Meet Dave, a shining example that it’s never too late to learn something new. At 41, he decided to tackle front crawl swimming for the first time, proving that with determination and the right support, you can achieve incredible things at any age.

What motivated you to take on this swimming journey?

I started swimming lessons two years ago, at age 41, for a number of reasons. I didn’t learn to swim front crawl when I was a child. My kids are becoming better swimmers and I wanted to be able to at least partially keep up with them. We had the Colets pool available, and I wasn’t able to use it meaningfully. I found that frustrating. And I also wanted to see if I could learn a new skill. I was assigned to Cathy Wise, who has been an outstanding teacher

‘Overall, it’s been a very rewarding experience’

What stands out as the most memorable part of the journey?

There was no one moment, but I can remember the early incremental progress very clearly.

How did you approach reaching your goal, and what kept you going?

The goalposts definitely moved as I progressed. My initial goal was to be able to swim more than zero distance front crawl. At the starting point I could not swim a length or even a width of the pool. This is where coaching comes in. Cathy quickly realised that she had to start from zero. Her relentless enthusiasm was a key part of my ongoing motivation. It was only after I was actually able to move around the pool that I set the goal of swimming a continuous kilometre.

What did achieving your 1km milestone mean to you?

Not much at the time, I was too tired! But it’s hugely satisfying to have gone from zero to a respectable distance.

How has swimming or training impacted your life overall?

It’s been a very positive experience. Cliches abound, but it turns out that it’s true that it’s never too late to try something new. It’s nice to have proved that. It’s also been a good talking point, and friends and strangers have been very positive about taking lessons as an adult. One of the unanticipated benefits is that my cardio fitness has improved noticeably. Pre-swimming I was ok as a causal runner, but swimming means I run less often and have more running speed and endurance.

What advice or thoughts would you share with someone considering a similar challenge?

Swimming is not intuitive to me. It’s a mixture of cardio fitness, technique, strength, posture in the water, and so on. This means that you will benefit enormously from teaching. There’s no substitute for real-time feedback and encouragement from an expert swimmer. Cathy (and her colleagues) will also push you when you need to be pushed. That’s my first point - you will achieve a lot more and a lot more quickly with teaching than if you try to DIY. The videos you see online will not provide live feedback about what you are doing in the water.

My second point is - if you are reading this, you are probably busy - you may have a demanding job, kids, and so on. I realised early on that my progress was not going to be amazingly rapid. Life gets in the way of too much training, and I don’t learn as quickly as I used to. Make your peace with that and carry on.

Finally - give it a go. I’m certainly not a natural swimmer, and if I I can learn in my 40s from zero, then you can too. I believe that you will benefit mentally from day 1, simply from the “doing new things” effect. Stick with it and you’ll end up much fitter too.

Looking ahead, how do you feel about taking a break, and do you have any future goals in mind?

I’m taking a break from lessons, hopefully temporary, as work and family life consume more and more time. I’ll keep swimming regularly to consolidate what I’ve learned. While I have no particular goals right now, it’s hard to overstate the positives of acquiring a whole new vector. With luck, I’ll be swimming for the rest of my life.

A note from Cathy, Dave’s Swimming Coach:

What an amazing swimming journey!
It’s been a joy and a privilege to see Dave progress in the pool over the last 2 years. Learning front crawl from scratch and now being able to swim over 40 lengths continuously.
Dave’s dedication to keep on training, and his drive to keep pushing to the next level has been totally inspiring.
What a huge encouragement you are to us all, to give something new a go….well done!!

Member Story – Proving It’s Never Too Late to Dive Into Something New