bother him or he's just more stubborn than most, but he was never a blazing fast swimmer. His unorthodox water polo inspired style (He was all zone in polo) in that environment was probably the right fit, and he was finally at home.Oh, the people on my team would beat me just as bad in open water. But you're right, it is a different game, and it's why pool swimming can only take you so far as far as being capable in open water, especially the ocean. And you need open water experience to feel comfortable in open water, and to overcome the common tendency (even among good pool swimmers) to feel uneasy or even to panic in open water, which really drains your energy. I'm sure many good pool swimmers get into trouble right away in open water from a) getting shocked by the cold water, and b) getting totally flipped out by instantly getting slapped in the face by waves and swallowing salt water, and never being able to gain their composure.
Perhaps whatever you lack in a pool is a bonus out in the chop? You must be more free-range and less coop.
And water polo players are just plain tough.
Post by: dns on August 01, 2017, 06:18:41 PM
Post by: PonoBill on August 01, 2017, 07:09:01 PM
To stay on topic I learned at the local Y. But...
I have a business partner in his 60's who grew up in Illinois and told me they used to swim naked in gym class. I thought he was full of sh@t but apparently that was a thing up until the 70's
http://www.chicagonow.com/open-heart/2014/08/swimming-naked-in-gym-class-really-happened/#comments
Absolutely. When I was a kid all the indoor pools required that you swim naked. No idea why, it was what they did. No co-ed stuff of course. Must have been a great place to work for pedophiles. I read some of the comments in the Chicago piece. I don't know why I ever do that. There are some remarkably sucko people walking around out there. Everything from grossly touchy-feely PC to gay bashers in one page. Uck. Like looking at a squashed possum.
Post by: CascadeSup on August 02, 2017, 08:01:03 PM
Woman swim length of Flathead Lake and back (http://missoulian.com/news/local/woman-swims-length-of-flathead-lake-and-back-the-first/article_22b5d233-b701-531b-b0af-068b62307bc6.html) - 56 miles in 40 hours. "On Sunday, huge swells began to form, battering the swimmers and making the water so choppy that their support crew became sick and had to be replaced."
She also swam the 55 miles in Lake Chelan in 2011.
Post by: surf4food on August 03, 2017, 06:31:34 AM
To stay on topic I learned at the local Y. But...
I have a business partner in his 60's who grew up in Illinois and told me they used to swim naked in gym class. I thought he was full of sh@t but apparently that was a thing up until the 70's
http://www.chicagonow.com/open-heart/2014/08/swimming-naked-in-gym-class-really-happened/#comments
Absolutely. When I was a kid all the indoor pools required that you swim naked. No idea why, it was what they did. No co-ed stuff of course. Must have been a great place to work for pedophiles. I read some of the comments in the Chicago piece. I don't know why I ever do that. There are some remarkably sucko people walking around out there. Everything from grossly touchy-feely PC to gay bashers in one page. Uck. Like looking at a squashed possum.
I imagine the last post on that article was pure troll. I have serious doubts that person is really trying to sue people from 1970 and possibly send them to jail. Not to mention she doesn't quite look old enough to have been in high school back then.
Post by: tautologies on August 04, 2017, 11:25:10 AM
School. We had swimming once a week from 2nd grade (I think)...I pretty much learned by signing up for a swimming competition at my local school at the beginning of the year.
Post by: NEplay on August 04, 2017, 01:12:35 PM
Anyway I went on to an obsession with Windsurfing and always assumed I was terrific swimmer, in spite of my pledge to the lovely instructor in her red swim suit.(delusional thing is a little genetic) Lots of year round New England winter windsurfing followed with me basically stalking the likes of Nevin Sayer. I learned to windsurf by attempting to do whatever I saw Nevin do. So there were many moments when i was just a TOUCH over my head Nevin being a world champion windsurfer in the era of Robby Naish and Bjorn Dunkerbeck(?). It is truly a miracle I did not drown.
