Before form, before speed—start here.
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Don’t Stop—Redirect “It’s so hard to stop lifting my elbow” is something I hear from swimmers all the time. So I ask, “What do you tell yourself when you notice you’re doing it?” The answer is almost always the same: “I tell myself to stop.” And there it is. When my kids were little, I saw this play out daily. They’d be tapping, humming, banging—doing something that made me crazy—and I’d say, kindly, “Sweetie, please stop banging the table.” They’d pause… and then a minute later, the…
There’s more than meets the eye At our weekly Q&A on Tuesday, we explored a powerful truth: looks can be deceiving, especially in swimming. It’s easy to assume a long, graceful stroke means efficiency or that choppy movements signal struggle. But the water tells a different story. A swimmer who looks smooth might be leaking power in invisible ways, while someone with an unconventional stroke might be moving through the water with surprising ease. The real difference isn’t in how a stroke, a…
The Invitation of Courage I recently learned about how some cultures value the job of a wailer — the one who cries out at funerals, giving everyone else permission to feel their grief. It’s an ancient, vital role: one person’s honest expression helps others grieve out loud and process their emotions. It’s curious to me how, as humans, we tend to move in lock step with the people around us. When people join my Intro to Efficient Swimming class, they’ve often tried adult learn-to-swim programs…
Earlier this week, I stood in what will become the swim studio space here in Talent with the architect, the landlord, and the builder, reviewing plans from the engineer. It was exciting—15 months in the making—and equally terrifying, seeing something I’ve been imagining start to take shape (the plans still have to be approved by OHA before we can pour concrete). It reminded me of the difference between planning for something and being in it. The gap between the idea and the work. The water…
LESSONS FROM THE WATER READ PREVIOUS ARTICLES WEBSITE SCHEDULE SUBSTACK I was out for a bike ride with my family last weekend when some friends came up behind us. How’s your posture, Shannon? Did you set an intention for your bike ride? Are you going to journal about this later? Each of them had attended some form of my coaching. They were reflecting back to me exactly how I try to help swimmers get out of their ego mind — to learn, grow, and find fulfillment in their practice. I laughed….
Got a support system? Or just swimming solo? This week in the water, one of my little swimmers pushed off from one side of the pool, picked up a sinky, stood up, and proudly yelled out, “Mom, look!” Mom looked up from her phone, smiled, and gave him the thumbs up he was hoping for. With that simple recognition, courage bloomed—and he did it again. And again. At one point, he came up surprised, choking on water, and looked straight at me. I gently reminded him, “We’re not fish—we can’t breathe…
