I was very happy to attend a group event over the weekend where we had a wonderful swimming coach. While I have been around water my whole life and always considered myself a decent swimmer by most standards I realized just how much I have to learn.

Even though I have come a long way in my ability to complete laps I had no knowledge of fundamentals. My head was high in the water and my legs were low. I was totally unaware of what the right position is in the water nor did I understand what an efficient stoke is. Not to say that now I do but I have a higher level of awareness and now have one more tool to improve myself.

Since I really am a beginner a swimming lesson and some basic drills went a long way. The most important thing I learned was balance in the water. It was amazing what a few tweaks in basic positioning can do for your performance. Once I became aware of my buoyancy and pushed my chest into the water my head went down and my legs magically came up. This was a big improvement for me.

There is nothing like a little success to further motivate me and I am looking forward to practicing these new techniques in my swimming training.