Back stroke

As swimming coach to water babies,our correspondent tries to stay afloat

As swimming coach to water babies,our correspondent tries to stay afloat
My confidence went for a deep dive when I signed on to be a swimming coach for toddlers for a day. To be good at swimming I had been a regular swimmer since the age of nine and had even stood second in a college completion was one thing and to teach it to a gaggle of overenthusiastic tots was another. That I had not stepped into a pool for over four years,that I was overweight by at least 10 kg and that there was no escaping being photographed in a swimsuit was enough to freak me out. But I stuck to the task.

And so,on a Monday morning,I headed to Shubham Health Club in Lohegaon,Pune,which,a photojournalist had told me,had a cool,blue pool. Obviously,the shutterbug did not know the S of swimming,as the pool was a shocker. It was unclean,because the water was opaque blue,instead of transparent bluea sure way to tell the filthy ones from the clean. Worse,the shower room had no soap. But as I got into my pink,floral,one-piece swimsuit,the grumpiness got washed away and I felt like my idol,Ian Thorpe,ready to share my expertise.

As soon as I jumped into the water,a group of 10 children,most of them boys between three to seven years of age incidentally the best years to learn swimming,gathered near the pool. I asked them to take a quick shower while I collected swimming aids such as floaters,armbands and kickboards and put them inside the pool.

Before I could help the children use the aids,I was surprised to see them do it all by themselves,without asking for guidance. Strangely,I was both happy and intimidated by their enthusiasm. I told them to line up and helped them get inside the pool,one by one,with each tot responding with energy and a zest to learn. Except for Shubham,a three-year-old thin boy,who began bawling as I took his hand in order to help him get inside the water. Despite his dad8217;s encouragement,his howls only got louder and unbearable. Finally,he had to be taken away.

Now,began the real task. After a quick mental recap of my first swimming lessons,I taught my pupils the basicsthe right way to breathe while swimming,warming up with feet movements and the first step towards floating,paddling the legs while holding the bars of the pool.

While a few children were crying as if a tsunami was about to hit them,most were fast,brave learners,paddling as if their lives depended on it. I soon realised that their excitement was more to do with the 8216;camera effect8217; the photographer was clicking away than with the love for swimming.
Again,some children were dangerously eager,venturing into the deep end of the pool,despite my strict instructions not to. I had to shout at the top of my voice to get them to the shallow end. After one kid swallowed some chlorinated water and had to be taken out,they got the point and stayed well within sight.

The teaching session was over. And though I reluctantly got into a fresh pair of clothes and headed back to office,with the distinct smell of chlorine lingering on,I was armed with a whole Olympic-sized pool of memories. u