FFC Union Station Swim Lessons

I swim there but haven't taken classes or lessons. I can give you things to work on if you want over the winter as well - no charge - if we're at the pool at the same time. I'm swimming tonight after work....Wed and Friday's suck though with water aerobics.

Edit to add: I hear very good things about CBD.




Edited by running2far 2008-10-15 1:39 PM

I had a one-on-one stroke analysis done with John Fitzgerald of the CBD. It was 1 session that was about an hour long, done in their endless pool studio on Elston Ave. He videotaped me throughout the session, pointed out all of my stroke deficiencies and offered tips on how to improve them. It was expensive, but it opened up my eyes - it's a whole new experience seeing yourself swim on a big flat-screen tv. I'd love to have a few more sessions with him, but I simply cannot afford it. I just hope I can take what I learned from that one session, and apply it to my swim training for next season.

Linda

Edited by nscrbug 2008-10-15 5:31 PM

A couple of years back I took a few stroke (back, breast, fly) clinics from Fitz and also swam with his team for several years. He is a great instructor. He gives clear feedback and makes it easy to for you to understand what he is talking about so improvements can be made. He is also a real nice guy which make it easy to ask questions. Another thing I like about Fitz is he gets in the water with you and demonstrates what he is teaching. Many folks try to teach from the deck.

I am not sure if Charles Kiefer is the actual instructor of the swim classes at my FFC but he his listed as the contact. If he is the instructor I have seen several times teaching at my pool, I am not sure I would recommend him. Some of his methods just seem odd. During the lesson that I observed, he doesn't focus on just one improvement at a time. He has people worrying about arm position, rotating, and breathing position all at the same time. Some of these people are barely doing what I would call swimming. I mean if someone can barely move forward, how can they understand what he is talking about. He also seems to be real focused on speed and not form. I mean that is great if you can swim a fast 25 but as a triathlete, training for longer distances, that doesn't mean a whole lot. I have also never seen him in the pool (if that matters to you).

If my instructor is not C. Kiefer, then I have no input on him.