1. A child’s physiology means they need to learn to swim differently than an adult.  They have small hands and feet and a disproportionately large head to their body size.  
2. A child’s natural fear of the water can be removed through the use of floatation devices in deep water (3 feet or greater).  A parent or instructor must also teach children that if they jump into deep water that they must turn to the wall, rather than continually saving them.
3. When a child or adult enters the water fully clothed traditional swimming strokes can not be used.  Shoes, pants and coats reduce ones ability to swim by 90%.  It is important for programs to first teach backfloat and front swimming that is unaffected by clothing.
4. Parents need to realize that a child must be able to swim 400m of the front crawl to be considered the lowest level of swimming.  Virtually all people will experience ocean and lake swimming that will test this ability.   Most children will need 100 lessons and/or swim practices to reach this level.  A child should swim at least 20 minutes of each lesson.
5. The window of opportunity to teach a child to swim well begins to close at age 6 and is almost completely gone by 11 years.  Only 6-10% of the USA population can swim 400 yards of the crawl stroke with side breath.

Drowning is a silent event.  Most people think someone will yell and scream for help.  A child’s reflex is to look up and the hydrostatic pressure empties their lungs.  In an instant they have lost floatation and will sink to the bottom. On the small chance they make it to the surface they will not be able to call out.  Supervise with eyes not ears.

So this means for parents.  
a. A child should be taught to keep the air in the lungs by not looking up. This should be done through professional instruction.  All swim instructors who understand this reflex teach a “down face” and breathing techniques to not loose the air in their lungs.
 
b. Children should learn to turn and swim back to a wall or shallow water as their first response to entering the water.
 
c. After a few strokes back to the wall, a child should flip onto their back to breathe.  Never popping their head up.
 

I’ve had a couple of experiences with teaching fearful children, and I am always asked the same question: Why are they so afraid?

The truth is I don’t have an all-encompassing answer. There are a multitude of reasons for children to be afraid of the water, but so few of them can be communicated to adults because many of the children simply aren’t old enough to properly express themselves. Adults have a hard time translating emotions to words, imagine being a terrified child! Fear is a difficult emotion to work with at best, but it CAN be done! We just need to keep a few things in mind:

- Smile! Children pick up on emotion so quickly, it is imperative that teachers and parents alike maintain a positive exterior. The teacher is often as frightened as the child, the prospect of another bad experience is terrifying and it sends your heart racing. I once calculated my heart rate to be 130 beats per minute while teaching one of my scared kids. Even though we adults are also frightened and apprehensive, we must appear happy. The kids look to us to see what to do and how to act, we must set a good example.

- Help your child to learn to trust their instructor. Tell them that things are going to be okay, that their instructor is there to help them and to make sure that nothing bad happens. Trust is the most important thing to build upon when working with fear because without it even children who aren’t fearful won’t swim for us.

- Communicate. Time is a precious commodity at Foss and we do our best, but if you aren’t able to speak to your teacher long enough feel free to speak to the front desk or the Deck Assistant. They are our eyes and ears when we can’t be there for you, and they let us know when a parent needs more one-on-one time.

- Don’t give up! Perseverance is important in all walks of life. It is never too early to start teaching them about persevering, determination, and courage.

Children never cease to amaze me. They are funny and brave, they forget about the sad parts of their day so quickly, and they are quick to smile and laugh. As a teacher dealing with fear, we look for one moment that combines all of these qualities: the “I did it” moment. We continue to work with fearful children because there is nothing more fulfilling than seeing them stand on the island, hands waving to their parents, yelling,

“I did it! Did you see? I did it! Let’s swim again, all by myself!”

That one sentence brings tears to my eyes every time. I have found nothing else that is as uplifting as seeing such a triumph. We aspire to reach this moment, and with the help and guidance of parents and other instructors, it can be achieved.

The impact that children have on their instructors is huge. We take their faces home with us, reflecting over who cried, who triumphed, who overcame their fears. While most parents believe that we are simply teaching their children, few realize that their children are also teaching us.

