What is the most important component of a successful swim school or swim lessons program?   The swim instructors of course!  Without competent swim teachers, the swim lessons are a flop!  In many cases, the swim lessons are even a waste of time.  In some others, they are actually dangerous.

There are multiple factors that affect the bottom line, but none are more important than the quality of the swimming instruction.  Your swim instructors are the lifeblood of your business.  Your swim instructors are the reason a child enjoys learning to swim, or does not.  You swim instructors determine if you have repeat business, or not.  Most importantly, your swim instructors determine if the children learn to swim–or not!

What can you do to ensure that your lessons, your program, or your swim school is top notch?   Swim Instructor Training is the most important ingredient to your success.  If you’re a business owner, exposing yourself to as much as you can is extremely valuable.

One piece of practical advice I will offer you first off is: Don’t go broke doing it!  Children have been learning to swim for centuries.  There is no one magical method.  Most reputable methods work–providing the instructor “understands” the concepts and applications, has the right personality for the job, and is committed to being a great instructor.  One’s commitment and desire to excel conquers all, but a great training program will help you and all of your instructors be more successful.

We are all built differently.  Some styles and approaches appeal to some of us more than others.  You have to decide what program(s) appeal to you most.   There are many factors, including but not limited to:

• Affordability– How much money can you afford to allocate to training your staff each year.  How much of your own paycheck are you willing to give up to train staff?
• Practicality – How much paperwork will you need to submit (Again, plan for growth.  It may seem minimal if you have 50 students, but what if you grow to 500 students?)
• Convenience – How convenient is it to train your instructors (once again, plan for growth.  It’s one thing to train 5 or 6 swim instructors; it’s another to train 25-30 instructors or even 50-60 instructors).  I would like to mention as of February 15, 2011, Swim Lesson s University will offer its’ training video courses, testing, and certification programs online in addition to the DVD’s and Online Testing programs currently offered.  So no matter where your teachers are, they will be able to complete this training as either a complement to what you are already doing or as a complete training program.
• Effectiveness – How effective is the training?  Upon completion, will your new teachers be skillful swimming instructors?  Will they actually know what to do and how to do it?  Will the children love their classes?  Remember, the job your swim instructors do represents YOU!

As a swim school owner, I have exposed myself to nearly every program out there.  What has worked for me personally has evolved and changed over the years, inspiring the development of Swim Lessons University.   To this day, I can tell you every bit of training I have ever done, every clinic I have attended, every teacher and coach who I have worked with has helped me in some way, shape, or form.

Personally, I have a master’s degree in Physical Education with an emphasis in Motor Skill Acquisition.  Until going full-time with my swim school and Swim Lessons University, I was the Professor of Aquatics at the University of South Carolina for 12 years. As a former USA Swimming Club Coach, I developed numerous nationally ranked age group swimmers and led Team Carolina to back-to-back state championships in 2004 and 2005 (a team I literally started from scratch in 1994).

Having used multiple learn-to-swim methods, having taught beginners of all ages (infants through adults), as well as coached numerous elite competitive swimmers, I was inspired to develop Swim Lessons University.   I wanted to put together a training program that would be as practical as possible, one that would be easy to administer, one that would be affordable, and most importantly–one that would develop great swim teachers for children!  That’s what Swim Lessons University is all about.

There is so much great information out there, but most swim school owners tell me that they have so many responsibilities that they don’t want to reinvent the wheel.   So with Swim Lessons University, I have tried to combine my physical education background (which included training physical education teachers), as well as my learn-to-swim experiences (in and out of the water)–and create something special and unique.

Nevertheless, I would recommend that every swim school owner utilize many of the fantastic resources out there.  Here are some of my favorites:

World Aquatic Babies and Children is an amazing network for you to join.  Led by the National Swim School Association founder, Steve Graves, WABC has even endorsed Swim Lessons University training and WABC is our official partner.  WABC offers conferences in the U.S. every other year, and produces a phenomenal newsletter every other month.   In addition, the WABC website is full of resources for swimming teachers, including pod casts, articles, and much more!

