Are there people who can not swim?

[donleyk]

I have to believe now that he is allowed on the diving board he'll really start coming around.

I remember when I was his age or a little older we belonged to a huge pool complex. You could either swim the width of the pool and back to get into the deep end or once you did you could pay for a patch to be sewn on your suit. I will always remember that. It was so hard for me to swim that distance. It was so awesome to finally do it. And I remember the guards cheering me on to finish. Really gave me the confidence I needed to be okay in the pool.

Cheers to your little guy!

[Beth]

Did any of you sinkers note the comment about the Olympic swimmer Rebecca Soni last night? Her coach was talking about how she has one speed. They tried to slow her down and pace her more, but she sank too much, so she just swims at her speed, and as he says, picks it up a little at the end. So, apparently, sinkers can be excellent swimmers.

MJ, kudos to your son. As long as he is not afraid, I think he will continue to improve. When I taught swimming lessons I didn't have any sinkers that I remember, rather I found that fear was the biggest barrier to learning how to swim. The ones who were terrified were the ones I remember having the most trouble with and that is where learning to float would help the most. If they knew they could stop and float, it would make them less afraid so they could relax and swim. For your son, I'd make sure he can find the surface and keep his face above the surface and tread water if not float. If he can do that, he can call out and keep himself out of trouble long enough for help to reach him. From a safety standpoint, whether his feet dangle is less of a concern that whether he can keep his face out of the water enough to breathe and not panic. If he watches the Olympic swimmers and has a dream, have him study Rebecca Soni.

[MaryMorph]

An update: Tonight, my husband and Nate went to the pool for a bit. I asked my husband to have the lifeguards assess him b/c we're going to enroll him in group lessons this fall rather than the private lessons we've been doing and I wasn't sure which class to put him in.

He did great! Tim said he was doing an almost normal crawl stroke. The lifeguard gave him a green bracelet and said he'd be ready for level 3 classes. Woo Hoo. It's still not pretty, but it's getting there.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

mary jo

[jmarie]

Congratulations! and what a sweet story from beginning to end. Thanks for sharing!