A list of questions that i received through my years of being a coach.

so here goes the list!

10 questions and in descending order with question 1 being the most popular question asked.

10) Is swimming good for my child if he has asthma?

Yes. Swimming trains the body to regulate breathing better. Because when you are in water, its impossible to breath. With proper technique, children will learn to breath in when out of the water and blow bubbles in the water to regulate breathing, Thus improving the condition of asthma.

9) Does wearing a swimming cap make any difference in swimming?

Yes. There is a difference, but only with the correct technique in swimming. When swimming, we are acting against water itself. By swimming through water, resistance will be created. The purpose of the swim cap can reduce the resistance, but to a fraction only. Only competitive swimmers will find it more useful. For leisure swimmers, a swim cap heads protect the hair from the chlorine water in a swimming pool.

8 ) How to swim faster?

To swim faster, alot of patience and practice must be in place in order to achieve a better time. When a stroke is learnt, practice must be put into it to make it better. And when we are dealing with water, its a totally different dimension. There must be a connection between your body senses and the water to feel the slide and the glide through water. All this can only be achieved through constant practice and patience.

7) Can flippers help me improve my kicking?

Yes and No. Flippers can help you correct the way you kick. If your ankles has a problem of loosening up, a pair of flippers can help u force the ankle to straighten. Once the ankles are conditioned to be straight while performing a front crawl kick, the flippers are just merely there for faster swim purpose.

6) Group lessons better or individual lessons better?

Depends. If your child has some special issues that require one to one teaching then of course individual lessons are better. For adults individual or small group lessons are good because adults need more attention when it comes to stroke teaching and correction of strokes. For children lessons, group lessons are better because it promotes peer pressure to excel and it creates a bond between their swim mates. A group lesson in my swimming classes would not be more than 6, Unless its a special situation. 6 to a group is just nice and gives every student the attention he or she needs.

5) When i swim i tend to get cramps easily, what should i do?

2 things that you can do if this problem haunts you. Because the water is cold and muscle contract when you enter water. Always warm up properly before you enter the pool to minimize the chances of getting a cramp. Secondly, take more calcium as it can promote muscle tensions to relax more thus decreasing the chances of cramps.

4) Is butterfly hard to learn?

No. Butterfly is for everybody. It does not require alot of strength so to say, if you are just doing short distance. The butterfly stroke is a very beautiful stroke by nature because its the only stroke that can move through the water without the swimmer moving its hands or its legs.

3) my child gets cold easily in the water, what should i do?

If your child feels cold easily, you can either buy a thicker full body suit for him to wear. Its called a thermo suit where the material used is thicker, and it promotes floatation. If not just make sure he is not sleeping before swimming lessons as the body is resting thus decreasing the body temperature and so when the child enters the water he feels cooler than usual.

2) How long does my child need to learn swimming before he can graduate?

Everybody is different. Some children are better in mathematics and some are better in science. Its the same for swimming. A child that has better motor skills and better understanding of the stroke will excel faster, while those who don’t have the touch for swimming will take a longer time to learn. But everything boils down to the same sentence, 10% Talent and 90% Hard work.

1) “Jimmy, you are a swimming coach but why are you so fair?”

Dear parents and students, i am fair by nature and i cannot do anything about it. I coach alot and still i just cannot get dark. During my stay in my swim school, i was given full body suits to wear so only the face and the hand and feet are exposed. Even so, my face gets the sun most of the time, but still i remain fair. If you really want to know why i cannot get dark, I can always pass you my mothers number and you can ask her what she fed me when I was young.(just something funny to end of FAQs )

If you have more questions for me please feel free to contact me through the “Contact Me” page.

Thank you
Jimmy