American Swimming Coaches Association is the premier coaches association in the world.  Led by executive director John Leonard, I am their biggest fan.  I would not be the coach/teacher I am today without them.  I think so much of ASCA that I am a Lifetime Member.  I continue to attend the annual Swim Coaches World Clinics, as well as speak for their SwimAmerica and American Learn to Swim Teachers conferences.

United States Swimming, in which I served as one of their club coaches for 12 years here in South Carolina, has an unlimited number of resources.  Most recently, USA Swimming launched the “Make a Splash” initiative helping my local Swim Lessons Company reach a new demographic that we hadn’t been reaching before.  This awesome initiative creates opportunity for all economic and ethnic backgrounds.  I should also note that Swim Lessons University is an approved curriculum/program of Make a Splash, which is one component that can help afford you with the ability to be a local “Make a Splash” partner program.

United States Swim School Association is another fabulous swim school association, led by Sue Mackie, in which to belong.  You can take business courses through USSSA, infant-toddler training, and maybe most importantly, become part of a wonderful network of swim school owners and instructors just like you.  I often have the opportunity to serve as speaker for USSSA conferences, as I will this spring in Newport Beach, CA at their Spring Workshop. Hope to see you there!

As a business owner, I think you should try to take advantage of all these resources as I do.  I believe that swim school owners and directors who are new to the swim school industry should also network and find a really good mentor or three!  This has been invaluable to my own growth, so much that I try to give back in this area as much as I possibly can.  After mentoring dozens of swim school owners, and because my schedule has become so busy with Swim Lessons University, The Swim Lessons Company, and being a proud father of three young boys–I now help and share mostly through a very reasonable  “One-on-one” phone consultation service.  It is currently so reasonable (and I want it to be) that is probably less expensive than most of your private swim lessons!  I should also mention I can do these consultations “face-to-face” one the day before or the day after any Swim Lessons University Conference. My next Swim Lessons University Conference will be in Orlando, Florida on February 19, 2011.  Hope to see you there!  This will be the last “One-day SLU conference” of until next fall.

The way you train your swim instructors is up to you, of course.  I just hope that some of the suggestions and swim teacher training ideas that I have offered you today will help you.  After all, we’re all in this together, and we are providing a service that can not only make a difference a child’s life, the result of our service could save a child’s life!  What is more rewarding than that?

If you’re going to have a great swim school staff, as a swim school owner, you have to do a number of things well:

1. Have a proven approach to selecting and hiring (and yes, even firing).
2. Have a full-proof swim instructor-training program (one swim school owner who uses the Swim Lessons University curriculum called it “foolproof!” What a complement, LOL!)
3. Have ways of holding your teachers accountable, including but not limited to a swim lessons evaluation of your swim teachers.
4. Have a swim teacher rewards system in place (I have been sharing the details of ours in my talks for the 2010-2011 Swim Lessons University conferences).
5. Have an appropriate payroll (compensate your teachers fairly).

To touch on The Swim Lessons Company Swim Lesson Evaluation, I do a “15 Point Analysis” of our swimming instructor’s teaching performance. I grade the teacher’s performance on a 1 to 10 scale on 15 different qualities/teaching techniques that I want to see all my teachers doing well. There is also area for additional notes/comments. I grade everything from how the teacher welcomes the class, to how they engage and interact with their students, to how well they follow the specific lesson plan in which all of our teachers are required to follow. All this is in a neatly designed table that I now have available as a Swim Lessons University Swim Instructor Tool. You can download it for just $5.00 and print as many as you like.

Holding employees accountable and having consistency in your presentation is the backbone to most successful businesses. Imagine what would happen if every chef at every Outback Steakhouse prepared the food differently. Take a close look at the best businesses and notice their attention to details. Pay attention to how the business is run, to the consistent quality, to the customer service, etc. These are all instrumental to their success, and they are instrumental to our success as well. Keep in touch!