Fast forward to 2008 and I fall in with love with a fetching Smithie who was a varsity swimmer, a triathlete and on going masters swimmer. I say "great we can do triathlons together". We go to the pool to do a workout with her Masters group and every single swimmer is passing me like I am going 30mph on the Autobahn and I am in the slowest lane. I am now thinking "huh, I thought I was a pretty darn good swimmer, a 'water women' even but everybody is on a different planet then me in this pool." Thus began a 2 year journey to actually learn how to swim and it was one of the mosts humbling athletic experiences of my life. I learned how to rotary breath, do flip turns, what "sets" were and basically put a lot of time to basically still be slow as fuck, just not as slow. The young Smithie is long gone, 11 years my junior(delusional remember) but I still swim. I love open water swimming. I have a membership at my town pool but it is by far the hardest sport I have ever tried to get fast at.
Post by: supthecreek on August 04, 2017, 02:29:31 PM
My Dad heard the splash..... he looked down and I was laying on the bottom, smiling at up at him.
He jumped in and dragged me up.... "What did you do THAT for?"
"I knew you would save me" ;D ;D
My parents were both excellent swimmers.... and not rich.
Summers were hot in Connecticut, even before Al Gore.
Air conditioning was not something most folks had, so in order to save us from melting, my parents organized a group of friends to build a swimming pool club from scratch. My mom found a cheap piece of land on a hillside, that was mostly cleared of trees from an DC 3 airliner crash in 1946.
My Dad arranged loans for each family, from a local bank and the club was built. Each loan? $125
Copper Valley Club, Cheshire CT.... still there... still awesome.
The pool was standard size for races, so after we learned to swim..... we raced.... and never stopped.
MY brother and I were on the Cheshire Academy Swim Team, which managed to stay undefeated State Champions for 3 straight years.
I swam the 400 yard freestyle.
I have to dogpaddle now, because my rotator cuffs won't rotate.
Mostly, I lay on my back and kick my feet. Thank God for leashes.
Post by: mrbig on August 04, 2017, 03:22:37 PM
The beach boys liked the little blondie and taught him how to swim. Caught my first wave on an inflatable at Nanikuli.
Swam in pools, junior lifesaving, senior lifesaving, and experienced the freezing waters of NE every summer.
Also learned to slalom ski on Lake Ossippee behind my Uncle's Yellowjacket.
My Dad and I used to see who could swim farther underwater in pools. Came in handy later.
Can swim forever using my Grandma's modified one armed sidestroke. Very very slowly!!
Post by: supdiscobay on August 04, 2017, 03:39:21 PM
Recently retired from coaching water polo, high school and year round club, and now just assist on the pool deck. But there are those days when I get in the water with the boys and I have to perform. So I swim about 3,000 yds several days a week in a lap pool, with some water polo oriented drills too. Workout changes every day to make it fun. I tried to swim morning conditioning workouts with the boys. But holy crap they are fast. We have several mid 40 second 100 free, and a backstroker in the upper 40's and he is a junior. So I do my own thing when they are not around.
Hats off to those of you who open water swim. It is a whole different world. Definitely an adjustment for me when I get out in unruly conditions in the ocean. Every year when we go to Maui, it takes a few days to really feel comfortable getting worked.
Post by: TallDude on August 04, 2017, 03:40:09 PM
Can swim forever using my Grandma's modified one armed sidestroke. Very very slowly!!
That's funny. My mom totally. If I'm tired swimming, I do the same thing. Her little side stroke so she wouldn't mess up her hair. CLASSIC! ;D
Post by: lucabrasi on August 05, 2017, 07:15:24 AM
My mom described her side stroke as picking dandelions. Reach out, pick one and bring it back and put it in the pail and reach out and get another. I still will swim that stroke. One arm? Never thought about it but I think it is. Switch sides then the other arm.
I not sure how I learned to swim tho. I remember flailing around in a lake (Flathead actually) when I was 3-4 and my dad had to get me. When I was 6-7 and had moved to Cali many of my friends had pools and I would swim/play in those. When I was 7-8 my mom stuck me in swim lessons. She told them I had never swam and they stuck me in the first timers. I jumped right in and swam and they moved me up a few notches right then. I guess I had learned something being in the neighborhood pools. Ended up getting our own pool and swam lots. Did a few years of lessons and did all the boy scout stuff others have mentioned as well. All the local reservoirs, lakes, etc. Just something about being in the open water than in a pool.
I do pretty good but I couldn't be over a 5 or 6.
