December 7, 2009

Swimming lessons in Fairfax:Infant and preschool Aquatics

Sandy: We want to buy a house with a pool in Reston and are concerned about our young childrens’

Fairfax mom gets Susie water comfortable

Fairfax mom gets Susie water comfortable

water safety. They have never had swim lessons since they are both in pre-school. Can kids that are so young learn much? Are there any swim programs for children that young in Fairfax County?

SwimteamAnswerman: I hate to use negative motivation to encourage parents to get their children water safe at an early age, but you are right to be concerned. Whether you buy a home with a pool or not, you undoubtedly will go to the community pool, be around friends or neighbors who have pools or ponds, or be in or around water on vacation. Nothing can totally prevent disaster but you can go a long way to help protect your children by getting them trained as early as a few months old to float, hold their breath, and try to get to the pool side and hold on.

Sandy: Can really young children learn to do those things? I didn’t learn to swim until I was 7 years old.

SwimteamAnswerman: Unless you have seen what really young children can do, you would not believe it. My wife and I took our children to the community pool most nights after work in the summer starting when the were 6 months old. By 2 years old they were holding their breath under water, picking things up from the bottom of the pool with their head under water and eyes open and floating on their back pretty well. At that time, we were amateurs in children’s aquatics. Folks who are really trained well, can teach your children more at an earlier age. What our kids could do between ages 2-3 can be done by children from 6 months to 1 year old if they are given the right instruction. The best web site I have seen that demonstrates with video what your children can do is at : Infant Aquatics.com.
Check it out, if you have not been around children’s swimming programs you will not believe what you

Dad helps Fred learn to float

see.

Sandy: That website’s videos and program are awesome but I did not see that company’s programs anywhere near here. Does such training exist in other places?

SwimteamAnswerman: Sandy, my observation is that most suburban areas with indoor pool access have infant and toddler water safety programs. Nationwide, the aquatics fraternity is very active and passionate about what they do… whether it is teaching swimming lessons, coaching summer swim teams or being involved in scholastic swimming up through college. Locally in Fairfax County you can check out program availability at the parks website: Baby Aquatics.
In Reston you can check out: Infant and Pre-school.
In addition to helping your children improve their water safety skills, they will have FUN! Should you decide to enroll them in a local swim team later, (most are a combination of advanced swimming lessons,stroke clinics and an intro to competitive swimming for kids 5-18 …both genders) they will advance more easily due to their ability to control their breathing and comfort in the water.

Sandy: Really, what can 6 year olds do on a swim team?

SwimteamAnswerman: Sandy, once again unless you have seen it you will not believe it. Our daughter teaches a group of 6-8 year olds who are doing freestyle, backstroke, and a couple can do breaststroke. They swim around 500 yards in 25 yard increments in around 30 minutes. That is a beginners class. There are kids that young who can swim for an hour in 50 and 100 yard or more increments. You can follow a new blog for swim team parents that I am doing that will answer this type of question at: SwimTeamAnswerman.com.  Both of our daughters were on a swim team by 5 or 6 and could do all four competitive strokes reasonably well by age 7. They were not athletic phenoms…this is common place. Your kids can do amazing things in the water regardless of their natural abilities. All you have to do is provide the transportation and pay for the training. Beginners training is usually very cheap for what you get. Go get wet!

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November 20, 2009

My First Swim Meet. What to expect.

Sam relaxes after a solid racing performance

Doris: Our family went to our first swim meet Tuesday evening and it was soooo confusing. You were there. Can you tell me what was going on? I could hardly find my child or keep track of when he was swimming!

Answerman: I know how you feel Doris. I don’t think my wife and I figured it out until our second season. There are

This is not MY first meet!

This is not MY first meet!