TOO MANY PARENTS THINK THAT WHEN THEIR CHILD CAN SWIM UNDERWATER THAT THEY DON’T NEED ANY MORE LESSONS!

Does your swim school experience this problem?   Of course it’s not only a problem for swim school business, it’s a very serious problem for the child’s safety.  I would like to share with you today a couple ideas I have when it comes to SWIM LESSON OBJECTIVES.

Number one, I have created a motivational awards bracelet system that includes a safety component: Water Safety System.

Number two, I have developed a set of Benchmarks/Swimming Proficiency Test Questions to help swim parents understand not only the importance of learning to swim, but what  children are capable of and should learn at a variety of given ages.  Here they are:

Would your child survive?

Only automobile accidents take more lives than drowning for children ages 1-14.   How well does your child swim?    Would your child survive an accidental fall into the water?

Can your child pass the following swim tests?

1 – 2 years olds: Can your child comfortably hold his breath and swim a short distance for up to 5 seconds?  Pass / Fail

2 – 3 years olds: Can your child get back to the side of the pool from a standing entry?  Pass / Fail

3 – 4 years olds: Can your child swim with the face in the water and get a breath when needed for at least 15 feet?  Pass / Fail

4 – 5 years olds: Can your child swim 30 feet of backstroke and freestyle with side breathing?  Pass / Fail

So can YOU or YOUR business benefit from Social Networking? Are you resisting the idea of Facebook, Twitter, blogging, etc.? Technology changes are always hard for me and I was resistant at first too.   In fact, I have been only using twitter for a few weeks but I have been trained in it now and I am confident of the benefits.

The best news about it is that . . . it’s FREE!   MOST IMPORTANTLY, in my mind, it’s the BEST REFERRAL PROGRAM ever invented.   I expect our enrollment to increase because of the way we are using it.

For my local business, I focus on getting local news coverage which is free, and I advertise and pay about $400 per month to be in a Parent magazine.  In addition,  I have a small listing in the yellow pages (which is almost a dinosaur),  and do several children exhibits, water safety talks at schools and libraries, etc..  But over the years I have drastically reduced my advertising budget (I have done radio, TV, billboards, other magazines, newspaper, etc.)  and have eliminated most of them.   I really depend on customer referrals which has improved from our in-house “customer loyalty” training program which leads me back to social networking.

There’s no better advertising than a referral from one friend to another.  The “trust” barrier is almost eliminated from the start and presto: you have a new student!     The hard part about referrals is while your swim parents may love you, they are not going to walk around with a “sign on their chest” promoting you.  With facebook, it is easier and more comfortable to tell all their friends about you!  It’s actually quite exciting and amazing when you see how your “friends” or “followers” begin to multiply.

Sounding tempting yet?  Get this, as of 2009, Facebook had over 250 million users and that number is growing rapidly!   If you haven’t used facebook before, it is very user-friendly and it won’t take you long for you to see and understand the benefits.

What I have learned to be most important about twitter is that what I “tweet” is informative and worthwhile.  This way your customers will “want” to stay in touch with you.   For Swim Lessons University, I am tweeting to swim teachers, both my local teachers here at The Swim Lessons Company in SC and Swim Lessons University teachers from all over the world in over 20 different countries who are using my teacher training DVD’s, lesson plans, online testing program, etc.   Now with Twitter and Facebook, I can give back by “tweeting” a TEACHING TIP A DAY from Twitter or Facebook or both!  So when my followers get my tweet (which is simultanously posted of facebook), all those signed up can receive a useful teaching tip every day that will help them with their teaching.   Because the information is useful, valuable, and even personable, it is an invaluable training resource to my staff and yours, and it takes just 5 seconds a day to read!   I have listed below some of my recent tweets I have done via facebook with my blackberry that go directly to twitter.  Here you can see what I’m talking about in terms of tweeting info. swim teachers want:

