I Feared Deep Water… Until My Coach Forced Me to Face It

In Part 3, I shared how a coach from Bengal, Rakesh Mondal, seen me throughout a newbies’ race and requested me a query I had by no means anticipated: “Why don’t you prepare for competitions?” Until that second, swimming was merely one thing I loved doing. I had solely lately overcome my concern of deep water, and I had completely no concept that aggressive swimming may change into part of my life. But now that query had created a brand new concern, what if I really needed to prepare like these aggressive swimmers I had been watching from a distance?

That day, I didn’t actually wish to go to the pool. I used to be anxious that if I began aggressive coaching, I must swim for hours, do extraordinarily laborious exercises, and in some way survive the form of coaching I had seen Rakesh Mondal give to the aggressive swimmers. At that point, my elder brother had additionally lately began studying swimming. It had solely been 4 or 5 days since he joined, and since he was going to the pool, I had no selection however to associate with him.

The second I reached the pool, the very first thing I did was go searching to see whether or not the Rakesh Mondal Sir was there. I couldn’t see him wherever, and I instantly felt relieved. I believed I had escaped. So I went again to my standard routine, swimming, taking part in round and having fun with my time within the pool like I all the time did. I had nearly satisfied myself that the day was going to move usually.

Then, simply when the batch was about to complete, I heard the whistle.

I regarded towards the sound and noticed Rakesh Mondal.

My complete temper modified. I instantly began searching for a spot the place I may in some way disappear till the session ended. I didn’t need him to see me. I hoped that if I stayed quiet sufficient, the pool session would end and I may merely go residence. For some time, I believed my plan had labored. But when the batch ended, he stopped me.

“So, what have you decided? You’re going to do competitive swimming, right?”

I instantly mentioned no.

He then known as my elder brother and requested him, “Do you want to make him a swimmer?”

My brother merely replied, “Yes. Give him the training.”

That one reply modified every part.

The coach instructed my brother that he may depart, and I began strolling with him, considering I used to be going residence too. But earlier than I may get away, the coach stopped me.

“You stay.”

My face instantly modified. I felt like I used to be about to cry. I had watched him prepare aggressive swimmers, and I knew how strict he might be. I didn’t have the braveness to inform him that I didn’t wish to prepare or that I wished to go residence. My brother left, and out of the blue I used to be standing there alone with the coach.

He instructed me to alter into my swimming costume.

A couple of minutes later, I got here again to the pool. There was no one else round. The pool was nearly fully empty, and it was simply me and the 2 coaches. I keep in mind trying on the water and realizing that this was very completely different from my standard swimming periods.

The coach instructed me to get into the water.

I jumped in and instantly grabbed the wall.

He instructed me to let go.

I hesitated and mentioned, “Sir, I can let go if I have a floater. Without a floater, I’ll sink.”

That was when he taught me one thing I had by no means correctly understood earlier than, methods to place my physique and use my actions to remain on the floor of the water.

For the primary time in my life, I attempted water treading with out holding on to something.

I managed to look ahead to perhaps 5 or seven seconds earlier than getting drained and grabbing the wall once more. It wasn’t a lot, however it was one thing I had by no means been capable of do earlier than. The coach merely instructed me, “You’ll get it. Practice it every day.”

Then he requested me to swim.

I began swimming throughout the width of the pool. When I reached the opposite facet, I finished, anticipating the session to be over.

The coach checked out me and gestured, asking why I had stopped.

“I’m tired, sir,” I replied.

His voice instantly grew to become louder.

“Come back.”

I used to be scared sufficient that I began swimming once more with out arguing. But my endurance was horrible. My legs and arms had been burning, and someplace in the midst of the pool I swallowed an enormous quantity of water. I used to be exhausted by the point I reached the opposite facet.

The coach checked out me and instructed me that I had nearly no endurance. From now on, I must swim at the least 4 laps every single day.

Four laps.

At that second, even the quantity 4 sounded scary to me.

Until then, I had thought-about swimming throughout the pool as soon as with out stopping an enormous achievement. Now somebody was telling me that I wanted to do 4 laps every single day simply to construct fundamental endurance.

After that, he checked the opposite strokes I knew. I may perform a little little bit of them, though my method was removed from good. I had discovered most of my swimming just by watching others and experimenting by myself.

After observing me, he lastly mentioned one thing that made my coronary heart sink.

“From tomorrow, you’ll train with the competitive swimmers.”

And identical to that, he left me there.

I stayed within the pool for a short time longer, working towards water treading and attempting to grasp what had simply occurred. Just a few hours earlier, I had been fortunately swimming in my standard newbie routine. Now I had been instructed that from the very subsequent day, I’d be coaching with aggressive swimmers.

I ultimately went residence. It was round 7:30 within the night, and I used to be nonetheless attempting to course of every part that had occurred.

At that time, I had no concept how necessary that night would change into in my life. I believed I used to be merely beginning a troublesome new part of swimming. I didn’t know that the coach who had simply modified the path of my swimming would disappear from my life nearly as shortly as he had entered it.

I had no concept that this might be the final time I’d ever meet Rakesh Mondal.

And I definitely had no concept that the choice he made that night would ultimately lead me far past the swimming pool I knew at the moment.