I am amazed how many adults I have ran across over the years that say they can't swim. I just can't quite wrap my head around it.
Swimming is one of the things I made sure my kids knew how to do at an early age.
Post by: Beasho on August 05, 2017, 07:27:08 AM
My parents were both excellent swimmers.... and not rich.
Creek: I have heard you mention this before - I am not buying it. Now I learn that your parents started a swim club, you have been to Heron Island, started a Surf Bar, are sponsored by one of the best SUP companies on Planet Earth at the age of . . . . . ~70 :o, spend 5 hours a day surfing glassy conditions 5 days in a row, probably more often than you can comfortably share with us, you claim to turn harder backside than front side AND HAVE THE VIDEO TO PROVE IT and I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. Who does this?
You build, share and promote Stoke like you did last weekend at Ocean Mist.
You are richer than you know and make those guys with fancy cars and mansions in the Hamptons feel like they have been sent down a bait-and-switch life path.
Thanks for sharing your riches. Don't ever Stop.
PS: I no longer swim. I wear float and pull on my leash. Float should be mandatory for surfers it might save lives but would increase surfing ability by 30% across the board.
Post by: pdxmike on August 05, 2017, 11:27:28 AM
I also read the dry-hair breaststroke was common long ago, when people (including distance swimmers) wanted to swim without putting their heads or mouths in questionable water, and your arm stroke would sweep away the floating leaves, dead rats, etc. That was before it was taken over by moms in the 1960s at the 12-2 PM Ladies Lap Swim at the pool, to keep their hair dry that didn't fit under their 3D flower bathing caps. It's another really efficient, practical stroke for open water--all legs, and full visibility.
Post by: seadart on August 05, 2017, 01:24:01 PM
At our scout camp there was mile swim event every year. When you are 11 or 12 a mile is a long way. Our scoutmaster made sure each one of us could swim a mile doing the side stroke and breast stroke. We always thought he was a bit over the top dedicated to knowing how to swim long distances. My scoutmaster was my Dad's best friend growing up and he clued me in to a story about our scoutmaster. He was in the Philippine Islands during WWII when the Japanese took the island he was on, he and several others sneaked down to the beach in darkness and swam to US Navy ships many miles off shore to escape, many of his friends left on that beach never made it home.
Post by: ford on August 06, 2017, 02:03:20 PM
I'd say I'm around a 7 as a swimmer. Completely comfortable in the water swimming above or below. Decent technique though I never swam competitively.
Post by: Roundhouse on August 07, 2017, 06:37:10 AM
Parents today are much more engaged. One local mom puts a shark repellent bracelets on 3 kids' ankles and herself before going out. Each bracelet costs more than my first board that I had to mow yards to pay off.
Post by: novaboy on August 13, 2017, 03:44:45 PM
Post by: TallDude on August 13, 2017, 11:07:36 PM
Maybe a 'Adults Swim for Life' or 'Everyone Should Swim' motto, or something like that. My daughter didn't seem that interested, and I think she felt like I was asking her to swim another mile:) Kids.
Anyway, I remember an older gentleman who would take private lessons at night with one of my kids swim coaches years ago. His lesson was after my sons. He was probably in his fifties at the time, and just learning how to float on his back, and do a sort of breast stroke. I thought, that has got to be kinda of embarrassing for most adults to be taking lessons with a bunch of Kindergarten age kids. At the same time, shows determination and the desire to probably over come a huge fear. Most of the adult swim programs are Masters swimming, Senior Aqua Therapy, Aqua Zoomba, etc and private lessons during the middle of the day. There are always private lessons if you know where to look. It would be great if everyone has the opportunity to learn what some of us have almost taken for granite.
Post by: pdxmike on August 13, 2017, 11:50:34 PM
Here's a thought. I was talking to my daughter who is her girls high school swim team captain. She's also working on her girl scout Gold Award. I was telling her about some recent drownings because the people were adults that didn't know how to swim. Maybe for her Gold Award she could bring awareness to the real risks of not knowing how to swim. Part of it would be to create a nation wide program where Cities, Counties, YMCA's, Junior Colleges, even club swim teams could donate time to give adults who don't know how to swim. Maybe just a series of basic lessons on a side stoke, treading water and an intro to freestyle.All perfectly said. I might be remembering totally incorrectly, but I recall that UKRiverSurfers teaches swimming to adults, although I'm not sure that includes beginners. It'd be interesting to hear from him.
