Swimmers keep dry and busy during lockdown
thesundaypost speaks to more swimmers and two coaches to share their insights
ATHLETES in Sarawak are among those impacted by the Movement Control Order (MCO).
Without regular training they can expect their fitness level and competitive sharpness to drop. Many, however, have found other ways to stay in shape during the lockdown.
Swimmers, for instance, are working out at home and have found an alternative in dry-land training.
In the second of this two-part feature story, thesundaypost spoke to more swimmers and asked two coaches to share their insights.
Fish out of water Ten-year-old Cayden Minieve Chin can’t wait to get back to the swimming pool after being away for so long.
He said he almost felt like a fish out of water for missing the fun of splashing in the pool.
Cayden, who has been swimming for five years, feels he could have lost his form – and wonders if he should give up.
But he reminded himself that he was “half a dolphin and a dolphin cannot be away from the water.”
So he decided to stick around no matter what. That commitment prompts him to do whatever exercises he could during the lockdown – jogging around the car porch, skipping, push-ups, sit-ups, hollow rocks, planking and squats – plus Tabata.
Cayden was introduced to swimming when his mother enrolled him in a class to learn water survival skills.
He recalled that he initially hated the water and was afraid when asked to jump into the pool.
When he dipped underwater, it felt like he was drowning.
He was terrified and cried but his coach was very gentle and patient in helping him to overcome his fear.
By aged seven, Cayden had joined a swimming club and started competing.
He started winning medals in inter-primary school meets and even up to the divisional and state levels in his age group.
Cayden’s next goal is to win a medal in a national championship.
His most notable achievement so far are three gold, three silver and one bronze medals in individual events at the Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr Wong Soon Kai Swimming Championship 2019.
He mentioned Malaysia’s Olympic swimmer Welson Sim Wee Sheng as someone he admires. A dream came true when he met Sim at a swimming meet in Kuala Lumpur.
The youngster remembers being awe-struck to meet his idol in person.
Kuching-born Sim, who started joining swimming classes at 10, holds national records in multiple events and competed in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janerio.
Belly dancer
Dalysha Teo Jia Xin started swimming at just four years old.
Now 13, she uses the Internet to source for iron and proteinrich food to supplement her diet, knowing that to do well in sports, eating right is just as important as training right.
As the swimming pool is offlimits during the lockdown, she works out at home five days a week.
But she misses her friends and the water.
Dalysha said she was a belly dancer before quitting to take up swimming.
“I made the change partly because I knew my grandma would be very happy as she was the one who always encouraged me to go for swimming.
“I find swimming just as exciting. It’s also very good for health. I’m fortunate to have a good coach who guides me patiently when I’m training for competition.”
Dalysha looks forward to joining as many competitions as possible for exposure and experience.
Her latest achievement was winning one silver and three bronze medals in the Sarawak Age Group Swimming Championship in February.
Virtual coaching
Raymond Chang Siaw Yang, a coach with the Sarawak Sports Council (MSNS) Elite Swimming programme, said he continued with some coaching during the MCO.
Chang, who is also a sports psychologist, sends out daily instructions on dry-land training to the swimmers and conducts weekly virtual learning with them.
There are also collaborative programmes with Swim
Australia whereby weekly webinars (seminars through the web) are conducted for swimmers and their parents.
Topics and issues include nutrition for swimmers, how the current situation is affecting them and the role of parents in supporting the swimmers during the lockdown.
“In general, swimmers must have a high level of selfdiscipline and self-motivation. They should think positive, visualise and even meditate to overcome stress and anxiety,” Chang said.
According to him, dry-land workouts are still effective in keeping muscles active and maintaining fitness, strength, range of motion and flexibility.
The exercises can also develop explosive power and help maintain ideal body-weight.
Nevertheless, he admitted that training on land and in the pool are different.
“Training in the water is finetuned towards specific swimming skills such as coordination between arms, legs and body movements. Breathing pattern also differs significantly.
“Swimming involves a lot of breath control. It must be swimming after finishing secondary school.
He also felt Sarawak needed swimming coaches who consistently upgrade their knowledge and skills.
Parents, he stressed, have an extremely important role because while the coaches are in charge at the pool, parents are the pillar of support at home.
“In a nutshell, management, coaches, parents and swimmers have to go hand in hand to ensure success,” he summed it up.
Strong government support Another coach Voon Yong Hui agrees with the necessity of longterm planning for Sarawak to develop water sports, including swimming.
“Strong government support will be very helpful in this respect. We need more facilities and more competitions apart from more people encouraging their children to take up swimming.”
He added that it would good if more clubs and teams could be formed to boost competitive swimming.
However, he pointed out that a long-term approach was not about getting as many age-group and youth swimmers to race as quickly as possible nor expecting the swimmers to be as young as possible when you started putting them through the grind.
“The focus should be on correct training and paying attention to the athletes’ growth and future. All these things should be done systematically.”
Voon said Sarawak was once a powerhouse in aquatic sports and it should try to bring back those glory days, adding that “we actually have lots of talents waiting to be discovered.”
He noted that training at home during the lockdown was limited by lack of space and equipment.
“What the swimmers can do is only some stretching exercise and using their bodyweight to build up strength.”
According to Voon, swimming is different from other sports and while dry-land training alone is not enough, it can help the swimmers to stay in shape.
To improve speed, endurance and efficiency, swimming drills need to be incorporated into the training regime.
But this is not possible as the pools are closed.
He advised the swimmers not to feel discouraged or left out by staying home because everyone else is doing the same in the interest of public health.
“Once the MCO is lifted, we can re-start our training. Whatever targets we set before, we can always work to achieve them again.
“The focus should be to continue training,” he said.
In general, swimmers must have a high level of selfdiscipline and self-motivation. They should think positive, visualise and even meditate to overcome stress and anxiety. — Raymond Chang Siaw Yang, MSNS coach