COACH’S CORNER
My mission is to unlock greatness in your kids. It sounds cheesy but it's true. From the basketball courts and soccer fields to the pool, coaching is in my DNA. If a child can overcome their fears and become a safe swimmer, the world is their oyster.
That newly found confidence will help them tackle so many more challenges as they grow and try new things going forward.
So many childhood memories are created in the pool. We'll help them become a safe swimmer and the good times will roll!
THe Swim Day Way
What does the "Swim Day Way" mean? It means that all of our instructors will practice patience and kindness, while teaching the curriculum developed by Coach Jay. Continuity is very important to the learning process, but if you need to see different instructors from time to time, the lesson should feel very similar.
Don't leave finding a great instructor to chance. Your kids will love our instructors and will be thrilled to come see them again and again. You entrust us with your children and we take that very seriously. I'm a dad and believe strongly in the "It takes a village" mentality. Allow us to be a part of your village.
Coach Jay’S ROADMAP
This is Coach Jay's suggested timeline to becoming a safe swimmer:
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It's all about exposure and being comfortable in and around a pool in these early years. You want them in the pool, having fun, and enjoying the water without any fears. Check out my Parent and Me classes.
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You want them to be able to start following some basic instructions but generally expectations are best to remain low at this age. Everyone knows that ONE kid who can swim underwater to mom and dad at this age. That is the exception. Certainly not the rule. Plus, that child is still extremely far from being "water safe" when they can swim like this. In fact, I would prefer my 2-year-olds clinging to me at this stage of life. It's much safer to have a bit of fear. Fearlessness scares me. Fearlessness is swimming away from mom and dad too often, keeping you on high alert all the time.
Obviously, every kid is different, but there are still a ton of beginners at this age. Pop into lessons here and there so they don't generate a fear of the water. But you don't need to over-extend yourself while they are still this young. A regular weekly schedule is suggested, but it doesn't need to be year-round. -
The best example I can give of what is expected at this age is that we want them to be able to use a pool noodle by themselves. Starting to be independent. Hopefully, we're starting to put our face in the water. Whether or not a child's face can be put in the water is the BIGGEST factor in figuring out when a child might actually swim. You can bring me a big strong 8-year-old kid, if he has a fear of putting his face in, we're not going to be swimming imminently.
WE DO NOT TORTURE KIDS AND FORCE THEIR FACES IN THE WATER.
Some places may encourage this, but not here. Kids need to build this confidence on their own. The earlier they are comfortable under the water, the easier the path ahead becomes.
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With face in the water, we can start doing "rockets", and swimming short distances.
Without face in the water... the journey drifts off this path, as you now have bigger issues to deal with. Note: kids change season to season. My own youngest daughter was an "underwater kid" at age 2 and under. By age 3, she developed a fear that set her back. So she spent the summers she was 3 and 4 being extremely limited with what she would do in the water.
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We would love to be swimming independently at this age, but still completely supervised. I like to say, "Kids can swim better than they can think at this age". They are so excited to be swimming on their own that they may forget they get tired. They may forget they need a break. I say they should be swimming at this age, but swimming doesn't mean SAFE. Be very careful with kids, at any age, that JUST started swimming, and want to show off their skills.
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Everyone's road to this point is different. Experiences vary drastically. Fears are to be expected. Bumps in the road are very regular.
But... this is the age I say they can truly be independent swimmers if they've put in some hard work and overcome many of their fears.
