How I Learned to Swim After Age 50

The woman at the desk asked if the lessons were for her children or grandchildren. “I’m going to admit to you, it’s not for the kids or grandchildren — it’s for myself,” she told her. The director wasn’t there, and the employee asked Rodriguez if she could have her phone number so he could give her a call.

“I said, ‘No, thank you very much. I’m leaving.’ I lost the energy at the moment. I turn around and who walks in but the athletic director,” Rodriguez says, adding she was “speechless.” He convinced her to stay.

The day Rodriguez showed up to the pool deck for her first lesson with her instructor, David Back, she eyed the water, then backed away from the pool’s edge. Back, a competitive swimmer who coaches and teaches swimmers of all ages and abilities, gently encouraged her.

“His passion, talent and caring to teach swimming came through on our first meeting,” Rodriguez says. “He knew I was doubtful and very afraid of the water and afraid to fail.”

Back coaxed her back to the edge and had her go down steps into the shallow end of the pool. He went in with her, holding her hand. He had her get used to the feeling of standing in the pool, then they worked on exhaling underwater. After a few weeks of Back’s guidance, she could jump into the deep end, level off and save herself if necessary. She first learned backstroke, then progressed to freestyle strokes. She’s now almost able to swim the length of the 25-yard pool.

“Coach Dave assured me with confidence, humor, respect that I would be safe in his care and in the water. Even when doubt started to creep back, he would not let me give up. He let me know he believed in me,” she says. “As I learn how to swim, I am starting to believe in myself again.”

Rodriguez says the most rewarding part came when she was able to float on her back and look up at the sky.

She told Back, “I missed too much in my entire life. This is so relaxing.”

At first, coach David Back had to coax Maria Rodriguez to the edge of the pool and held her hand as she walked into the water. As she gained confidence, he taught her how to exhale underwater, float and jump into the deep end. “Even when doubt started to creep back, he would not let me give up,” Rodriguez says.

Thomas Simonetti

Family support

After learning to swim, she told her younger son she was conquering her fear by taking lessons.

Her son was surprised, and she says he told her, “I never knew you didn’t swim because you were so into our swim lessons and competitions in high school.”

Rodriguez, who sees a physical therapist for herniated disks, says swimming is also great for her health.

“I am hopeful that learning to be comfortable in the water and swim a little will lead me to many happy moments with my husband, children, grandchildren and in exploring the wonders of the sea, like snorkeling,” Rodriguez says.

Back says there are many reasons older Americans never learned to swim, including parental neglect, being too busy and lacking desire or access to a pool. Although some schools and districts require that students learn to swim, no state or federal laws mandate swimming lessons, and there certainly weren’t any when those who are now age 50 and older were in school.

Many swim instructors say the primary reason many adults are reluctant to take swim lessons is a past trauma or embarrassment that they hadn’t sought lessons earlier. 

A gentle process

Throwing a child — or adult — into a pool “is not how you do it,” Back notes. “When that happens, you blow someone’s confidence all over the place. Maria is a prime example. She was tossed in the water. She almost drowned. Not only did it hinder her from swimming at such a young age, it set her up for failure because, ‘Hey, everybody can swim. No, they can’t. You just threw me in water, and I can’t swim now.’ ”

In addition to physical and emotional health benefits, knowing how to swim provides a person with safety benefits as well, such as understanding unsafe water conditions and clearly knowing their capabilities and limitations, Back says.

Knowing how to swim and the basics of lifesaving could mean being able to save a grandchild or someone else struggling in the water, even if that’s getting in the water yourself and handing someone a noodle or towel to help get them back to safety.

While there are those who approach Back with excitement to learn to swim, he says when someone approaches the water with anxiety, “first they have to recognize there’s a problem. If they could do it, there would not be a problem. The biggest thing is confidence.”

Learning to swim boosts confidence, Back notes, pointing to Rodriguez as an example.

Rodriguez first learned backstroke, then progressed to freestyle strokes. She’s now able to swim the length of the 25-yard pool.

Thomas Simonetti

A splashing good time

While water can be dangerous for those who don’t know how to swim, for those who do, Back says water is synonymous with fun.

“We either get in the water to get in shape, which is fun, or we get in the water to have fun. The world is 70 percent water. You are cutting out a whole aspect of life that is fun,” he says.

Back says tackling a deep-seated fear of swimming transcends learning to swim. “It is about the virtuous things of life that this teaches you — to put aside your fears,” he says.

Back cautions that people shouldn’t compare themselves to others. “Every adult I coach, they all have come to me with different baggage, different experience,” he says. “My goal is to have them set their own goals. I like to say, ‘Why don’t you just try to be 1 percent better than you were yesterday, not better than someone else.’ ”

According to the CDC, swimming’s physical and mental benefits include improved health for people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

Dawson Hughes, CEO of U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS), adds that swimming lowers blood pressure, aids in weight loss and weight maintenance, and benefits the immune system. It also lowers stress, improves self-esteem, reduces depression and anxiety, and improves problem-solving skills and memory, he says.

Fountain of youth

Rodriguez advises others to contemplate the role that anxiety plays in not wanting to swim. “Do not let time go by because you can use this technique of swimming all the way into your 80s and 90s,” she says. “You feel more comfortable to go to exercise class in the water. It’s better for your joints, your body and your soul because it’s relaxing. Now that I have a little bit of this experience, I can say I feel very relaxed floating in the water.”

Rodriquez looks forward to using her newfound confidence by going to pools and beaches more and even using a kayak and paddleboard she purchased a few years ago.

Slowing down the aging process is swimming’s most important benefit, Hughes says, noting that an older swimmer’s biological age can be as much as 20 years younger than their chronological age. He calls the sport a fountain of youth.