By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Reporter
SWIMMING is a fun sport to take up from which many benefits can be derived. And what better way to learn it than from people who have passion for it and are armed with a high-level of instruction? That is what swimming school Streamline School Instruction (SSI) is offering its clients.
Formed in 2014, SSI provides high-quality swim instruction at venues around the Makati, Pasig, Quezon City, and Taguig area. It caters to people of all ages — from those who would only like to conquer their fear of the water, to those who participate or compete in swimming and multisports events.
SSI’s coaching team includes Philippine record holders, triathletes and national water polo players who have a combined local and international teaching experience of over 40 years. They also share a passion for teaching and the joy of swimming.
“If you want to be good on something, you have to love it. So what we did here at SSI is to look for people who have passion for it, about swimming, teaching, and being with kids. It’s not only the skill level that we want to impart to students, but also how to have passion for it and respect for the sport. We get that from our coaches,” said Al Gonzales, one of the owners of SSI, in an interview with BusinessWorld in one of their class venues at The City Club at Alphaland in Makati.
“We take pride in having high-level of instruction by people with passion,” added Mr. Gonzales, who is a triathlete and a swim coach who trained abroad for coaching workshops and triathlon camps.
DIFFERENT METHODOLOGIES
The owners of the school said that they incorporate various methodologies from world-renowned swimming institutions such as Austswim, Total Immersion, and World Aquatic Baby Convention into the curriculum of their swimming program.
They use all these in their offered sessions with infants and toddlers, kids to pre-teens, and teens to adults.
“We combine different methodologies we have learned throughout our coaching careers,” said one of the partners, Nonoy Basa, in a separate interview.
“For the babies and infants we use a learning-through-playing approach. It’s not intimidating for the child. We prioritize safety first before the strokes. Infants are fearless. They just jump into the pool when no one is looking. So what we are focusing on is for them to be comfortable in the water, how to float, hold their breath when submerged. We try to reinforce a skill where they know where the wall is in case they fall off [into] the pool,” said Mr. Basa of their classes for toddlers.
“For kids we teach them the strokes — butterfly, backstroke, freestyle and breaststroke. We usually start with freestyle and breaststroke then slowly progress to the other skills,” the coach, who is a decorated swimmer and triathlete, added.
Mr. Basa said sessions with adults are a bit different since they are more technical while, at the same time, they want to underscore that learning and trying new stuff can never come too late.
“For adults, it’s more technical. We use a deliberate approach. The usual way is to just allow them to do laps. But here we teach the proper way to move the arms, legs, and head. As much as possible we try to eliminate second-guessing in learning. That way, the learning is expedited. We try to break it down to easy and digestible movements. It’s a simple yet effective approach,” he said.
And such an approach has Anjanette Rodriguez, an engineer, taking SSI’s adult classes.
“At first, I only accompanied my son for his classes. But when I listened to the coaches and saw how they were taking it step-by-step, I decided to take up classes of my own. I know how to swim but [am] not that good, and I hope to improve on it after my sessions here,” Ms. Rodriguez told BusinessWorld.
Being an archipelagic and tropical country, the owners and coaches of SSI hope that more people take the time to learn how to swim so as to fully enjoy what the environment here has to offer. This is apart from the health benefits that one can get from swimming.
“For recreation this is the best place to do swimming as we have a lot of wonderful places for it. It, too, is great in improving cardiovascular fitness — blood flow and heart functions — with the least risk of getting hurt. Best exercise with least injury and high benefits,” Mr. Basa said.
For classes held at Alphaland, rates are P7,500 for non-members and P5,500 for members for eight sessions. Adult sessions are set for Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. while those for younger students are on the same days, at 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. for toddlers, and 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. for kids.
Those interested to know more about Streamline Sports Instruction — which also offers classes in mixed martial arts, frisbee and triathlon, among others — can do so by checking its Facebook page.
