YOUTH ACADEMY

Level 1 is for a child who has never taken swimming lessons or is a beginner working on the skills listed below. In this level we work with children who may or may not initially feel comfortable putting their face in the water.

Skills and goals: Learn beginner swimming and water safety skills with the assistance of flotation devices such as noodles, bar floats, and kickboards. The following skills are practiced:

• Blowing bubbles and submerging eyes, nose and mouth in water
• Gliding on front, with assistance if needed
• Floating on back
• Kicking legs on front and back, with assistance if needed
• Kicking legs on front and back, with assistance
• Floating on front, with assistance if needed
• Gliding on front and roll to back, with assistance if needed
• Swimming with combined arm and leg movement on front and back
• Retrieving object underwater with eyes open

Level 2 is for a child who has successfully completed Level 1 (or all of the skills required to pass Level 1).
Skills and goals: Continue to work on skills learned in Level 1. In Level 2, the children work toward achieving the goal of swimming without a flotation device by strengthening through repetition and increasing the time and distance skills are practiced. The following skills are practiced:

• Floating on front and back
• Gliding on front and roll to back
• Gliding on back and roll to front
• Swim with combined arm and leg movement on front and back (front crawl and back crawl)
• Jump in water independently
• Treading water
• Bobbing
• Swim underwater

 

Level 3 is for a child who has successfully completed Level 2 (or all of the skills required to pass Level 2). Your child must also be able to swim the entire length of the pool without stopping and without a flotation device. This will be assessed during the first class.
Skills and goals: Strengthen and improve skills learned in Level 2 (front and back crawl) as well as learn new skills including:

 

• Elementary backstroke
• Breaststroke kick, arms, and combined
• Scissor kick
• Dolphin kick
• Rotary breathing
• Treading water

Level 4 is for a child who has successfully completed level 3 or all skills required to pass level 3. Your child will strengthen, improve, and refine skills learned in Level 3 (rotary breathing, elementary backstroke, and breaststroke) as well as learn new skills including: 

• Sidestroke
• Butterfly
• Flip Turns

Level 5 is for a child who has successfully completed level 4 or all skills required to pass level 4. Your child will improve upon the skills learned in Level 4 including all the swim strokes but also learn new skills such as:

•  Increase endurance
•  Improve swim technique through skill refinement of front crawl, backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke and all turns.
• Competitive swimming