There are a few "swim skills" often included in lessons that people think might work but often do absolutely nothing for a swimmer! In my opinion, things often taught in swim classes are not as transferrable as some instructors might make it seem!
The absolute bane of my existence is the concept of underwater swimming! Come at me bro! This is a MASSIVE waste of time especially for a beginner swimmer still in need of stroke development! the issue comes with the purpose! Why do they need to swim underwater? What exactly does it do for their ultimate safety and proficiency? It's certainly a fun thing to do but the real focus should be placed on above-water swimming!
My other pet-peeve is the idea of diving! This has absoutely no place in a swim lesson unless they need it for swim team. It only teaches them that diving is acceptable so they might try to do it at the wrong time. It doesn't help them with any form of swim ability so get rid of it.
The last skill is a 50/50 for me. I'm referring to dunking. This is something I had to think about but it actually serves a purpose depending on how you do it. Every now and again, I will get kids who NEVER put their faces in the water. Under no circumstance do they ever try no matter what I do. Under these conditions, dunking could be used as a last resort. to attempt this properly, communicate every single step and drop them rather than dunk them. Tell them exactly what it will feel like. Show them the balloon cheeks. count to three really slowly and tell them to do a scrunchy face to keep all the water on the outside of their head. It's a last ditch effort but I've had plenty of successes with it in the past.
Comments