The Swim Professor

Jim Reiser, M.S.

How to Teach Freestyle to Beginners

First of all, if your student is under the age of six, I strongly suggest that you first teach a child to swim with the hands at the sides, using a “pop-up breath.”  Why?  It’s pretty simple.  At these younger ages, while children CAN and SHOULD learn the front crawl/freestyle, it takes LONGER to learn because of the where a child is at from a motor skill development standpoint.   Secondly, we know that over 50% of all drownings for children under the of six occur in residential pools (SafeKids World Wide).   If a child can master swimming with the hands at the sides with a strong flutter kick and a pop-up breath quicker than he can learn freestyle, then I think we need to teach them the basic swimming skill (kicking with a pop-up breath) as early as possible.  If the child is six years of age or older, we approach the skills progression differently.  Why?  Because by age six, the motor skills are much more developed.  Our experience is that if a six year old can hold his breath for 4-5 seconds, then he will pick up the freestyle (front crawl) quite quickly because his motor skills are better.   Children at this age have fairly good coordination, so teaching freestyle to the beginner is much more age appropriate.   Secondly, we know that between the ages of six and 14 years of age, more than 50% of all drowning are in open water situations.   Since freestyle is going to be much more effective skill in a more challenging situation such as in open water, it makes more sense to start teaching freestyle to beginners age six and over).

The secret when teaching beginners to swim freestyle (front crawl) is to utilize the progression principal combined with clear, precise instructions or cues that tend to the “whole idea” of the swimming skill.   In this video, you will see my young Swim Strokes 201 student make some nice improvements in just a matter of a few repeats.  This same progression can be used with a Swim 102 (6-9 year old beginner) or Swim 103 (10-12 years).  Rather than asking her to swim all the way across the pool, you can see the progression principle being utilized, making each improvement achievable.  You will also see the use of specific corrective and evaluative feedback.  Take a look:

For more video on “How to Teach the Freestyle and Backstroke,” check us out at Swim Lessons University.   All of these teaching concepts are discussed and shown in detail in Swim 102,  Swim Strokes 201/202/203, and” Teach Like a Pro!”

The International Swimming Hall of Fame has named Jim Reiser the recipient of the 2015 Virginia Hunt Newman Award for his curriculum and approach in teaching infants, toddlers, and children to swim.  Jim is the first American to win the award in 10 years.

If you would like to learn more about the Swim Lessons University Online Swim Instructor Certification  and curriculum, make sure to visit us at www.SwimLessonsUniversity.com

Swim Lessons University is currently being utilized by recreation departments, YMCAs, America Camp Association swim lessons programs, as well as by private swimming instructors in 45 states and over 30 countries!

You can also call us toll free at 1-866-498-SWIM (7946).

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July 31, 2012 at 1:06 pm Comments (0)

Fun Swim Lessons Ideas

When teaching young children how to swim the freestyle/front crawl (4-5 year olds especially), a traditional teaching approach may not engage the children enough.  I find this to be especially true for demonstrations to four year olds.  To increase my effectiveness, I often make the demonstrations more like play but without eliminating the important points of emphasis I want my young students to duplicate and understand.   Let’s take a quick look at one example:

As you saw in this video, I told my students that we were going to pretend that they were the coach, and I was there student!  This amuses them and immediately engages them in the demonstration.  After having my young students give me instructions during my demonstration, such as yelling out the cues, I let them give me feedback too.

Give it a try!  Not only will you maximize their willingness to pay attention, you will have a blast with it too as your  kids will say the darndest things!

The International Swimming Hall of Fame has named Jim Reiser the recipient of the 2015 Virginia Hunt Newman Award for his curriculum and approach in teaching infants, toddlers, and children to swim.  Jim is the first American to win the award in 10 years.

If you would like to learn more about the Swim Lessons University certification program and curriculum, make sure to visit us at www.SwimLessonsUniversity.com 

We have training and certification programs designed for both private instructors as well as organizations like YMCAs, Recreation Departments, Athletic Clubs, and more.

Swim Lessons University is currently being utilized by recreation departments, YMCAs, America Camp Association swim lessons programs, as well as by private swimming instructors in 45 states and over 30 countries!

You can also call us toll free at 1-866-498-SWIM (7946).

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July 25, 2012 at 6:12 pm Comments (5)

Get affordable 24/7 Chicago locksmith services for your swimming training center

There are large numbers of different swimming training provider institutes which are authorized for doing this work. You can also start taking swimming classes by joining these institutes. For more details about their services offered to their users you can also visit their respective online site. Now you can also train your children’s by getting them training from these training centers. By visiting their respective online sites you will be able to check all their services along with their fee details which they charge from their clients. They also offer online registration service, by visiting their online page you can also register and pay fees with easy payment options. One of the famous sites with help of which you will come to know about the specific training center and its services offered to different users is Asia swim.   Another famous site with help of which you can start taking your swimming classes is team bath.

