Teachers tips #1 – Bath-time Backstroke
Tips from the teachers- Practice in the Bath!
#1. Bath-time backstroke
For your little swimmer to be able to swim independently on their backs, they need to be able to maintain a relaxed position in the water, with their head back. The swimmers head position is the key and without the correct head position, swimming on their backs will be tough.
Teachers tips #2- Get your goggles on!
Tips from the teachers- Practice in the bath!
#2. Get your goggles on!
Goggles are a great tool to assist in the development of the swimmer and a little bit of practice at home will ensure they are comfortable, allowing the swimmer to use them in their lessons without realising they are even wearing them! Wearing goggles allows the swimmer to see underwater, which not only helps improve confidence underwater, they can see their bubbles and arms while swimming (sometimes a child thinks they are doing something correctly until they can actually see it!)
Teachers tips #3 – Ready, Steady…SPLASH!
Tips from the teachers- Ready, Steady, SPLASH!
It is probably worth putting a few towels down on the floor before trying this one! Swimmers use the same style of leg kick when swimming frontcrawl and backstroke. In tips #2 and 3, we have practiced the head positions which are vital to gaining the correct body position to allow independent swimming. Even if these head positions are perfect, a bendy kick will prevent the swimmer from achieve a relaxed streamline position. While kicking with straight legs might sound like a simple thing to do, for a young child that is used to walking, running and maybe even riding a bike, this is an unnatural action that takes a bit of practice!
