A tiring yet enjoyable 90 minutes spent in the pool. Everything I thought was going wrong in my technique turned out be be better than expected and most of what was wrong couldn’t have been identified so easily without the benefit of the underwater mirror and cameras. Plenty for me to work on until my next visit. Friendly, welcoming and not the least bit intimidating.
Many thanks
Paul
2nd session with Ari, (11 yr old and 9 yr old). She puts the kids at ease, makes learning fun and works with them at their level of understanding .
Immediate improvements on the next training session were seen and plenty of ideas to work on too.
Having seen themselves on telly from various angles the kids can appreciate the camera work from the commonwealth games and see how the experts are using the same techniques they have been taught. .
Permission for posting on website
Best Regards
Becca
Hi Nigel,
Just wanted to thank you and Ari for yesterday, he absolutely loved it. The difference in his stroke at the end was amazing.
Ari has a very special way of explaining things which made it fun for him….he couldn’t stop grinning..!! Ask her about the “pig on a stick”..!!
Have booked again, he cant wait to have another go.
Kind Regards
Debra
Hi Kate and Nigel
Just a quick note to say thank you for the session last week, it was fantastic.
Ari is a superb coach and her method and manner with the children was exceptional, she made the session fun and functional and both my children gained a huge amount out of it, we have been practising the exercises Ari gave us both in and out of the water and I can see improvement already.
Please pass on my thanks to Ari and I hope we can see her again soon
Best regards
Alan
Hi Kate,
Owen had 2 sessions in one week to recap all of his strokes. This was the first time that he had worked with Ari and straight away he felt at ease. Ari put a lot of emphasis on body position, technique in the water and focusing on breathing which is often overlooked. This was delivered in a fun way that made Owen understand why it’s important. He was given drills to practice at home which again was fun.My son is 9 and will be competing in his first counties this year. He already has his counties times for the 9,10 and some 11 year old disciplines, he has a small build and not the natural power that some swimmers have, what he does have with the help of swim therapy and his club is technique, stamina and the confidence in knowing that these are more important long term, which will help him this year but more importantly help in in the many years and competitions to come, especially as he develops and grows.
The videos that you get are always beneficial to recap the session, however Ari managed to get Owen to think more as to why he needs to do things in a certain way and what benefits he would have by doing this. I know that he came away understanding all of the key points and was looking forward to getting into the pool to practice them.
The only downside to the visit is that he now wants a Cockapoo just like Nigel’s!!!
Thanks again and Owen will see you soon
‘I had another brilliant session with Ariadna last week (the first one was 2 months ago). I highly recommend Swimtherapy for anyone who would like to improve their swimming technique. Having to undo about 50 years of bad habits is going to be challenging but I’m looking forward to trying! I find the video coaching invaluable as you can see exactly where you are going wrong. As I live 200 miles away it is not easy to book regular sessions but I will certainly try to return in 2 – 3 months to see how I have improved and get some more valuable tips.
Thanks Ariadna (Swimtherapy).
Hi Kate
Lucy loved Swim therapy.In a few simple and easy to follow steps Ari has completely transformed Lucy’s front crawl. On returning to her club after the Christmas break this was immediately noticed by her coaches and she has been moved up to the top lane, which was a welcome boost for her. Lucy is naturally very shy but Ari immediately engaged with her and made the session so much fun. The session really enthused Lucy and she has watched the CD many times, it has been so valuable. We had a 2nd session on 6th January where Ari has begun to help Lucy with her Fly. I think swim therapy is amazing and good value for money. We plan to work with Ari on all of Lucy’s strokes.
With best wishes
Suzanne Rathbone
Hi Kate
Both Rhiannon and I thoroughly enjoyed our sessions and learned a lot. I am hoping to undertake my coaching level 1 this year, so found the whole analysis fascinating.
From a personal point of view, I was quite nervous about doing this as I’ve not swum competitively (I have a synchro swimming background), but wish to improve the efficiency of my stroke to fulfill some personal goals of swimming in some distance open water events this year (10km+). Ari was brilliant! She really put me at ease and was very encouraging. Rhi too found her style engaging and responded really well to Ari’s level of positivity and enthusiasm. I was delighted how she progressed during the session and her confidence grew. We will both carry the points forward to training sessions and look forward to reaping the benefits of the changes to our strokes.
Please feel free to use any comment!
Thanks again
Julie
Well, you are quite out of the way for me yet I was back at great logistical complexity simply because the swimtherapy sessions are making massive impact on my swimming. I had watched videos, gone to coached lessons and was not improving. A couple of hours of swimtherapy and I know ( in my body memory) what i need to be doing and how to train for it. I really like Ari as a coach too. Best most efficient way to accelerate your swimming!
ST note: Oxford is almost local! We have athletes visiting us from all over Europe! Lol…great feedback Marco. Thank you
Hi,
We bought our daughters, Anna and Kate Dutton for a session each yesterday and I would be grateful if you could pass our thanks on to Ariadna. The girls have very different abilities and temperaments and she dealt with them both in a way that suited and got the best out of each of them. Both of them enjoyed it thoroughly.
