The Swili impact #1

Deborah, Italy (swimming instructor)

“Usually we work individually with our own groups and are not in the habit of debating a lot with our colleagues. But during this project we have been working together as a team with other instructors, when we were doing the tasks, when we were preparing the lessons, when we compared our ideas and different methods used to teach swimming and this was something new for us. I began to understand the importance of communicating with other instructors. I didn’t have the chance to visit the seminar in Ljubljana, but my colleagues told me about the workshops that took place. This project has been a great opportunity for me to improve myself, to learn new things, to compare work and talk about our experience that we had during the project and to see how other European organisations work. Thanks a lot.“

Marta, Italy (swimming instructor)

“I have learned to compare myself and my knowledge with other swimming instructors. After this experience I would like to go abroad more often and improve my relationships with other swimming professionals. My wish is to do a staff exchange for a few months in a different country, which could be very usefull for me, my organisation and my colleagues. Our swimmers feel better in the water, they have more confidence with the water and with their own body and during this experience became friends. They found strength and motivation to do exercises and things together.”

Anna, Italy (swimming instructor)

“I think this opportunity has been very important for me not only as a professional, but also as a person, because it has given me the possibility to challenge myself in new experience. It was not always easy, since I was used to working alone and now had to start to share my job with others. I have found out a lot about some new interesting topics, which I hope to incorporate in my job from now on. During the project there was a lot of emphasis on teamwork, which is a very important lesson in life, since all of us can improve because of other people’s advice, ideas and opinions. Another thing I will take with me from the project is also the planning of a good lesson in a lot of detail and to write a teaching log after each lesson. Thanks for all.”

Joao, Portugal (swimming instructor)

“Through this project I have learnt more about swimming, swimming techniques and exercises and how to teach swimming. I researched the Web, my college documents and asked for opinions from other swimming professionals. I am definitely a  better teacher now, because I had to teach swimming to adult beginners. This forced me to find new strategies and to be even more careful with the feedback that I use. This was a really good experience for me as a teacher and I was grateful to see how my swimmers evolved their swimming abilities and also felt very happy and motivated to swim more.”