I had the same problem as you . I managed to just barely get the certification as a child , but when I tried to learn how to swim as a teenager I couldn ' t do it at all . I have no idea why . Luckily , I was saved the misfortune of high school swimming classes I was so shy , I would have died , I just had some lessons at a localish pool . I can finally just about swim the length of a pool and back now , but I have to stay near a wall , ideally in the shallows . I just spent all summer in the pool . We went swimming about twothree times a week , I never would have gotten it otherwise . And I still need a life jacket in open water of any depth . I ' ll try and go back all of next summer too though . Keep trying !