In late August Liz Ellis on BBC Radio Stoke was talking to the social media reporter Chris Steers about the fact that he could not swim, she was shocked by the fact and in actual fact 20% of the adult population can not swim 25m unaided.
This led to me getting in contact and offering to be interviewed to specifically talk about non swimming adults and aquaphobia, due to the fact that I am an Advanced Aquaphobia Coach. So on the Thursday of GCSE results I was interviewed by Liz and this was aired the same day.
This can be heard here by listening from 44 minutes in
Within that interview I took on the challenge of teaching Chris to swim and the show is going to follow his journey.
So last Friday Chris and Liz came to the Stone House and we had his first lesson. On completing the Personal Ability Range questionnaire he came out at 47% aquaphobic mainly due to the issue of putting his face in the water. Although once we got in it was apparent that his experience in water was limited and to start with floating on his back was a challenge.
Working through the stages we worked on bubble blowing and culminated in floating on the front with the face in - a huge achievement after 15 years out of the water.
A short piece was aired on this lesson this week and can be heard here :
The video of the first session can also be seen:
We have since had a further lesson and Chris has been very impressive with his attitude and determination and we have progressed to him self propelling on both his front and his back.
What he is undertaking should not be underestimated and admitting the fact firstly is huge, I am working with a number of clients who are in a similar situation to Chris and I have the upmost admiration for them all.
Learning to swim is life changing, anyone can with the right guidance, so please drop me a line and take the first step in learning an essential life skill.
Comments