Philip Allen here, the self obsessed triathlete who was trying to achieve 12 min for 750m. Well I completed a tri event just today and wanted to give you some feedback.

You may recall that two weeks prior to seeing you I recorded my swim pb as 13.30ish. After our 90 min session I really wanted to assess how much impact swim therapies technique in the water had over aerobic workout using my old technique. In 4 yes only 4x45 measly min drill sessions I completed between our 90 min session and the race (approx 4 weeks) I finished today , I posted a swim time of 12.46. so due to our time together I’ve shaved off 45 sec which is quite incredible. A big thank-you to you for helping gain some dignity and street cred back.

Hi Nigel

Just to say thanks very much to Matt for my session this morning, it's really given me a lift and renewed my enthusiasm for my swimming.

I've just got back from a swim and feel very encoraged by my first attempts at the improvements we worked on this morning and am looking forward to my next session on Friday.

Thanks again

Regards

Suzanne

Sorry for not
> getting back to you sooner but I have just completed my first gala
> since I have been using my new techniques that you taught me. You were
> right about the 4 weeks before I get used to it. The results were fantastic!
> I did a 3 second pb on my 100 back and 11 second pb on my 100 fly!!!.
> Thank you so much, although there still is a long way to go you have
> given me so much confidence. I will definately be back.
> Jessie S

To Swim Therapy, l'd like to thank Matt for the great training session we had. We came for the full two hours and managed to go through two strokes in some depth. It was really beneficial for our daughter to be able to see exactly the faults in her stroke. We then received excellent professional advice on how to put them right. Not knowing what to expect when we came, our daughter left feeling really positive about amendments she could use in her training which will benefit her technique. As good as our coaches are they can not give that one to one coaching over a two hour period. What makes the difference is being able to see what they are doing wrong, this gave her the chance to analysis her own stroke in a stress free environment and get a DVD after to reinforce the message.

Tracey Hammond
Hatfield

Finn really enjoyed his swim therapy session. He is 8 years old and Matt pitched the coaching at just the right level and once Finn had overcome his initial shyness he got a lot out of the session. It was really useful for him to compare his stroke to the correct stroke shown on the monitor and a great way for him to understand where he could improve. He enjoys watching himself on the dvd and it reminds him what he should be doing. Finn is coming back in the Easter holidays to see where he can improve further!!

Many Thanks

Louise Nicholas

Hi Nigel

The coaching given was excellent. The fact that you review the swim before any advice is given was very useful and you continually reviewed on camera the improvements as you go along.

The coaching really helped my daughter in terms of the questioning of what she was doing wrong and then the explanation of why the change was necessary

And by making these change what improvements would be expected.

After the session she went away and practised her fly and free within her training sessions and is coming along very well.

I would certainly recommend swim therapy for all those keen swimmers out there.

Alex attended 2 sessions over the last 3 three weeks and in both cases they were well constructed, informative and an excellent process in showing him where the improvements had to be made.

Because despite how many times we parents try to give feedback to our kids, they don’t listen to us. Using the video and showing back to Alex was brilliant and getting him to review his performance was extremely effective. The way feedback was given by Nigel and Matt was constructive and motivational and the improvements attained were immediate.

The video disks are an excellent reminder to ensure Alex keeps up the remedial work he needs to do in order to maintain the correct strokes. Alex will be speaking with his coach to ensure he continues his programme which I am sure he will be more than happy to do.

Alex’s backstoke has improved beyond recognition and he is working hard on his fly and breakstroke. My only regret is that I hadn’t done this earlier.

Cheers Ester

Nigel,

We both thoroughly enjoyed the session and felt that the level of coaching was excellent. Jack really made Elle feel at ease and also made the session informative and fun.

It was great for Elle to beable to see the issues with her technique on screen which also made it a lot easier to improve these areas. The improvements to Elle's fly technic and frontcrawl breathing during the session was excellent and has now given her and her coaches lots to work with during her training sessions.

The DVD is super and again provides us with a good tool to remind Elle of her technique.

We have already seen some great improvements on Elle's frontcrawl times during recent galas and her fly arms are looking better every time see swims.

We immediately booked another session in May.

Look forward to seeing you in may.

Jane

Hi Nigel,

I had a 2 hour session and I learnt loads, I couldn't believe how wrong I have been doing things, seeing myself on the video gave me a much better appreciation of what I was doing and how I needed to adjust my technique. My instructor Mat was great, he explained things well and was professional at all times. I am now working hard on what I learnt and look forward to coming back to you for more advice in the near future.
Thank you.
Colin Pratchett

Dear Nigel,
XXXXXXXX was delighted with how the session went. It has made a real difference to both strokes that she took a look at with Matt - her counties results so far this year are testament to that. I think as well as the actual areas of technique improvement, the session also improved her mental confidence. We have recommended Swim Therapy to other Tilehurst swimmers - so expect to see more TSC swimmers there in the future!
Happy to have the name of the club but not XXXXXXXXXX or my name on the website.
Best wishes

Just wanted to let you guys know that after my session with you over Christmas I am now consistently over 12mins faster for 1.5km!!

