Ages 6-12 years: Level 1: Water Acclimation, Level 2: Water Movement, Level 3: Water Stamina, Level 4: Stroke Introduction, & Level 5: Stroke Development
The Y’s youth lessons teach your child how to become safe and confident swimmers in a friendly and supportive small-group setting.
As their skills and confidence in the water grows, young swimmers progress from learning basic water safety to swimming skills including:
Level 1: Water Acclimation
Students develop comfort in the water with underwater exploration and introduce basic self-rescue skills preformed with assistance.
Qualifications: Beginner swim skills class, no swim skills necessary. This class is for kids who are not able to do a front and back float on their own.
- Comfort in the water with support from an instructor and aids
- Forward movement: Front & Back
- Submerge underwater, begin blowing bubbles & breath control
- Kicking & body position
- Roll; front to back & back to front
- Safety and rescue skills; floating, swim-float-swim sequence, jump-push-turn- grab sequence
- Exit the water
Level 2: Water Movement
Students focus on body position and control, directional change, and forward movement in the water, while also continuing to practice how to safely exit in the event of falling into water with limited support.
Qualifications: Advance beginner swim skills class, needs to be comfortable with submerging and swimming with less support. This class is for kids who are not able to do a front and back float on their own but are almost there.
- Continue to build comfort in the water with less assistance form an instructor and aids
- Encourage independent forward movement: Front & Back
- Submerging and breath control
- Hand/eye coordination & swimming with eyes in the water
- Kicking & body position
- Roll; front to back & back to front
- Safety and rescue skills; floating, swim-float-swim sequence, jump-push-turn- grab sequence
- Water exit
Level 3: Water Stamina
Students learn how to swim to safety from a longer distance than in previous stages. The class also introduces rhythmic breathing and integrated arm/leg action. Intermediate self-rescue skills preformed at longer distances than in previous stages.
Qualifications: Intermediate swim skills class, needs to swim short distances (10-15 feet) with their face in the water independently without the use of an aid on their front & back.
- Continue to build comfort in the water
- Build on endurance with forward progression: Front & Back
- Submerging and retrieve objects under water
- Hand/eye coordination & introduction to rhythmic breathing
- Introduction of fundamental swimming strokes: front crawl & backstroke
- Resting Stroke: Elementary Backstroke
- Treading water
- Roll; front to back & back to front
- Safety and rescue skills; floating, swim-float-swim sequence, jump-push-turn- grab sequence
- Water exit
Level 4: Stroke Introduction
Having mastered the fundamentals, students learn additional water safety skills and build stroke technique.
Qualifications: Beginner advanced swim skills class, needs to be able to swim 25 yards (one pool length) of front crawl & back stroke independently with their face in the water (rhythmic breathing).
- Build on over all endurance to be able to swim consecutive laps
- Rhythmic breathing
- Continue to work on Free style/Front crawl & Backstroke
- Introduction to Breaststroke & Butterfly
- Diving
- Treading water
- Resting stroke: Sidestroke
Level 5: Stroke Development
Students work on stroke technique and learn all major competitive swimming strokes.
Qualifications: Advanced swim skills class, needs to be able to swim 25-50 yards (one pool length or lap) of each stroke; freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly with rhythmic breathing.
- Continue to build on over all endurance for consecutive lap swimming
- Work on refining stroke techniques: Freestyle/Front crawl, Backstroke, Breaststroke & Butterfly
- Swimming any combination of strokes for 50 yards
- Diving
- Treading water
- Resting stroke: Sidestroke