Maybe a 'Adults Swim for Life' or 'Everyone Should Swim' motto, or something like that. My daughter didn't seem that interested, and I think she felt like I was asking her to swim another mile:) Kids.
Anyway, I remember an older gentleman who would take private lessons at night with one of my kids swim coaches years ago. His lesson was after my sons. He was probably in his fifties at the time, and just learning how to float on his back, and do a sort of breast stroke. I thought, that has got to be kinda of embarrassing for most adults to be taking lessons with a bunch of Kindergarten age kids. At the same time, shows determination and the desire to probably over come a huge fear. Most of the adult swim programs are Masters swimming, Senior Aqua Therapy, Aqua Zoomba, etc and private lessons during the middle of the day. There are always private lessons if you know where to look. It would be great if everyone has the opportunity to learn what some of us have almost taken for granite.
Is there anything that combines more scary things to overcome than learning how to swim as an adult? It combines a primal fear (fear of drowning), embarrassment (that you grew to adulthood without learning), more embarrassment (wearing a swimsuit), fear/embarrassment combo (fear of not being able to do it, and being humiliated while others are watching)...Plus I'd bet one reason some people didn't learn to swim is because they had negative experiences in their past (parents who feared water, knowing someone who drowned, etc.).
Plus there's nothing like swimming (except maybe bike riding?) for looking easy (and being easy) once you know how to do it, but being totally frustrating when you don't. It's bad enough learning something that everyone views as difficult, or that lots of people learn as adults--quite another to learn something that looks so easy for everyone but you. I remember starting masters workouts and being totally unable to do some of the basic drills at first, even though I was a good swimmer. They became easy quickly, but I already had the experience of knowing they'd become easy. I know a lot of triathletes who tried masters swimming and dropped it, out of frustration that despite their fitness, they couldn't come close to keeping up with 70-year old, 5' tall women swimmers, and progress came too slowly for them. They switched to becoming great duathletes. Point is they were embarrassed and frustrated in learning how to IMPROVE their swimming, and they already had the experience of and confidence from being good athletes. Learning how to swim as an adult seems like it would be like that, magnified. It takes guts to take up swimming once you're beyond childhood.
Post by: stoneaxe on August 14, 2017, 07:36:14 AM
When we got out she said she wanted me to start taking her paddleboarding more, that she wants to paddle flat water before I teach her to surf and that maybe she'll do the CCBC someday. Just like that all in one quick sentence...I was smiling so hard I thought my face would crack...... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Post by: Quickbeam on August 14, 2017, 09:43:54 AM
Here's a thought. I was talking to my daughter who is her girls high school swim team captain. She's also working on her girl scout Gold Award. I was telling her about some recent drownings because the people were adults that didn't know how to swim. Maybe for her Gold Award she could bring awareness to the real risks of not knowing how to swim. Part of it would be to create a nation wide program where Cities, Counties, YMCA's, Junior Colleges, even club swim teams could donate time to give adults who don't know how to swim. Maybe just a series of basic lessons on a side stoke, treading water and an intro to freestyle.All perfectly said. I might be remembering totally incorrectly, but I recall that UKRiverSurfers teaches swimming to adults, although I'm not sure that includes beginners. It'd be interesting to hear from him.
Maybe a 'Adults Swim for Life' or 'Everyone Should Swim' motto, or something like that. My daughter didn't seem that interested, and I think she felt like I was asking her to swim another mile:) Kids.
Anyway, I remember an older gentleman who would take private lessons at night with one of my kids swim coaches years ago. His lesson was after my sons. He was probably in his fifties at the time, and just learning how to float on his back, and do a sort of breast stroke. I thought, that has got to be kinda of embarrassing for most adults to be taking lessons with a bunch of Kindergarten age kids. At the same time, shows determination and the desire to probably over come a huge fear. Most of the adult swim programs are Masters swimming, Senior Aqua Therapy, Aqua Zoomba, etc and private lessons during the middle of the day. There are always private lessons if you know where to look. It would be great if everyone has the opportunity to learn what some of us have almost taken for granite.
