Over the years I’ve had many opportunities to coach coaches. It’s a challenging situation. We both (me as the coach & the coach as the student) have to watch for the often inaccurate assumption that mastery will come quickly. After all, coaches are really good at the skill sets they teach & they’re often quite good at paying attention to details, analyzing problems & finding solutions. Which raises the question of “Why is learning to swim SO hard?” It is helpful for both of us to remember that mastery in X sport doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll pick up swimming any faster than anyone else.
This is why I’m so proud of Chuck Chiu! He’s an awesome snowboarding coach who is experiencing the challenges of learning how to swim. Even though he has been frustrated, the helpful thing is that he WANTS to learn. Way to go, Chuck!! You WILL get this swimming thing!!
In Chuck’s own words:
“My journey into the sport of triathlon started in July 2022 when my sister convinced me to do the bike leg on her relay team for the Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga. After the event she said, ‘Well, are you ready to do a 70.3 all by yourself?’ I said ‘Sure’, but after fully realizing that my survival breaststroke wasn’t going to cut it, I decided to take swim lessons.
When I am not training for tri’s, I am a snowboard trainer at Brundage Mountain Resort & a PSIA/AASI examiner – I train & certify instructors to ensure they have the skills for the certification they are going for. Why am I telling you this? Well, learning how to swim efficiently has giving me an opportunity to be ‘a newbie’…which I have not been for many years!
The most challenging parts to swimming have been the concepts that, as Coach Michelle says, are foreign for us land animals. Things like…
- Staying in balance – I can do that all day on a snowboard in all terrain & conditions. But in the pool, I tend to sink. I have not yet figured out how to stay balanced!
- To relax – I am used to going 150%, 200% so I can do better! Yet in the water I’m supposed to do LESS?!
- Use my hips – When I heard this, I got excited because I am really good at using my hips to rotate my snowboard. But…in the water…when I attempt to rotate using my hips, it looks like some weird & awkward pretzel twist!
Suffice to say I have been frustrated at times with what seems to be my slow progress. Fortunately, I know that trusting Coach Michelle, patience & regular practice will get me ready for Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz!”
If you’re interested in learning to swim, click here!