Hello there,
Would anyone know where I could find a coach to teach me the right mechanics of free style swimming? I live in Jingmei but am willing to travel. My chinese abilty is slightly above beginner level. I imagine that will be a stumbling block for some coaches. Would love to hear back from someone who knows a coach.
Thanks
E
They have coaches at every government sports center, but they really vary in ability. You can get someone to teach you privately from outside the sports centers but theyâll say something at the sports center if they catch on that you are doing this (private teaching using an instructor from outside the sports center).
My recommendation would be to try to find a coach for private lessons at one of the sport centers, but make sure he or she has had some competition experience and experience on a swim team. This will ensure that the coach actually knows how to swim.
Can I ask what your level of swimming is?
I can swim but Iâm gassed after two lengths of a pool if I do freestyle. Outside of swimming, my fitness levels are quite good.
You pretty much summed up the experience of every swimmer who starts swimming as a sport in their adult years! I was an okay runner but couldnât swim freestyle for long when I first started.
I think finding a coach would be very helpful. In the meantime, check out the YouTube instructional videos. There are about 5 common mistakes that everyone makes when first starting out (off the top of my head- sinking legs, crossing over the midpoint in hand entry, fishtailing, and lifting up the head before to the side when breathing), and the fixes are not really too hard.
For example, sinking legs can be fixed by looking down instead of forward. With the lane markers and lane ropes in a pool, thereâs no reason to be looking at the opposite end of the pool. And like magic, your butt and legs will come to the surface. You can test this by kicking and making sure you are splashing when doing so.
Good luck! And please post here if you find a good coach.
A friend gets private lessons at the âYMCA qi lianâ in beitou. Not that expensive and coaches are great according to her.
Thanks for replying taiwantiger but Beitou might be a little too far for me to travel.
The ânewâ sports center in Xindian will help arrange a coach, itâs right next to Xindian district office MRT station, they have the rates for lessons on a poster opposite the pay desk if you want to have a look first (use google translate). Generally you sign up and pay at the desk and then a coach will call you later to arrange times etc., I guess you could request a coach with English, doesnât hurt to ask! Theyâll discuss your level and goals and work out a program for you.
Why is that a problem if both people are paying for a ticket?
All I know is that the rule is there at every public pool in northern Taiwan I have swum in. There are notices posted and they will say something if youâre breaking the rule. This happened at Nangang Sports Center and at the Xizhi government pool when we had our own instructors teaching my son.
Dang, thatâs fucked up. Their rule I presume is donât teach for money? Not donât teach. Seems bonkers for a public pool. Probably easy to skirt by telling the teacher just donât talk about money here.
I wonder if it may be an insurance liability issue?
I think they just want in on the action. 1,000 nt per hour split between the pool and the instructor is decent money here.
Yeah, and the coach gets less than half of that!
Ya, I get that. But my point would be that itâs a public pool, not a private pool.
Governemnt funds paying for a public facility to try and get people to eb more active and healthy creating a racket system is pretty gross.
The problem is they get private companies to run them.
Youâre near 帍大ĺé¨ on Roosevelt and Keelung.
They have Olympic size swimming pool there. The PE students teach swimming on the side. Can ask at desk, and specifically request a swim team member. They might direct you to the main pool at main campus on 帍大 Rd and Hoping E. Rd.
Ahhhh, that makes sense. So publicly funded private swimming pools. âAwesomeâ 