To be honest, at first I had my reservations about signing up for swimming lessons as an adult and so late in my life, as it was one of those things that I had put off for some years but it would always affect my quality of enjoyment concerning things like family holidays and outings. Where there was water or a pool involved e.g a trip to Durban where even though I had a ticket for both Ushaka Marine and Water World I only enjoy the aquarium, or a trip to Sun City where I couldn’t really enjoy the waves I would always feel a little short changed. Needless to say I was never really a big fan of pool parties or people accidently throwing others in the pool at any of the youth camps I went to, so I would always invariably avoid certain things.
After speaking to Tiffany however, she assured me that she understood that not all adults knew how to swim and that I could finally tick this off as a New Year’s resolution accomplished. She explained the various options that I could chose from and was very accommodating in terms of my time and availability.
The first lesson was on a Friday morning and I wasn’t sure what to expect, so I pulled in my sister to join in on the lessons too. We really had no reason to be terrified especially given that the hour long lesson went by so fast. Tiffany was very professional and made us feel very relaxed. Prior to even entering the pool she discussed upfront what our expectations were, what our fears were and what had been a hindrance for our learning in the past. She also checked for any pre-existing health related issues and talked us through the process. This made me feel so much more relaxed and ready to begin to learn how to swim.
The lessons themselves were amazing and qualitative. The lessons were very progressive and advanced from level to level, and yet remained at a pace where I could still enjoy being in the water. I also found that the Splash Aquademy staff were more than adequately prepared to train swimmers and the water equipment used was super useful and fun. Everything that they teach you ties into each other and the theory behind the swimming was really interesting as well; through this you understand the reason for what you are doing.
One of the first lessons I learnt was on buoyancy- that if you allow your body to then it can float in water. A big “aha moment” was also learning about proper recovery in the swimming pool, as how this allows you to try new things without the fear of not being able to control your motion in the water.
I really look forward to my lessons as a result of this and also because I now really enjoy the feeling of being in the water. Even if you already know how to swim I would still recommend these lessons because of the technique and skills that you learn are just so useful.