24/7 Chicago locksmith service provider and swimming training center

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July 18, 2012 at 3:55 am Comments (0)

How to be a “Black Belt” in Swimming

Every child should be a “black belt” in swimming! Why? Because if you give your child the opportunity to become a strong, competent swimmer, you are giving him the best “self-defense” against the leading cause of accidental death in children.

Despite popular belief, the biggest risk to your child isn’t the local school bully. It’s the neighbor’s swimming pool, it’s the pool party, it’s the boating or fishing outing, it’s the riptide your child finds himself in when “boogie boarding” in the ocean!   According to the the Center of Disease Control & Injury Prevention,  drowning takes more lives than any other accident for children under the age of six.  For children ages 6-14, only automobile accidents take more lives.  And when you consider the amount of time your child spends around the water vs. in the car, we can all agree that relatively speaking–the potential for accidental drowning should really be a parent’s biggest concern.

As a parent, even if you do the right thing and make sure your child becomes an excellent swimmer through ongoing and professional swimming instruction, it’s critical that you continue to respect the dangers of the water. Just as a parent of a young black belt should continue to respect and avoid dangerous neighborhoods. Just because a young child earns a black belt in karate, common sense guides parents against letting their child walk along down that dangerous street at night.

Parents of our young “swimming black belts” need to act accordingly as well. Children should never swim without constant supervision. Life jackets should still be worn on boats or when your child is swimming in the ocean or in open water. If you own a pool, you should still install four-sided fencing, self-closing gates and latches, and utilize the latest technology in swimming pool alarms. All parents should know how to administer CPR. This system is known as the Safer 3 and should be followed by parents of non-swimmers and swimmers alike.

How do you get a “black belt” in swimming? As far as I know, there is no such thing! But at Swim Lessons University, we do have a swim lessons award system that utilizes silicone bracelets that is quite similar to earning karate belts, and each colored wristband has a water safety component to it. For example, if a child is a beginner he/she wears a red wristband. Red stands for danger. A non-swimmer is obviously in danger when they are in or around the water. In addition, all major skills that the child needs to master in order to get his “next wristband” are abbreviated with a star beside the abbreviated skill right on the wristband.  When all stars are punched out of the wristband, he is awarded the next wristband, just alike a “karate belt.”

The International Swimming Hall of Fame has named Jim Reiser the recipient of the 2015 Virginia Hunt Newman Award for his curriculum and approach in teaching infants, toddlers, and children to swim.  Jim is the first American to win the award in 10 years.

If you would like to learn more about the Swim Lessons University Online Swim Instructor Certification  and curriculum, make sure to visit us at www.SwimLessonsUniversity.com

Swim Lessons University is currently being utilized by recreation departments, YMCAs, America Camp Association swim lessons programs, as well as by private swimming instructors in 45 states and over 30 countries!

You can also call us toll free at 1-866-498-SWIM (7946).

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July 18, 2012 at 12:09 am Comments (0)

Infant Swimming Philosophy on WIS-TV

WIS New Anchor Dawndy Mercer Plank interviews Jim Reiser, The Swim Professor, about swimming lessons for infant and toddlers.
wistv.com – Columbia, South Carolina |

* please note that the video taken is not a Swim Lessons University or Swim Lessons Company program. It is random footage that WIS pulled to use as a visual.

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July 11, 2012 at 10:53 pm Comments (0)

Swim Lessons Kick Activity for Preschoolers

When teaching preschoolers how to kick, the first thing we like to do have our young learners practice kicking in place. While that is standard in many learn-to-swim programs, here is how we make it fun and different.   If you listen closely, you will notice we made this traditional stationary kick drill into an “activity” by getting the imagination involved–which engages the  young learner and redirects fears.  Take a look and listen:

So saying something like, “Let’s pretend we are out on a boat. We’re taking a nice little boat ride when all of the sudden … our boat gets stuck in the mud! Let’s hold the step and “kick small and fast” so we can get our boat out of the mud! Ready, set, go!”

Then after your young students kick for 15 seconds or so, congratulate them for kicking so well. Say something like:  “you kicked so well you got your boats out of the mud! Say “HORRAY!”

Hope you enjoyed today’s blog.   To see how we then transition that skill into other fun swim lesson activities, you may want to check out the 2nd Edition of our SWIM 101 video.  How to Teach Young Children to Swim.  A Comprehensive Video Course for Training and Certifying Swimming Instructors.

The International Swimming Hall of Fame has named Jim Reiser the recipient of the 2015 Virginia Hunt Newman Award for his curriculum and approach in teaching infants, toddlers, and children to swim.  Jim is the first American to win the award in 10 years.

If you would like to learn more about the Swim Lessons University Online Swim Instructor Certification  and curriculum, make sure to visit us at www.SwimLessonsUniversity.com

Swim Lessons University is currently being utilized by recreation departments, YMCAs, America Camp Association swim lessons programs, as well as by private swimming instructors in 45 states and over 30 countries!

You can also call us toll free at 1-866-498-SWIM (7946).

 

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July 6, 2012 at 12:31 am Comment (1)