Each child is certainly unique,  and according to the McKesson Clinical Reference Systems, it is difficult to describe exactly what to expect at each stage of the child’s development.  However,  I thought you would enjoy me sharing some of the common trends in development for two year olds.  Socially, these are some common characteristics:

• Imitates with considerable realism
• may have an imaginary playmate
• enjoys playing among, not with, other children
• does not share
• claims everything is “mine”
• may scratch, hit, bite and push other children

Emotionally, the “terrible twos” get upset and are not very patient.  Especially when they are frustrated or not understood.  Often the two year old will strike out or show anger by crying.    They want their own way, they assert themselves by saying “no!”   It’s important, from a practical standpoint as we teach and or parent, that we understand what is going on developmentally at this age.   One thing we know we can do as a “preventative” is to keep a routine.   When the routine changes, that is often a trigger for the sharp mood change.

Physically, two year olds, especially boys, like to be in constant motion.  By implementing strategies to keep them active, we are much more successful.    The most challenging part as a teacher or parent is that mentally two year olds are in the “do-it-by-myself” stage.   This can be dangerous, of course, because they will attempt to do things they may not be ready for, i.e., jumping in the pool without your spot, going down the steps without holding on to the banister, or jumping off furniture!

You can’t do much “reasoning” most of the time, so you have to determine what your little one can and can’t do from a safety standpoint, let alone from a behavior standpoint.  You do have to teach them boundaries and there place in society, in the family, etc.   They have to learn it one way or the other.  As my two year old’s pediatrician said, if your two year old doesn’t throw a tantrum now and then–you are way to easy on him!

For more on teaching and parenting the “terrible two’s,” check out  my recent podcast.

Follow Swim Lessons University on Facebook and/or swimprofessor on twitter!

The Swim Lessons University Super Conference is a one-day, information packed event with an EARLY BIRD RATE of just $75.00 (the rate will increase 30 days prior to the event).   Don’t miss out on Jim’s enthusiastic delivery of four state-of-the art presentations featuring video and power point content that you can actually take home and put to use in your swim school!

Plus–the SLU Conference is conveniently held the day before two other great conferences you may want to attend:

• ASCA World Clinic: You could attend the ASCA Conference in Indianapolis during the SLU Conference.  The SwimAmerica portion is held on Saturday.  Call Julie Nitti at ASCA to register at 1-800-356-2722  for more information.  ASCA Clinic Registration is $380 prior to July 31st, $400 on site.
• US Swim School Conference: You could attend the U.S. Swim School Association’s conference on the Wednesday following the SLU Conference in Las Vegas thru USSSA.   Registration is $450 thru September 11th, and then increases to $600 on September 12th.  Call Holly Holmes at 480-837-5525.

LOCATIONS & DATES

Friday, September 3, 2010

Indianapolis, IN

Embassy Suites Indianapolis – Downtown

110 West Washington Street

Indianapolis, Indiana, 46204
Tel: 1-317-236-1800

*ask for Swim Lessons University group rate of $149 which includes Hot Breakfast Buffet & Free Happy Hour Drinks!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas Hilton

3000 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 89109

*ask for Swim Lessons University group rate of $109.00. Mention the group code “SGSWIMO”

“The Swim Professor” speaks:

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Teaching Babies Better

10:00 AM – 10:20 AM YOUR QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

10:45 AM – 11:45 AM Tricks to Making Learning More Fun for Preschoolers

11:45 AM – 12:05 PM YOUR QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

12:05 PM – 1:30 PM Lunch Break

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM More Effective Ways to Teach Skills, Strokes, & Progressions

2:30 PM – 2:50 PM YOUR QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

3:15 PM – 4:15 PM Secrets to Growing Your Swim School

4:15 PM – 4:35 PM YOUR QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Register Online  & GET the Early Bird Rate of just $75.00!

