Over the years I’ve had many opportunities to coach coaches.\u00a0 It’s a challenging situation.\u00a0 We both (me as the coach & the coach as the student) have to watch for the often inaccurate assumption that mastery will come quickly.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Which raises the question of “Why is learning to swim SO hard?”\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

This is why I’m so proud of Chuck Chiu!\u00a0 He’s an awesome snowboarding coach who is experiencing the challenges of learning how to\u00a0swim.\u00a0 Even though he has been frustrated, the helpful thing is that he WANTS\u00a0to learn.\u00a0 Way to go, Chuck!!\u00a0 You WILL get this swimming thing!!<\/p>\n

In Chuck’s own words:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

“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<\/a>.\u00a0 After the event\u00a0she said, ‘Well, are you ready to do a\u00a070.3 all by yourself?’\u00a0 I said ‘Sure’, but after fully realizing that my survival breaststroke wasn’t\u00a0going to cut it, I decided to take swim lessons.<\/p>\n

When I am not training for tri’s, I am a snowboard trainer at\u00a0Brundage Mountain Resort<\/a>\u00a0& a\u00a0PSIA\/AASI examiner<\/a>\u00a0– I train & certify instructors to ensure they have the skills for the certification they are going for.\u00a0 Why am I telling you this?\u00a0 Well, learning how to swim efficiently has\u00a0giving me an opportunity to be ‘a newbie’…which I have not been for many years!<\/p>\n

The most challenging parts to\u00a0swimming have\u00a0been the concepts that, as Coach Michelle says, are\u00a0foreign for us land animals.\u00a0 Things like…<\/p>\n

\n
1. Staying in balance<\/strong>\u00a0– I can do that all day on a snowboard in all\u00a0terrain & conditions.\u00a0 But in the pool,\u00a0I tend to sink.\u00a0 I have not yet figured out how to stay balanced!<\/li>\n
2. To relax<\/strong>\u00a0– I am used to going 150%, 200% so I can do better!\u00a0 Yet in the water\u00a0I’m supposed to do LESS?!<\/li>\n
3. Use my hips<\/strong>\u00a0– When I heard this, I got\u00a0excited because I am really good at using my hips to rotate my snowboard.\u00a0 But…in the water…when I attempt to rotate using my hips, it looks\u00a0like\u00a0some weird & awkward pretzel twist!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

   Suffice to say I have been frustrated at times with what seems to be my slow progress.\u00a0 Fortunately, I know that trusting Coach Michelle, patience & regular practice will get me ready for\u00a0Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz<\/a>!”<\/p>\n

   If you’re interested in learning to swim, click here<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

   Over the years I’ve had many opportunities to coach coaches.\u00a0 It’s a challenging situation.\u00a0 We both (me as the coach & the coach as the student) have to watch for the often inaccurate assumption that mastery will come quickly.\u00a0 After all, coaches are really good at the skill sets they teach & they’re often quite<\/p>\n

   Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,3],"tags":[24,14,15,21,13,16,22,20,25,26],"class_list":["post-2707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athlete-spotlight","category-coach-michelle","category-training-tip","tag-adult-swim-lessons","tag-athlete-spotlight","tag-athlete-successes","tag-learn-to-swim","tag-performance-high","tag-performance-high-athletes","tag-private-swim-lessons","tag-swim-lessons","tag-swim-technique","tag-triathlon-training"],"yoast_head":"\n