Penny Heyns visits Uplands
Uplands College was fortunate enough to host Penny Heyns over the weekend of the 5th and 6th of October, where she delivered a 2 day coaching clinic to approximately 40 swimmers.
The clinic comprised of technical sessions in and out of the pool focussing on all four strokes as well as their starts and turns. Swimmers received individual attention from Penny, and all commented that they really gained a lot from the sessions.
Penny did, however, offer more than just her technical expertise as swimmers, aged 11 to 18, were engaged and inspired as she spoke of her journey from a small town South African swimmer to a world icon. She spoke of the mental toughness, positive mind frames and dedication required for success and encouraged the swimmers to value sportsmanship and personal growth over medals and prizes.
Her motto “swim your own race” pushes kids to become accountable and develop their own inner drive towards accomplishment.
I am sure the highlight for most of the swimmers, however, was getting to wear Penny’s 3 Olympic Medals and pose for a photo with the “greatest female breaststroker of all timer”. The weekend was a huge success, and we look forward to welcoming Penny back to the Lowveld in the not so distant future.
Some photos of the kids with Penny’s medals…