My first session teaching at Foss Swim School was admittedly clumsy. Despite the month’s worth of training I completed I felt a little clueless. My lifetime’s worth of swimming did me no good when faced with a little boy who wouldn’t stop jumping on the island, or a little girl who was too frightened to keep her eyes in the water. The confidence that I had built up through 22 years of lessons, teams, and camps had been shattered by a mere 3 hour time span teaching the skill I thought I had known so well. 3 weeks in, however, a little girl named Alex spoke to me, not as her teacher, but as her friend.

“Miss Andrea, it’s okay, you don’t have to worry about me. Just stand next to me, okay?”

Her little smile brightened up the whole world, and it suddenly hit me: this wasn’t just about swimming. Foss was about more than that; it was about making the pool a whole new playground for kids. Alex was a uniquely gifted swimmer, she was quiet and cheerful. She listened intently as I stumbled through the story of Frank and Murray, not always understanding but always trying her best. Most importantly, she demonstrated the sort of patience that adults like me aspire to, she showed me how to simply be there.

Alex and the other children of my first session taught me how to turn the pool into another world. A world with acrobatic fish named Frank and Murray, giant pizzas made with anything you wanted on top, ice cream scoops of every flavor, and ceilings that were freshly painted every half hour.

I am now entering my fourth session at Foss, and I still take home the faces of my kids. But now, instead of worrying about what I did wrong, I smile over what each of my kids did right.  

Whenever I go out somewhere like Target, or out to eat, or just shopping in general, I almost always see someone that I know from my teaching jobs. Just two weeks ago I was filling up my cup at a Burger King, and who is right next to me…”Hi Ava’s mom!” I said, so she looks up and her face lights up with a smile when she recognizes who said hello. Occasionally I’ll eat at Target, and of course I run into people here! One time I had a kid recognize me as he and his mom were walking out the door, and he runs over with his hand in the air to get a high five from Mr. Erik.

It’s stories like these that give that sense of a reward from teaching a kid around age 3, and having them recognize you at age 10+ when your not in the water. When I teach I take it very seriously (in a very silly way) because not only are we teaching kids how to swim, but life lessons, and making impressions on these kids that WILL last a lifetime.

It is fair to say all of the families who take lessons here at Foss Swim School are looking to help keep their swimmer(s) safe. After all, we are the land of 10,000 lakes and probably even more ponds. If you are expecting that our lessons will by themselves safeguard you while out and about swimming then you’re only partially correct. It is statistically supported that swim lessons dramatically reduce the ever dreaded bad day in the water but you need to be aware of the differences between pools and lakes.

I may be stating the obvious but remember we are teaching our children water safety and communicating this to them is another part of the lesson.

Pools:

Our pools are controlled. We maintain the temperature at a very comfy 90 + degrees, strive for crystal clarity, have small class sizes which aide in safety in addition to results, we have an outstanding teacher in the water with your children, our lessons have a regulated time frame, and if you come up choking and sputtering you can probably stand up! All of these elements are fantastic for learning to swim. They ensure the ability to target developmental skills over a reasonably small distance. No wonder we have such great lessons!

Lakes:

Aside from them being wet they are virtually the opposite of what we offer. Lakes are colder, wind can create huge waves, you will find people enjoying their PWC, ski or wakeboard boats, kayaking, canoeing, and even kite surfing. The visibility is unpredictable and Eurasian Milfoil is making this worse. In some lakes by the end of the summer the visibility is less than one foot making it very difficult to see under water where the depth varies. It is also a lot more expected to wear a life jacket on and around the lake.

So, while you are taking swimming lessons (hopefully with us) please be reminded about the differences to ensure a safe and happy season in the swim. Talk to your children about the differences so they aren’t alarmed when they fall off the dock and come up saying “I can’t swim, I don’t have my goggles!” Help them connect the dots and swim safely. Take time at the beach to ask your swimmer “what are you learning in swim class?” It only takes a few minutes for them to realize how to put it all together. Ask them to teach you!

Here’s your assignment:

- Talk to your swimmer and TELL them to show you how far they can swim in a LAKE. Whatever the child can do in a confined pool, expect to at least cut that distance and endurance by about 50% to account for wind, waves, fear, cold water, disorientation, depth, etc.  Then…….tell your children that swimming in a LAKE is very different than a pool for the various reasons we’ve listed.

