From Pool to Pitch - Jul’s story
11 year old Jul with swimmer, Liz Johnson - Gold medallist at the Paralympic Games and International Paralympic Committee
Jul is 11 years old and has been swimming with Level Water for 7 months now. We’d love to tell you about Jul but we think his mum does it best:
“Before we joined Level Water, Jul was practically a non-swimmer!
The only swimming lessons that Jul had were with his school in a group setting. Jul's physio advised us to take Jul swimming, and in particular learn the breaststroke as that would benefit Jul's walking abilities. Out of the water Jul cannot walk straight, his left foot turns significantly inwards, due to his ham strings being too tight. His podiatrist has recommended Jul swimming the breast stroke in particular to aid the loosening of his ham strings, in addition to doing daily exercises at home. Jul really enjoys his one-to-one lessons with Mario as he focuses on working Jul's calf muscles, which Jul would not get in a group lesson.
For many years Jul has walked with both his feet turned inwards, the left one more so. He was going through pairs of shoes every 4-6 weeks. It impacted his daily life and running too. A couple of years ago Jul started having a kick about with the football in the back garden. Then over the past 4 months or so, as he started growing and changing, he was keen to learn how to play football. He is now coming to the end of an 8 week football training camp and has been signed to play for a Welsh football club in September. I do not think he would have made such personal and physical progress without Mario and the opportunity provided to us by Level Water.
Water safety I think is so important. We live near the beach and we always go swimming in the sea or in pools when on holiday in the summer. However, since starting with Level Water Jul has grown in confidence, the way that he walks and carries himself now is amazing. He used to be so quiet, but he has come out of his shell, has had his long hair cut off and really enjoys his one-on-one time with Mario. There were a few weeks that due to Mario's schedule other instructors had to lead Jul's swimming lessons and although they were very good, Jul missed Mario - his expertise and guidance.
I believe that swimming is a very important life lesson. I learned to swim around his age through joining the Sea Cadets and I still love the water and water based activities. Watching Jul swim brings me a lot of joy and comfort knowing that he understands and respects the water and has the ability to swim confidently. As I mentioned, Jul was basically a non-swimmer prior to his Level Water lessons. Now he is a confident swimmer and is working on his techniques.
Level Water offers life changing opportunities to young people with physical challenges. Not only do they provide the funds for swimming lessons, they care greatly about every single participant. I cannot thank everyone who has given us this opportunity enough, I am extremely grateful. Without Level Water Jul's daily life would still be impacted greatly with his walking issues. ”
We can’t wait to see how things will progress for Jul in the pool and on the football pitch. All his confidence shines through. Way to go Jul!