Swimming: good day in pool

Swimming used to intimidate the hell out of me. Still does. But now I'm working on it. Good policy-- you must do the thing you're afraid of... believe it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said that.

I find that lap swimmers intimidate me the most. These human dolphins go up and down the pool, turning underwater like Michael Phelps when they get close to the wall and speeding off to do another lap. I never thought I could do laps back and forth, to and fro, again and again.

Okay, the unbelievably good lap swimmers still put me to shame. I can go back and forth, but not very quickly, even with the mini-fins. But I am going back-and-forth. Yes, actual laps! Not sure if I have a best stroke. I can do the crawl or freestyle and that's the granddaddy of all strokes. The kicking part still eludes me, but I have the arm movements and I breath on either side. Usually I'll recover with some sidestroke after exerting myself with the crawl.

My two areas of progress.

1) How to Kick with Swim Fins on Breast Stroke:
I watched a DVD on how to kick with swim fins. One guy explained that the breast-stroke kick involves using the fins like paddles. That kick resembles a frog kicking in the water. In order to get some power out of the fins, he explained that you bring your heels together behind you. That turns the fins sideways. Then you kick out, like the frog does. Wow, I did get some more power with that kicking method and felt better, and slightly faster, with my breast stroke today.

2) Increase Breathing Power and Lung Capacity:
Saw I guy who could swim 2/3 the length of the pool underwater! Spoke to him afterwards and told him how amazed I was. Asked him about it. He said he sometimes just works on holding his breath while swimming. Then it dawned on me. I could practice underwater for distance, but can also just practice going longer without taking a breath while doing freestyle swimming. I could increase my lung capacity as part of the normal lap swimming.

Realized a big part of swimming is confidence about breathing. How do you stay calm, keep breathing and wait to get your strength back. Much of it is learning to breath. Breathing is how you stay calm. Getting yourself to relax in the water is what swimming is all about.

Okay, it ain't rocket science. But it did feel like progress!

NBA Finals (ball movement vs. star power)

I've been following the NBA playoffs more closely than usual. One thing I noted-- was when Shaq, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley were dissecting a Golden State victory with host Ernie Johnson on Inside the NBA-- Kenny Smith said "reminds me of how we used to play in high school." He commented that it was all about ball movement.

So my thought was that in high school you don't have established stars with major egos and major contracts. The pro game is so devoted to the "star system" and sometimes it looks like one-on-one basketball.

I think the star system has created problems for Lebron James. Whenever he gets into these finals-- the Cavs go to him, especially when some of their other stars are injured. So it becomes Lebron against the world-- and he usually loses in those final series. And I don't see the ball flow that Steve Kerr has created with Golden State. Golden State won a few games when Curry and Klay Thompson were slumping.

Even Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen had the advantage of Phil Jackson's triangle offense in the Nineties. I believe you need that kind of thing to win championships. ESPN and highlight clips and the star system excite the fans. But it takes more than that to win the championship...

The Spurs have that offensive flow under Gregg Popovich.

Maybe Steve Kerr learned a few tricks playing for Phil Jackson.