We watched Kate's video tonight before training and she is keen and enthusiastic to try out what she learnt.
Many thanks and I'm sure we'll be back.
Warm regards, Judith and Gary Dutton
Hi,
Have just returned from a 1500m training session. Please thank Adri for her advice yesterday; put all 4 key changes she made into my swimming and have jumped to another level. A lot more power and speed for the same stroke rate. Feel as though I am slicing through the water for the first time. Thanks again and see you soon.
Best Regards
Andy
Hi Ari,
Just a quick follow up from our Swim Therapy session on Wednesday 21 Aug. We went training on Friday and both noticed improvements straight away. Michael is now also comparing other swimmers’ technique with the advice you gave us.
I would say I feel much better in my butterfly and can really feel the rhythm of the stroke now. For frontcrawl I will have to undo +30 years of swimming the ‘old’ way but I’m working on it and it feels a lot stronger. My kick is certainly more efficient and less exhausting. I’ve also practiced what you were teaching Michael about breastroke and this feels a lot more aggressive as you said.
So a big thanks for your advice and we’ll see you again once we’ve put things into practice.
Regards,
Steve
I really enjoyed my session with yourselves and found it really informative. The instructor was very good and encouraging. It has helped me a lot to understand where i can improve my technique and hopefully get me swimming faster and more fluently. It is very visibly to see where i need to improve and why.
Thanks Swim therapy and hope to see you again
Hi Ariadna,
I did it!
You may remember me, I came in a few weeks ago for some help to improve my speed ahead of the 3km – Vansbrosimningen event in Sweden, it obviously worked!
After our session I managed to take 10mins off of my 3km times in the pool. On the day I managed to take off a further 20mins and completed it in an unexpected 59mins and 12 secs – pics attached – which I was particularly happy about
All the best and thanks so much for your help
Brian
Dear Kate
Our second visit to Swimtherapy this year and a big thank you this time to Ari for both her patience in explaining the technical nature of the underwater “catch / pull” on Freestyle and Butterfly to our 14 year old son (who often thinks he is doing everything right) and also for helping him put this into practice on the day.
It wasn’t until we watched the DVD back that we could all see the difference in his underwater work and Ari assured Jake that this would make him faster, given his size and strength. He has already been practising the new techniques in training and says he can feel the difference – a recent sprint session put him within 1 second of the 50m Fly County time (which he has never had). This weekend at an Open Meet he knocked a further 2.5 seconds off his 100m Free and a massive 5 seconds off his 100m Butterfly (his previous PBs were only in May 2013!)
To say that these sessions work (and work quickly) is an understatement and I cannot recommend them enough, so many thanks once again and Jake wants to come back for more!
Paula Elson
Hi Nigel, Thanks for another successful session at Swim Therapy. What a brilliant facility – I am a swimming novice but when I come up to Swim Therapy I feel like I am accessing Olympic standard coaching and analysis!
Please extend my thanks to Ari for her most excellent coaching. The boys and I had a productive session. Please extend my thanks to Nigel for the emergency lift to the train station (I mis-timed my call for a cabby).
We are planning a visit to the UK next summer. We will probably stay in Leicester for 3 or 4 days so that we can do 2 days to maximize our visit. I will email you with reservation next spring. Thanks again.
Charles.
Hi
Just a quick note to say many thanks for the session last night. My daughter who has been swimming competitively since 10 (now 14) found the session the most useful coaching session she has had in a long time. Her key comments were about the coach – ARIADNA, “she was really amazing”. Her knowledge base in the biomechanics of the stroke analysis and her way of conveying that to the swimmer in terms of correcting the stroke were “superb”. My daughter connected with her and on the way home in the car said she was one of the (if not the) best coach she had ever worked with. Please pass our thanks on to her personally.
Overall the session was such a revelation and Em (my daughter) said that when she saw her stroke she could see why things had become so difficult. It has revitalised her passion for swimming (not that that was lacking) but more importantly given her the tools to drive her times back where they should be.
We really cannot emphasise enough the thanks…..
Nicki Walsh,
This is my sons second visit to Swim Therapy and once again we were equally impressed with the results.
This visit was to concentrate on his back stroke technique and to recap on his breast stroke that he had previously struggled with prior to visiting Swim Therapy.
Wow once again the results and difference in technique was impressive. Owen showed straight away back at his club the difference in his swim style. Many of the other parents have noticed his breast stroke improvement and he has finally achieved his county time. With a number asking how he has changed his style.
Another session is already booked and further ones are planned to be booked.
I cannot recommend this enough if used in conjunction your clubs sets, you will see improved results.
The best part though is the obvious enjoyment I see from my child when he is there and the satisfaction he gets from seeing the results as the sessions are delivered at the correct pace and pitch so that all the detail sinks in.
Thanks once again and we will see you soon.
Darren
Hi,
Just some quick feedback on this evening’s session.
It was great! Beth really enjoyed the session and the ‘before and after’ was amazing. Beth’s technique improved significantly in just an hour.
The coach was great and her focus on small but simple changes was easy for Beth to apply and we could all see the difference it made.
Your set-up is fantastic.
We shall definitely book a further session in the near future with Ari.
Cheers,
Jason