Successfully Teach Adult Swim Lessons with These Five Progressions

Learning to swim should be treated as lots of little tasks and skills leading to a final product. Otherwise, the final product is often not as polished as it could be. If swim instructors and parents are too anxious to see the end results, they may neglect to take time for all the developmental steps along the way.

We continue to be thrilled as we watch so many swim instructors embrace a step-by-step approach to learning to swim. Many have realized that we must take baby steps and add one skill at a time. The most important concept being that we cannot progress until the student is ready to learn to swim.

PROGRESSIONS FOR TEACHING ADULT SWIM LESSONS

If swim instructors teach progressions slowly from step to step with children, shouldn’t they do the same for adults? We notice that many swim instructors lose their understanding of progressions when teaching adults swim lessons and jump right into teaching adults to swim with pulling and kicking skills. Many adult beginner swimmers come to swim lessons with plenty of past baggage such as:

• They may have had a bad water experience as a child. • They may have tried swim lessons one or more times and have failed. • They may fear the water after years of avoiding learning to swim.

For many adults, getting ready to learn to swim means overcoming fear. Most importantly, they need to be comfortable enough in the water to be able to control their breathing.

Our suggestion is that you follow the same order of introducing skills for adult learn to swim lessons as we do with children. If you jump forward to swimming without following the progressions, many will never be comfortable in the water.

HOW TO SWIM:

1. Buoyancy: Start with basic walking. The goal is to feel the water holding them up, not to get to the other side of the pool. Walk slowly so they can feel the lift. Remember, if they do not have this feeling, they will always struggle to stay upright rather than hanging out or relaxing in the water.

2. Balance: Let them walk with their arms out to their sides.

Once again, we are working on comfort and overcoming any fear. Remember, if they do not have this feeling, they will always struggle to stay upright rather than hangout or relax in the water.

3. Breath Control: This progression is very important for adult learn to swim. We recommend having them hold their breath on land and count to 5. Then discuss doing the same thing with their face in the water. Just like children, we must help them have control holding their breath before blowing bubbles. It can be a great comfort for adults to use goggles in this step.

4. Buoyancy and Balance with Breath Control: This is when we must take the time to hang out and be relaxed in the water. Floating in a X or Y position with a teacher or two barbells aids in feeling the buoyancy and the balance.

If movement is added too soon it compromises buoyancy balance and breath control.

5. Movement: The very first movements are very small kicks. These kicks should be just enough to initiate propulsion.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT IT IS JUST AS IMPORTANT TO FOLLOW THE SAME PROGRESSIONS WITH ADULTS AS WE DO WITH CHILDREN. IF WE NEGLECT TO TAKE THE TIME FOR ALL THE DEVELOPMENTAL STEPS ALONG THE WAY, THE ADULT MAY NEVER LEARN TO BE COMFORTABLE IN THE WATER AND THEREFORE, NEVER REALLY ACCOMPLISH THEIR GOAL OF LEARNING TO SWIM.