- Give your child a physical “MOM OR DAD SPOT” where they can always look and see you for comfort or confidence.  This eliminates the need for them to waste time or attention scanning the woods, beach, or crowd looking for you.

- Tell your child, “I will be watching you”.  It lends seriousness, confidence….and the known certainty that mom or dad knows where the boundaries are and they’re watching.

- Take breaks every 20 minutes……even if they’re going gangbusters and couldn’t be having more fun. Just 5 minutes to regroup.

Here’s your child’s assignment:

- Always tell an adult when you’re going in the water and WHERE

- Have your MOM or DAD buy a very COLORFUL BRIGHT swim suit so that you can be seen within a few feet under even murky water

- Whenever you start to feel tired or scared…….roll over onto your back and float, stand up, or get to the nearest dock to hold on, or crawl out.  Catch your breath and start again.

- Decide where you want to swim and how far you can go……tell your mom and dad, “I’m not going past the end of the dock”.  Say that three times to your mom or dad.

- If you start to drift past the farthest point you should be swimming…..don’t panic. You know how to swim!  Roll on your back and float or stand up for a few minutes and start over.

- If you are really in danger, too scared, or can’t breathe……..YELL as loud as you can for help and the words…FIRE.  More people respond to the word FIRE than then do HELP.

It may sound like a lot to do just to have fun but in practice it is only a few minutes of safety necessities that ensure a good time. The season of swimming is finally here in Minnesota. Take these few pointers to help create outstanding summer memories.

I say “No”
( I never had a kid with shoulder problems)
by Jon Foss of Foss Swim School

About 1987 I realized that every swimmer in Minnesota was spending 15 minutes of every practice on warm-up and warm down.  For some groups that was 25% of the practice time, way too much.  In building my swim teams and our swim school, we had one goal, to do things better than anyone else.  So warm-up was the first thing to go, replaced with something much better.

In the fall of  1987, I went on a 10 mile run with some friends.   It might as well been a full marathon for me, I was a competitive swimmer and my track days were four years gone.   I received a class ring as a College graduation present,  it was a bit too small, and as my fingers swelled and began to cut off circulation.  My friend Brad told me that the lymphatic tissue bathing my joints, protecting them from harm. Hmmm, interesting… I felt all my joints, shoulders, elbows, and all were protected, better than any warm-up I had for swimming.

With this knowledge, we started every practice not with a slow warm up but a hard kick set of 10 minutes.  Followed by a sculling or treading water set, and some fast kick slow arm freestyle to finish.   I never had any child complain about shoulder pain.

About 1991, I began a friendship with Murray Stephens, the coach of the North Baltimore aquatic club, home of Michael Phelps.  At that time Hillary and Whitney Phelps were his superstars and my team and His were both vying for top age group team in the country.
When discussing with Murray his opinions practice, he was having every swimmer start with 500 yards of dolphin kick first thing for practice, followed by a feel for the water exercise (sculling).  This was consistent with what we were doing.  His kids were getting 15-25% usefulness out of each practice as well, by doing a strenuous kick-based warm-up.

WHAT TO CHANGE WITH YOU PRACTICING
I recommend starting with fins (Finis Z2 fins recommended) and a kickboard to start any practice.  Scull in between each repetition.  Main set should keep the kick small and steady.

Sample practice
*8 x 100 on the 1 minute and 45 seconds  flutter kicking,    Tread water between each repetition, feet can be on the bottom
This can be modified to do dolphin kick on back or backstroke kick.
Advanced swimmers don’t use fins on the 2:00
*6 x 100 freestyle with fins count your strokes.  On 1:45 sculling in between “think fast kick slow arms”  make sure that each arm reach does not cross over the bridge of the nose.

*4 sets of 6 x 50 yards on the 1:00  Hold steady pace. Hopefully your best 25 yard swim x 2 plus 6 seconds. (ex.  14 seconds for a 25,  doubled is 28, add 6 sec.  Hold 34 seconds)  Keep heart rate between 140 and 170 bpm.

*Cool down with 100 yards of long strokes with steady kick.

Any questions? you can email me at jfoss@fossswimschool.com