Milli Rowland, 14

 

Testimonial written by Milli's Mum

 

Milli has been very keen to start training for triathlons and at 14 years old I am delighted she is so motivated and enthusiastic about sport and keeping healthy.

 

Milli has been recovering from an illness, which took away everything in her life last year. She was unable to attend school for a year and had to stop all sports activities and anything of enjoyment. She was extremely ill and found every day very hard. Milli is now recovering and finding a new love for life. She decided she wanted to do triathlons as she became involved in a local cycle club whilst recovering. They gave her a bike and supported her on local rides. She enjoyed running and finds it helps her to feel relaxed and re-energised. However, her swimming is poor as she has a chlorine allergy so going swimming to Milli means, sneezing, runny nose and poor sleep for 48 hours afterwards. Milli decided she wanted to improve her swimming and to not let this allergy get in her way. She found Annie on her website and was really keen to have a lesson with her. We decided to book it as her birthday gift as she was keen to do the video analysis.

 

We meet Annie at the pool. It was really clean and she was allowed to use the staff changing rooms as it was at Abingdon Boys school. Annie was very friendly and explained to Milli what they would be doing during their time and and asked Milli about the areas she wanted to focus on. Annie videoed Milli in the water and then they were able to watch it back instantly. It was very well done. You could see the angles of the body, what each limb was doing correctly or not, and her breathing. It identified a lot of areas that Milli needed to work on. Annie also gave Milli a copy so she could take it home and watch it so she could remind herself what she needed to practice when on her own.

 

During Milli's lesson Annie gave Milli  a headset to wear so she could hear everything Annie was asking her to do, even when she was under water. This was extremely helpful as Milli has a listening problem and finds it very hard to hear in echoey spaces. 

 

Annie explained things very clearly to Milli and was positive and encouraging. She would stop Milli and demonstrate and occasionally re-position Milli if she hadn't understood. The lesson was great and the perfect length of time. An hour of intensive swimming with a lot too think about was great. Mind you she was rather tired on the way home!

 

Milli felt it improved her technique there and then. She came home very enthusiastic and with a program of areas she needed to practice in her own time. Milli bought the flippers and buoy and has been using these in her own sessions.

 

Milli has now signed up for her first triathlon and is very motivated to work towards it. Annie is still teaching Milli and helping her to improve each time. Milli is gaining confidence, technique and is happy.