The YMCA introduced group swim lessons around 70 years ago. Swimming lessons are lead by trained Y-Instructors and supervised by certified lifeguards. Instructors will teach a variety of swim skills based on age and ability.
On your child's first visit to swim lessons, there could be a apprehension, excitement, and wonder. Your child may also be a little nervous about you leaving them in the pool area with the instructor. Something you can do to help your child feel less nervous would be to bring them for an open swim night to get used to the pool & get them used to the locker room areas and showers.
Our swim instructors want your children to build up their swimming skills, have self-confidence in the water, enjoy learning to swim and have good water safety awareness.
Being Safe Around the Water
Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental injury and death among youth. Swim lessons help your children learn the basic skills of swimming and teaches your children simple safety skills to help prevent drownings.
Swimming is something you can do at any age, this is a skill that will last a lifetime and you can always improve your skill.
Swim lessons can lead to other new adventures:
- Going to the lake with friends and family
- Go to summer camp where there is swimming
- A new exercise
Parent Tot
This class is to introduce children to the water with singing games, walking in the water and basic aquatic movements.
Pike
This class is an introduction to little swim diggers, learning to blow bubbles, kick their feet, float on their back, & put lips, chin, nose, and eyes in the water and eventually their whole face.
Eel
Be able to: float on back with little help, put face in water, can kick and fin on their back with little help and swim front crawl by themselves.
Learn to: Swim front crawl 5 to 6 feet with little help, kick on front with kick board the width of the pool, and jump into water by themselves.
Ray
Be able to: Float on their back, swim the front crawl, and kick with kick board.
Learn to: Introduce rotary breathing, kick on front and back with kick board the length of the pool, swimming the length of the pool with some help, introduce the back stroke & little bit of elementary back strong, jump of the diving board with help.
Polliwog
Be able to: Introduction to big swimming arms, learning to blow bubbles, kick their feet holding on the side of the pool, float on back, & put lips, chin, nose, eyes in the water and eventually their whole face in the water.
Learn to: Introducing kick board, kick & fin on back, swimming with no help.
Advanced Polliwog
Be able to: Must have passed Polliwog class, can swim front crawl, back stroke the width of the pool with little help, jump into deep water with assistance.
Learn to: Swim front crawl with rotary breathing, deep water bobs hanging on to the side of the pool, kicking with kick boards on front and back the length of pool with little help, be able to jump off the diving board and swim to the side with little help, swimming elementary back stroke with noodle the width of the pool.
Guppy
Be able to: Swim the front crawl with rotary breathing, back stroke the length of the pool.
Learn to: Still working on elementary back stroke, deep water bobs, starting diving in deep end, starting breaststroke kick and then breaststroke arms, swimming Breaststroke the width of the pool.
Fish
Be able to: Swim 3 lengths of the pool on front, back, elementary back stroke and breaststroke without stopping, swimming butterfly the width of the pool without stopping, float on their back and front with no help, diving from the side of the pool, starting blocks & diving board with no help.
Learn to: Introducing side stroke