Incredible, looking forward to getting there again and getting under 30mins!

I keep recommending you.

Thanks

David Rowen

Hello Nigel

I thought that the session went very well and has been a great help to me in trying to improve my technique. Being able to see your mistakes on screen, having them analyzed and then immediately being able practise the modifications was and has been invaluable.

The series of short swims followed by further analysis was excellent and the way the whole stroke was worked through section by section enabled me to focus on each problem area individually and then towards the end of the session we were able to put the whole stroke together. Well worth the visit.

Hello Nigel,

We thought our individual sessions with Jack were excellent.
Having our usual technique filmed at the start of the session was a good starting point, and as we have never done this before we were able to see exactly where we are going wrong!
Jack worked through specific areas methodically (legs/arms/breathing) and we could see a visible improvement by the end of the session (Sally 90 mins/ David 60 mins).
Jack was encouraging throughout and Sally took on board his 'mind over matter' comment - during the first session back in the pool she swam 10 x 100m breathing bilaterally, which is considerably more than prior to the Swim Therapy session (despite swimming 2,500m per session, the breathing was never bilaterally).
One comment from Dave, who competes regularly, is that he should have attended Swim Therapy session at the end of last season, as part of winter training, rather than Spring, as it will take some time to improve his techinique ahead of this season.

The DVD serves as a handy reminder to use before a training session - it's commentary is clear and encouraging.
Thank you for the tip on the 'superman' drill.

Best Wishes,
Sally and David Murray

Hi Nigel

Dan's 2 hour session with Jack and input from Steve was fantastic. Jack's approach to teaching Dan was great. Dan learnt loads, but there was still an element of fun, which made it an enjoyable but very constructive swimming session.

I brought Dan's Chief Coach Gillian Rankin from Leyland Barracudas with me, we were both very impressed.

Gill has been teaching Dan since he was 4, both privately and with the Club. She was able to spot things with Dan's Freestyle and Backstroke via the camera shots, that would not have been as easily picked up on at a normal swim session.

Dan really enjoyed the day and watches the DVD before training sessions, we have noticed a really big difference/improvement in both strokes since last Friday.

Dan will definately be returning to Swim Therapy in the near future.

Kind Regards

Sheena Wade

The lesson went superb and I was very pleased with the coach that took the session (Matt). We immediately booked to come again on the 30th April at 4pm for another 1 hour session and will probably book again on that date. Cheers Gez

“an excellent session, Jack established areas to work on very early and kept them going as the main themes throughout the 90 minutes. Lucy reduced her 6 week old 50m PB by 6 seconds at the recent Championships. She is looking forward to a Breaststroke session sometime in the future”

Hi Nigel,

I really enjoyed the session and the videos clearly showed up areas of my poor technique. On my first session back to the pool on Monday my 100 sets went down from between 1:45 & 1:50’s to between 1:37 & 1:40’s. My longer distance times were no better due to reverting back to the poor technique when tired. I now know what I should be doing and need to improve my aerobic capacity to be able to sustain the better technique. My eventual goal is to be able to sustain 1:30 100 pace for 400 metres in a 25m pool or 1:40 pace for 1500m. A long way to go and I’ll be back for another session in a few weeks time.

Regards

Dave

Dave Plunkett

Grimsby Tri Club

Nigel

The session was literally ‘eye opening’………..great value for money…………… I now know what I need to do to improve.

Kind Regards

Mark Hesk

1) Position of Venue - superb, extremely easy to find from the motorway links

2) Site & equipment - First Class training pool with impressive camera equipment and computer technology for recording the swimmer from all angles.

3) Staff

Owner/Reception - nice chap, very knowledgeable and clearly swimming and helping swimmers is his life's passion

Coach - Superb young man, very amiable, positive and able and adept at:

1) Identifying the problems and areas of improvement for the swimmer
2) Engaging the swimmer to explain new concepts and improvements
3) Explaining the concept and improvements to the level of understanding of the swimmer
4) Encouraging the swimmer to try the improvements and rewarding the swimmer on successful completion of the concepts
5) Providing a concise understandable commentary on the DVD of the session.

All in all, an extremely enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon and extremely good value for money service.

So impressive that we have booked a further session for our son".

"I spent several years teaching myself to swim better from a text book. Ultimately I was wasting my time for two reasons: firstly because I couldn't interpret exactly what the text book meant and secondly because I had no idea what I looked like in the water. Unsurprisingly my swim times were not improving.

I go to Swimtherapy every 6 weeks or so. Instant feedback from the pool cameras allow Nigel to break down my stroke and show me exactly where I am going right (occasionally) and wrong (mostly). I cannot imagine how much more difficult it would be to learn without this feedback. As a result of my sessions with Swimtherapy, my swimming is faster and takes less effort."