Tokyo American Club iNTOUCH magazine; October 2014

Swimming with Sharks

The Club’s popular swim programs teach youngsters a lot more than just effective swim strokes.

by Megan Waters

Photos by Kayo Yamawaki

W

aris Mills is dreaming big.

A keen member of the Mudsharks, the Club’s swim team program, the 12-year-old has set her sights on the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires or possibly the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

Since joining the ranks of young swimmers at the Club, she says she has

become more competitive. “I like racing against other people because you can see where you rank and how others swim and stretch,” says Mills, who has swum in meets in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.

Of the many medals and trophies she has won, she says she’s particularly proud of the medal she picked up for her 100-meter freestyle performance at

(l–r) Anika Whitehead and Olivia Monteiro

the St Mary’s International School meet earlier this year.

After moving to Tokyo with her family more than two and a half years ago, she was placed in the Mudsharks’ intermediate-level group but now swims with the elite Tiger Sharks. With a passion for a number of sports, Mills says swimming makes her feel “free.” “[Swimming] gives me a sense of routine and goals,” she says. “The class helps you to learn how to swim properly.”

Youngsters at the Club are able to start out in the Mudsharks kids’ group swim program before progressing to the Mudsharks swim team program, which is divided into five levels (more than 180 children take part in the two programs).

The sessions are designed to improve swim technique and fitness, as well as focus on competitive swimming with a more intense training regime. Past members have gone on to represent their areas or regions in their home countries.

“Apart from the physical aspects of swimming, children build confidence,

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RECREATION

develop social skills, learn about teamwork, as well as winning and losing,” says head coach Simon Hadlow.

While lower-level swimmers focus on technique and developing good swimming habits, higher-level members perform more complex drills and are introduced to competitive swimming.

“The Tiger Sharks have an intense training regime, with six sessions a week, and compete at meets with the Japanese Amateur Swimming Association and travel overseas once a year to compete with other Asian teams,” explains Australian Hadlow, who has been coaching at the Club for the past 14 years.

While some swim schools group swimmers according to their age or school grade, the Mudsharks focuses on ability.

“This means we have swimmers of different age groups working and interacting together,” Hadlow says. “In addition, the Club is a family organization and many of the parents of our swimmers are involved in adult swimming programs, too. This gives our team a real family atmosphere.”

Nine-year-old Olivia Monteiro joined the Mini Muddies at age 4 when her family moved to Japan from her native Brazil. After three years, she had progressed to the Juniors, accumulating plenty of friends along the way.

“Swimming is good exercise, great fun and the coaches are really good because they explain everything clearly,” says Monteiro, who admits that she’s not a fan of swimming in races.

One swimmer who thrives in the competitive environment is Anika Whitehead. The 8-year-old, who attends Nishimachi International School, joined the Mudsharks two years ago and now swims in the intermediate-level group and occasionally with the Tiger Sharks.

She says she enjoys taking part in meets and finds swimming “refreshing” at the end of the school day. “It’s a good feeling when you hop out of the pool after swimming class,” she says.

Since the various groups train alongside one another, swimmers can learn by watching their teammates, according to

Whitehead. “I can look at their stroke and it encourages me to get better,” she says.

“TAC’s program helps you to swim well. It also teaches you about being nice to each other and about team spirit.”

Besides the weekly swim sessions, the program includes race meets, Club awards ceremonies and dinners. Meanwhile, the coaching staff keeps parents informed through a regular newsletter.

As a former competitive swimmer himself, Hadlow knows what it takes to be successful in the pool and says that swimmers have to be “focused, driven, self-disciplined and…able to set goals.”

Judging by the smiles on the faces of the young swimmers in the Sky Pool each week, an ability to have fun is obviously another prerequisite. o Waters is a Tokyo-based freelance journalist.

For more information on the Mudsharks and other swim programs, contact the Sky Pool Office at 03-4588-0700 or pool@tac-club.org or visit the Club website.

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