Is there anything that combines more scary things to overcome than learning how to swim as an adult? It combines a primal fear (fear of drowning), embarrassment (that you grew to adulthood without learning), more embarrassment (wearing a swimsuit), fear/embarrassment combo (fear of not being able to do it, and being humiliated while others are watching)...Plus I'd bet one reason some people didn't learn to swim is because they had negative experiences in their past (parents who feared water, knowing someone who drowned, etc.).
Plus there's nothing like swimming (except maybe bike riding?) for looking easy (and being easy) once you know how to do it, but being totally frustrating when you don't. It's bad enough learning something that everyone views as difficult, or that lots of people learn as adults--quite another to learn something that looks so easy for everyone but you. I remember starting masters workouts and being totally unable to do some of the basic drills at first, even though I was a good swimmer. They became easy quickly, but I already had the experience of knowing they'd become easy. I know a lot of triathletes who tried masters swimming and dropped it, out of frustration that despite their fitness, they couldn't come close to keeping up with 70-year old, 5' tall women swimmers, and progress came too slowly for them. They switched to becoming great duathletes. Point is they were embarrassed and frustrated in learning how to IMPROVE their swimming, and they already had the experience of and confidence from being good athletes. Learning how to swim as an adult seems like it would be like that, magnified. It takes guts to take up swimming once you're beyond childhood.
TallDude and pdxmike,
Absolutely agree with both of your comments. My wife grew up on the Prairies and as kids they just didn’t have the same kind of opportunities to swim that I did. On top of that, my wife’s Mom nearly drowned when she was a kid and was scared of the water, so to some extent she passed that on to her kids. Luckily, my wife is pretty adventurous and while not a great swimmer, is not afraid of the water. She can get around in the water and kayaks, paddle boards and snorkels without fear.
My wife’s sister though, does not know how to swim and is not comfortable in the water at all. She has taken swim lessons as an adult but they really didn’t seem to help her much. I’m not sure if the lessons she took were at an adult oriented class or not, but I think it’s a great idea.
Post by: TallDude on August 14, 2017, 10:32:54 AM
I'm very excited that my granddaughter is finally comfortable in the water. She seemed to have that primal fear in abundance for awhile, phobia level fear. Didn't want to put her head under water, afraid of being on her back, afraid to jump into the pool. Trying to explain away the fear and pushing her (figuratively not literally) didn't work. We took it very slowly and allowed her to find her own comfort level. I taught her diaphragmatic breathing and we practiced holding our breath outside the pool. Then showed her how long I could stay underwater while swimming for the torpedoes and rings she was tossing around. Sunday night she was diving into the pool and swimming across underwater doing the same. Then we played catch with the torpedoes underwater. All the things she was so afraid of she was doing easily.Precious moments Stoney. I remember watching a little girl maybe 5 yrs old trying out for the swim team my kids were on. She was 200% ready and super optimistic she could do the strokes. Her freestyle kicking frantically , arms windmilling, head snapping from side to side. She went all of about 5' with probably 30 strokes. She stops and turns to the coach, "I told you I know how to swim fast" :) Very cute.
When we got out she said she wanted me to start taking her paddleboarding more, that she wants to paddle flat water before I teach her to surf and that maybe she'll do the CCBC someday. Just like that all in one quick sentence...I was smiling so hard I thought my face would crack...... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Post by: Windwarrior on August 17, 2017, 08:41:35 PM
We were called a Pollywog since we were beginners. I progressed up to I think Dolphin and beyond that I became a lifeguard for that pool for years. Loved it!!
Post by: pdxmike on April 16, 2018, 11:43:34 AM
Pono threw me off the dock at our cousins camp in NH...Camp Whatkeptya...when I was 3 years old. He got in trouble for it but it worked....I swam in and then never stopped.That's similar to how I learned. My dad would row me about 50 yards out into Puget Sound, then threw me in, and I swam to shore. The next time we went out about 100 yards, and then a couple hundred. I guess he figured I was good enough at that point.
I never had trouble with the swimming. The hard part was getting out of the burlap bags and zip ties.
