Resources

Canadian Swim Patrol

Performance Records (Rookie, Ranger and Star)

Keep them moving

There are several different styles and philosophies for teaching young people how to swim. One recurring challenge is keeping the participants interested and the entire class moving. Here are a few tips:

  1. Give preschoolers something to practice such as blowing bubbles or kicking while practicing floats, glides or swims with other swimmers.
  2. Assign swimmers different names (e.g., apple and orange). Have all the apples do an assigned task followed by the oranges, etc.
  3. While teaching strokes, use practice formations that allow more than one swimmer to participate at one time.
  4. As a swimming instructor, your goal is to provide participants with ample opportunity to practice and lots of feedback to improve their swimming strokes and skills. To do this, remember EGGS:

E - Explain & demonstrate

Keep your instructions short and specific; then demonstrate so the swimmers can see the skill. When demonstrating, swim across the class rather than away from them.

G - Group practice

The more practice you give your swimmers the better. By having more than one swimmer go at once, you give them more opportunities to succeed and make the most of your class time. Ensure that you are constantly scanning the entire class while they are practicing.

G - Group feedback & correction

After completing a skill, give the swimmers feedback and correction as a group. Make sure you give them an opportunity to practice the skill again and reinforce your feedback.

S - Specific feedback & correction

While the group is practicing, provide each swimmer with specific feedback of what they need to work on. Remember to correct the most serious errors first, and let the swimmer concentrate on a single correction at a time.

By using the EGGS principle, you will maximize the amount of practice time per participant and give the swimmers lots of opportunities to improve their strokes and skills.

Remember, the best place to learn how to swim is in the water!