PLUS register this week and receive five (5) FREE Online certification programs (a $50 value)!

Register at Swim Lessons University or call 1-866-498-7946

There is so much we can learn from the late, legendary UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden.     As a teacher, coach, and parent, I try to apply Coach Wooden’s life lessons every day.    I liked the 7 Point Creed so much I had it printed on my competitive swimmer’s t-shirts some years ago.   Since his passing, I have pulled it out of the closet and I have been wearing it frequently.

I loved his books, especially “They Call Me Coach” and “Wooden,” A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court.   I would like to share with you an excerpt of that that book on Parenting and Coaching:

Wooden writes:  “I think parenting and coaching are the same thing.  And they are the two most important professions in the world.

Parents are coaches, the first coaches a child has.  Too many parents expect the coaches and teachers at school to do what they are not doing at home.  The parents must set the foundation early.  It is often too late by the time a child goes to school.

MY FAVORITE FOUR-LETTER WORDS:  “KIDS” AND “LOVE”

The greatest word in the whole dictionary is love. Love your children.  Listen to them.  Remember that love is the most powerful medicine in the world.

Do not force them or drive them too hard.   Set the example of what you want them to be.  Try always to be a good model.

Children are impatient.  They want to do right, but they maybe don’t know how.  Maybe you haven’t taught them how.   Being a good example is a powerful teaching device.  This verse is accurate:”

No written word

Nor spoken plea

Can teach our youth

what they should be

Nor all the books

on all the shelves

It’s what the teachers

are themselves.

– Unknown

Coach Wooden comments:  “I think that’s it.  Those teachers are the mothers and fathers, and their most powerful tool is love.”

Dear Teachers & Parents:

I received an email today with a VERY COMMON QUESTION from a parent who has a young two year old in our Parent & Me class who is doing wonderfully.  However, and I think this happens often, there was a misunderstanding that because of the progress the little one was making, that continuing in the same class may be a waste of time.  As instructors and swim school owners, it is vital that we communicate the message that I did today.  If we don’t, the child’s progress will likely stop.   So here it is, enjoy:

Dear Coach Jim,

We are really pleased with Laura’s progress in her swim lessons.  Her teacher, Coach M.,  said she thought Laura was physically ready for the next class, but your 101 class is 3 and up…Laura is only 2 and 6 weeks.  Do you think she could enroll in 101 despite her age, or is that a strict rule?  We just don’t want her to lose the skills she has already gotten, and it seems a waste to take the Parent and Me class again.

Thanks!

Allen

Dear Allen,

Your question is a common and I believe this is a great question and one that I will blog about for you and other parents, not to mention to “hammer home” to my Swim Lessons University teachers.   Secondly, I also want you to know that what I am about to recommend for Laura and all of our other wonderful young toddler swimmers, is the same route that I take for my own children.  My oldest, Jeb, now almost 7, did my Parent & Me curriculum until he was 3.  Nolan, now 23 months, will do the same.

Here’s a little background on toddlers and swimming progression and why the Parent & Me class is the right one for toddlers under 3 years of age:

#1  For safety reasons, I always want the parent with the toddler until they are 3 because they need that “hands on” supervision while they are learning to follow directions.   It is too risky for a 2 year old to be in even a semi private lesson without the parent because of the risk of them entering the water without the instructor seeing it.  One extended submersion could cause a toddler who was doing great to take major backward strides, not to mention the other risks.  This is also another reason we use the Power Swimmer flotation device with our 3’s and I recommend it for our 2’s.  However, unless the child has his/her balance in the water, they could still take in water even with the Power Swimmer or Type 3 Lifejacket (ski vest).

#2  From a progression standpoint, the skills Laura is developing in Parent and Me, i.e., front kicking, back kicking, breath control, breath holding, and swimming are the same skills we practice in Swim 101.   All of these skills will continue to improve with more classes and practice no matter which course she is enrolled.