40 parents running around organizing and executing necessary duties; all that stuff will take a long time to understand, but the swim meet itself follows the same pattern. Tuesday evening was what our league calls a developmental meet. All eligible kids on the team who show up can swim two events. We have 188 kids this season and the other team had about the same number. That is what took so long. That’s a lot of swimming and over 300 swimmers to organize and keep track of.  The meet starts with 6 and under boy’s freestyle followed by 6 and under girl’s freestyle. The age groupings are 6 and under, 8 and under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 and 15-18. The kids have multiple heats of each age group within the stroke starting with the boys, until they are all done. There can easily be 10 heats of 8 and under girl’s freestyle; you weren’t dreaming. The event order in summer swimming follows a predictable order: Freestyle, backstroke, breast stroke and butterfly. We finish with individual medley (25 meters each of butterfly, backstroke, breast stroke, & freestyle; all swum by an individual swimmer) if we have time before 2 am closing time. (Just kidding).

Backsrtoke makes breathing easier!

Backstroke makes breathing easier!

Doris: OK. I guess that helps. But how can I find my son Ronny?

Answerman: The best way Doris is to volunteer as a team area parent or clerk of course. Ronny should be camped out in the team area between events. If you are working crowd control in there you can keep an eye on him and know where he is, what he is doing to others and when he is swimming. If you learn the “clerk of course” job, you will be lining up all the kids  for their events. You will be the best informed person on the deck regarding who is where, since you control it! You will also learn a ton of behind the scenes stuff since the people who head up that group know everything and everybody.

Tom: Was it wrong of me to pray that the meet would be canceled due to thunderstorms since it was so hot and I wanted to watch TV instead?

Answerman: Yes Tom it is very wrong. That is just not the perky attitude one should have now is it?

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November 20, 2009

What is a community swim team?

15-18 age group swim team members resting between events


Martha: My neighbor… whose little kids are on the summer swim team sent me here to help me understand what summer swimming is about in this area. Can you enlighten me?

Answerman: You will have to keep checking back here from time to time since the topic is large and has been going on for some time. Ben Franklin used to give swimming lessons to Englishmen by taking them out on the river Themes in a row boat, leaping in to the water and swimming along side to demonstrate the various stroke techniques of the time. I am not making this up….. “When most people think of Ben Franklin, they don’t usually think of an athlete. However, Franklin was an early proponent of physical fitness. In an age when few people knew how to swim, Franklin taught himself how to swim. He was an avid swimmer all his life and even contemplated becoming a full-time swim instructor. Benjamin Franklin is the only founding father in the Swimming Hall of Fame“. When he was not swimming, Franklin as you know was hanging out in Philadelphia with other wig wearing guys, helping to found our country….. So we actually have hundreds of years of aquatic history to draw on in our pursuit a thorough understanding of backstroke racing while still chewing pizza.

It's cooooolllllddddddd!!!!

We will over time, explore each of those topic points individually, and then we will expand coverage in the coming months with different videos.  Our goal is to explain basic swimming, swim meets, officiating, acceptable cheering technique, and we  will publicly critique the snack bar dining experience at the local swim meet venues.

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November 20, 2009

Swim Team Practice. What to expect.

As an adult it is your duty to help create happy aquatic memories. Start now.

Tom: I want my kid to learn to swim well. I heard that the neighborhood swim team is not only for swimming races but for excellent training and teaching, for beginners on up. Is this true and when do I sign up?

Answerman: Tom it’s true. My family just finished our 17th year, and we still love it. Sign up is in April at the Community Center. Watch the community paper for sign up dates and times. Do NOT miss this opportunity! Adults have fun too.

Tom: Isn’t the summer swim team for good swimmers? My boy just finished up swim lessons at the “Y” and he is just a

Swim team is for little and BIG swimmers

Swim team is for little and BIG swimmers

beginner.

Answerman: Swim teams in general and summer swim teams in particular are for kids of all abilities. On our team, your child must be what we call water safe. We want your child to be able to swim one length of the pool on his belly and one on his back. It doesn’t have to be pretty or fast, he just has to be comfortable in the water and beyond the panic stage.

