Swimming In Summer

JosephDoyleIre

Im putting this up here because a young lad I know asked me and I wasnt really able to give him a good answer:

He says that he's never been a very good swimmer - can do a couple of lengths of the pool breast stroke, and front crawl and back stroke if he wanted to. He was never comfortable in the water up until last year (he's only 15 years old).
This was never a problem except for in the summer when his friends go swimming. They jump off piers and marinas and into the sea.

He has never done it and he was talking to me the other day about it. When he watches them jump in, he's surprised at how quickly they come back up to the top of the water. He said he's not really confident in treading water. He will belly flop into a swimming pool where he's out of his depth without any issues, but he just doesn't know if it would be safe for him to swim with his friends the rest of the time.

This summer, he made excuses whenever they were going (he had picked up an injury playing football during the year which made it a bit easier.) However, he doesn't want to do the same thing next summer. This is the sort of youngfella who would make snap judgements so Im surprised he actually talked to me about it - it must be something that is on his mind a bit.

So, any swimmers out there know the answer? The thing which occurred to me was that if all of his friends are doing it with such ease, they couldn't all be great swimmers? Anyway, was looking to get some opinions on it for him.

Sauve

Moved from Outdoor Pursuits

OP I think you may get an answer to your query more easily over here

moochers

Hi there OP,
Was in a very similar situation with my two boys, who are 10 and 11. They were always pestering me about wanting to jump off Blackrock diving board (Salthill) as all their friends were doing it. I was very reluctant because I didn't think they were that competent or experienced. Anyway, I bit the bullet and brought them out in June, at the start, I would only let them jump off the pier and then they progressed to the top of the diving board. They do it with ease and it has improved their swimming immensely. My advise would be that he goes out at first and practices with an adult till he becomes comfortable treading water.

If he goes out with a bunch of lads he may feel pressurized, they may push him in (general horseplay) and he would then panic/fall awkward which is potentially dangerous.

Initially when I started swimming, I was terrified about not being able to feel the bottom, I always stayed close to the edge/steps so I had something to grip if I felt I got out of my depth. I can now tread water comfortably. High tide and calm waters is the best time to practice.
The sea is definitely the best place to practice as pools can get very crowded, and plus diving is prohibited.

Anyway, best of luck to the young lad, as long as he is supervised/accompanied by an adult the first few times till he gets comfortable, he will be grand.

BarryD

Get him to take a couple of swimming lessons over the winter and as well as a bit of swimming, ask the instructor to show him how to tread water, do a straddle jump and basics of diving, just off the side. Unfortunately very few public swimming pools allow jumping in and diving these days - thank insurance companies for that. Also often modern pools are shallow for similar insurance and economy reasons. Anyway he should be comfortable swimming in and under the water before jumping off piers and the like.

Apart from that, the most important thing to emphasis to him next summer is not to jump blindly into any water, at all, at all. Always, always get in first, swim around, check for depth and things like rocks or shopping trolleys lurking below the surface. Where the sea is concerned, obviously the tide rises and falls! So again what was suitable in the afternoon may be dangerous a few hours later etc. - Good old common sense needed

moochers

Agree with BarryD abut being cautious. Always get him to check the water first for rocks and very importantly other swimmers. Look before you leap

You certainly don't need to be an expert swimmer to dive off piers etc, I don't let my younger son swim out to a raft which is about 15 metres off shore in high tide in case he gets into difficulty however he has no bother diving. Important thing is to keep your arms straight at your side when you are jumping. Then you wont belly flop.