KIDDLE'S CORNER TEST
VIEW FROM A COACH
YOURSELF
Elite coach Rick Kiddle tells it how he sees it. This issue: open water swimming provides us with opportunities to jump out of our comfort zones and develop as individuals
I am constantly reminded that it is never too late to do something different. We must try new things, never give
up and strive to be the best we can be. We should challenge ourselves to set tough goals, and work hard to achieve them. Recently I had two examples of how open water swimming can help us to push our boundaries. One example comes from my own experience: a second from someone I coached. As an open water swimming coach and venue manager, I need to ensure that the lifeguards working with me know their stuff. I wanted to encourage two of them to undertake beach lifeguard training, as it’s tough and thorough, and was telling them they should try it. To help persuade them, I decided I’d better put myself through it fi rst, so I joined one of the world renowned National Beach Lifeguard Qualifi cation (NBLQ) courses at Lusty Glaze Training Centre in Newquay, Cornwall (
training-centre.org). “Hi, I’m Rick,” I said, introducing myself to my fellow
trainees, a group of barely post-pubescent boys. “I run open water swimming courses at a lake.” The young men stared incredulously at me. I felt uncomfortable, even before we got near the water. For the fi rst time in years, I really felt out of my depth. I was sitting in a room full of fi t, surfer-dude types – most of them too good looking for their own bronzed and muscled torsos, and some of them clearly knew it. My fi rst thought was that I had to earn their respect to be accepted by showing them how fi t I was (despite giving up professional racing many years ago, I keep myself in reasonable shape). But, once the course started in earnest, we had no time to worry about that anyway. Each day we did four hours of classroom work and two sessions, each two hours, in the sea. It was early April and the water temperature a biting 9-10˚C – horribly cold even with a wetsuit. My carefully honed swimming technique was little help in ploughing through 400m of surf with my head up and shouting ‘lifeguard rescue’ at the top of my voice to reach a casualty. I can’t begin to tell you how hard they make the training but I do understand why. It’s a serious physical challenge to rescue a casualty in good time to save their life. A few days into the course, one of these surf dudes was talking about how he’d persuaded his dad to stop smoking recently. It turned out I was fi ve years older than his dad. In fact, I was 23 years older than the average age of everyone else. Still – as with almost any group of guys – there was a fair amount of competition and testosterone fl ying around, and I wanted to compete on their level. Lifeguard training is one of the toughest yet rewarding things I have ever done in my life. I learnt so much about
Swimming should take you out of your comfort zone
myself and my limitations – all our limitations, and hence the need to work together. In lifeguarding, as in much else in life (including open water swimming), it is not about being a lone hero but part of a team. My second example comes from a woman I used to coach. She asked me if I thought entering a 10km open water swim event was a good idea. I thought about what it would mean to her and how it would negatively impact her other training. She is a triathlete and had a season of triathlon races planned. The 10km swim race would be just before the triathlon season started and the additional swim training might negatively impact her time commitments to cycling and running. I could see very good reasons against training for this 10km swim, and few concrete ones for doing it. So, I said, "Yes. Go for it!" Why? Because she wanted to. The challenges that we take on shouldn’t just be about sticking to what we are comfortable with. The swim is a tough challenge that will require focus and effort. It will take her out of her comfort zone, and that’s what we all need: something to get us out of bed in the morning and keep the fi re burning in our souls. So, good luck fi nding your next challenge. Do you know what it is yet? ∆
Former British triathlon champion, triathlon and swimming coach, Rick Kiddle has coached British Gas employees and other swimmers including celebrities Jodie Kidd, in her British Gas Great Swim series event, and Vernon Kay for the London Triathlon. Contact him at
rick@rickkiddle.com with your comments, questions and suggestions.
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