For example, let’s touch on the skills we are teaching in Parent & Me:

• Kicking on the Front: The kicking technique will continue to evolve and become more efficient with repetition no matter which course a toddler is enrolled (Parent & Me or Swim 101 (which we don’t do).
• Back Kicking: You should be (with the guidance of your instructor) going thru our back kicking progression in Parent & me to the point that Laura can kick on her back without any assistance from you or the teacher.  To make this progression more achievable, I recommend coupling the SwimWays Power Swimmer and a Noodle at about age two, and then eventually going away from the noodle to where you are using the head and hip support, head support, and then no support at all.  This is taught in Parent  & Me the same way we teach it in Swim 101.
• Breath Control: The dolphin dips (breath control exercise) teaches toddlers how to get their breath in a hurry and return to the inline position.  Some form of breath control exercise is not only practiced in Swim 101, but also Swim Strokes 201.   The only difference is at three years of age, the child is asked to put their face in the water by their own will, using their won decision making abilities, whereas we “assist” the toddler’s face in the water in Parent & Me unless they are resisting.  But here again, the end result is the same skill is being continuously refined throughout the “Parent & Me” learn to swim class.
• Swimming: The swimming will improve as her kick improves coupled with her breath holding ability.  All this will occur in Parent and Me and just as it would improve in Swim 101.  Kick practice is kick practice.  The kick will become more refined over time thru manipulating the legs properly and simply more class time / practice time to refine the skill.

*The ONLY exception in terms of a “new skill” that we introduce in Swim 101 is the “Pop up Breath” or “Roll-over Breath.”  My experience is that from a motor development standpoint, most 2 year olds aren’t ready to do the pop-up breath.  If the toddler can kick on her/his back without assistance, then the roll-over breath is possible upon mastering back kicking.  I have had some older two year olds do the “pop-up” breath, but it is a skill that you have to pay close attention to because of the risk of the child breathing in water before their neck muscles, etc. are strong enough and their breath control skills are so well developed that they have the ability to get the breath in a hurry.

• Safety Skills: At age two, my son Jeb could perform Safety Skill #2 without any assistance.  I remember one day spotting him and he jumped in and swam back to the wall at least a dozen times in a row without any assistance from me whatsoever.   This is a skill that we DO NOT practice in Swim 101 AND WE DO PRACTICE in PARENT AND ME because it is so appropriate for two year olds.   In Swim 101, we spend the additional practice time on learning the “pop-up breath” whereas the toddlers generally aren’t ready for that as I mentioned earlier.   I believe the toddlers are better served by working on the Safety Skills, which require less swimming and they can focus on learning how to swim themselves back to the side of the pool, which is why we do that in the Parent & Me curriculum.

Lastly, I want to just touch on the way we begin our Parent & Me classes.   We start it with some “one on one” time to get the infants and toddlers acclimated and then we do the group acclamation songs, etc.   I have found no matter how monotonous it may seem for us adults, the toddlers absolutely love that time and the socialization aspect of it is quite beneficial.

I hope that all my teachers and swim parents can see that I put a tremendous amount of thought, time, research, and regularly apply my countless experiences with Parent & Me classes into developing the Swim Lessons University curriculum which is what I feel is the best infant-toddler curriculum possible for my children and yours.

I hope my input and feedback will help you and all our current and future students.

SwimmingSafercerely!
Jim Reiser, M.S.
“The Swim Professor”

2010 Life Saver of the Year by National Drowning Prevention Alliance
2008 Adolph Kiefer Water Safety Person of the Year by USA Swimming
Water Safety Chairperson – Safe Kids Midlands
Local Partner – “Make a Splash” Initiative

Founder, President -Swim Lessons University
www.swimlessonsuniversity.com

Founder, CE0 – The Swim Lessons Company, LLC
www.swimlessonscompany.com

Pediatric Drowning Prevention Guidelines Updated