A childhood spent on inner-city basketball courts has led to a professional player taking his first swim classes as an adult at Parakiore.

Growing up in Lowell, Massachusetts, Tamenang Choh – who goes by T – is the Canterbury Rams’ star import, fresh off a season in Finland, and is taking to the water like a duck.

The 27-year-old has had a journeyman career, taking him from college ball at Brown University, on to France, Germany, Spain, Bulgaria and Finland.

Now he finds himself donning the Rams’ red and black, and with a handful of swimming lessons under his belt at Parakiore in the central city.

He came upon the adult swimming lessons by chance, as he was heading to a Rams training session, now that the team is based at the new sport and recreation centre.

“Honestly, we've been blessed to play in this beautiful new facility, so I've been walking by the swimming pool every day for practice, and I was like, ‘you know what, let me just ask and see if they have adult swimming classes,” T says.

The team behind the front desk made it a smooth process, he said, and before he knew it, he found himself in at the proverbial deep end, under the watchful eyes of an encouraging coach.

“I was kind of, not intimidated, but I just didn't know what to expect at first, because in my eyes I can at least float a little bit, but obviously not enough to consider myself a swimmer.

“I was kind of sceptical, just because I was from Lowell, an inner-city suburb, never really around water, never really been interested in learning how to swim, but it's something that has taken away opportunities to go swimming with my friends, going to the beaches, and I'm kind of tired of saying ‘I can't go’ or making an excuse up. So now being able to learn, it's a great life skill to have,” he says.

T says he has copped “a bit” of stick from his teammates for learning at the ripe age of 27, but most are impressed with his drive to learn a new skill.

“It's funny, because I joked to my teammates, and I told them, ‘I'm taking swimming classes’, and of course, some of them go ‘you don't know how to swim?’ And some are like, ‘oh, that's a really respectable thing, that's a great life skill to have’.

“You know, just the fact that I am doing it, they are extremely supportive. You can't worry about other people, what they think, because at the end of the day some of them might not know how to swim either, or they're maybe too scared to say it out loud,” he says.

The Council offers adult swim classes for all ages and abilities. Head here for more information and how to book.