Post by: Weasels wake on April 16, 2018, 01:50:45 PM
Especially if you're "taken for granite", that would make you sink like a rock.Pono threw me off the dock at our cousins camp in NH...Camp Whatkeptya...when I was 3 years old. He got in trouble for it but it worked....I swam in and then never stopped.That's similar to how I learned. My dad would row me about 50 yards out into Puget Sound, then threw me in, and I swam to shore. The next time we went out about 100 yards, and then a couple hundred. I guess he figured I was good enough at that point.
I never had trouble with the swimming. The hard part was getting out of the burlap bags and zip ties.
Sorry TallDude, I couldn't resist. ;)
Post by: Skate on April 16, 2018, 09:20:43 PM
Post by: lpmaui on April 16, 2018, 09:55:01 PM
Post by: stoneaxe on April 17, 2018, 12:13:53 PM
I don't remember many things from so young but I can still remember the splash and gurgle and wildly flailing my way to shore 6ft away when Bill threw me in....maybe the trauma....he caused a lot of that.
Learning to bodysurf with my Uncle Al when I was 7 or so. All I wanted to do was play in the waves after that.
All the 100's of hours spent with my face in a mask. If there were no waves I wanted to be underwater. Spearfishing for eels while floating down the south river with my good friend Tom...seeing a shark underwater for the 1st time, also with Tom. I think we were 12 or so...spearfishing off Humarock beach. We were cruising along the bottom looking for rock bass when it came out on the other side of a clearing in the seaweed. The memory of its motion is imprinted forever. We freaked a bit but it was so cool...all we talked about for weeks... :)
1st time I kissed my then girlfriend, now wife of 36 years, was when we swam out to a raft together....moonlit night, swam under the raft and came up face to face underneath....now we're expecting our second grandchild... ;D
So may of the special memories I have with friends and family involve the water.....and I'm a city kid. I envy those of you that always lived so close to the water and are even more embedded in its culture.
Post by: eastbound on April 19, 2018, 11:35:29 AM
Started out young taking swim lessons at a local pool. Joins my first swim team at age 9. Started year round competitive swimming at age 13, swam in high school and played water polo. Got a swimming and water polo scholarship to college. Played USA master water polo. Coached high school swim and water polo. Now I would rank myself in a pool a 6 because I am out of shape. I will never be a 10 again the bar is set way to high for me.
YOUR WAVE, SIR!
Post by: PonoBill on April 19, 2018, 05:50:19 PM
All the 100's of hours spent with my face in a mask. If there were no waves I wanted to be underwater. Spearfishing for eels while floating down the south river with my good friend Tom...seeing a shark underwater for the 1st time, also with Tom. I think we were 12 or so...spearfishing off Humarock beach. We were cruising along the bottom looking for rock bass when it came out on the other side of a clearing in the seaweed. The memory of its motion is imprinted forever. We freaked a bit but it was so cool...all we talked about for weeks... :)
The shark story made me laugh. I don't remember if it was you or David that was spearfishing with me at Brant Rocks. The water was murky and as usual I was half frozen but had a few good fish. Then I saw something very big coming toward me. I made my way to the jetty somewhat briskly and was standing there watching Dave (or you) and wondering if I had been just seeing things when he stiffened and then streaked to the jetty like a torpedo. Okay, probably not seeing things.
Kind of the same thing happened on the Oregon Coast a many years later. I was surfing at Manzanita with my daughters Elizabeth and Cassie. A sea lion went rocketing past me followed by a good sized great white that hit the brakes like a cartoon fish to take a look at me. He turned away and cruised out. I looked around to see where the girls were and Cassie was standing on the beach jumping around and yelling. The shark had checked her out first. I sat up on my longboard to see Elvis who was further outside when she stiffened, spun on her board and went by me at mach 1 without a word, headed for the beach, leaving a rooster tail. I was laughing so hard I could barely paddle.
Post by: stoneaxe on April 20, 2018, 06:21:28 AM
Post by: PonoBill on April 20, 2018, 06:53:46 PM
Post by: photofr on April 20, 2018, 10:38:46 PM
At age 7, a guy with only one leg took pity on me at the pool, and shared his secrets. 10 years later, I became a lifeguard in Hawaii.