Tom: I have never been to a swim team practice and neither has my boy Marvin. What can I expect?
Answerman: First thing Tom, always have Marvin in his suit when he leaves the house whether you are going to a meet or practice. This will save you a lot of trouble. Nothing is more irritating than getting to practice or a meet and finding no suit in the swim bag.  Save yourself potential irritation. Have your kid wear his suit when he leaves your property. I would also check his bag until he is about 18 years old for goggles etc. This is irritating but has saved us much greater annoyance later. This is the practice of all experienced swim parents and thoughtful teenagers.
Tom: How will the coaches train my son?
Answerman: Since your son is new to swimming, the coaches will use their best initial estimate of his ability and

Quick. Breathe. Now.

Quick. Breathe. Now.

assign him to a practice lane. Practice lanes are assigned by a combination of age and ability level. If you are standing at the deep end of our pool, the newest kids are generally assigned to the rightmost lanes with the experience level increasing as you move right to left. The coaches move kids as they improve, to a more demanding lane. New swimmers do a lot of work with kick boards. This helps give them confidence and support in the water, as they learn the parts of each stroke. Young children spend most of their time learning freestyle and backstroke. As they gain strength, stamina and coordination, breast stroke and butterfly will be introduced. I believe that it is more important to encourage your young swimmer before and after practice, than it is at meets. Swim practice is tough in ways that other sports are not. Water is not human’s natural element. Your kid will spend a lot of time looking at the bottom of the pool or the sky while trying not to breathe water. There is not much talking or standing around like there is in soccer, baseball, basketball etc. I have always found the will of swimmers to practice hard, far more impressive than their performance in a meet. I am more gratified by my daughters’ willingness to keep slogging along than I am by the result of a 30 second race. Try to find some area of his performance to praise. “Hey, your dive is really improving! Your kick is getting really strong and tight! The water was cold today; that was tough of you to stick it out”

Eleanor dives in at the starters horn

Tom: That’s sooo Mother Theresa of you.
Answerman: Thanks
Monique: I have always tried to determine the direction and purpose of my life and my place in eternity by embracing the philosophy of life taught by exercise gurus marketing equipment on television infomercials. Can you give me one that I can apply to my child’s swim training?
Answerman: Of course. Tony Little marketer of the Gazelle glider:” Passion, patience and persistence lead to perfection”
Monique: That will be my thought for the week!
Answerman: Happy to help, Monique

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November 20, 2009

Avoid Later Blame! Join A Swim Team

Make sure you send your kid off into the deep end of life with solid aquatic skills

Ted: Whenever I attempt to make helpful suggestions to my children as to how to improve one of their skill sets or behavior patterns, somehow it always turns out that their shortcomings are my fault. This happens with my spouse too.

Answerman: Give me an example.
Ted: Well, I asked my daughter, politely, if she would clean up her room, she responded that it would be perfectly clean all the time, if I did not insist that she attend school. When I mentioned to my wife that her mood should be adjusted to a more gentle, quiet, co-operative mode of being, she responded that if I provided her with servants, a personal shopper, live in chef and laundress, her mood would be one that I would definitely find acceptable. The short comings of this world seem to have me as their source.
Answerman: You must still be young, Ted. Basically, this is part of being a man that no one ever tells you about. If they did, there would be no marriage, no children and the human race would shortly be holding very small, short swim meets.
Ted: Is there nothing I can do?
Answerman: Yes Ted there is hope. You must take pre-emptive action. In 20 years when someone makes fun of your son Teddy’s splashy, go nowhere, grunting swim stroke at the pool of the Acapulco Princess during a marketing convention, you do not want him to be able to say, “My parents were too pathetic, short sighted, and self centered to make sure that I developed a smooth, elegant, strong, safe, swimming style by signing me up for the Chantilly Highland’s Summer Swim Team.”
Ted: No I certainly don’t want to be blamed for that. What can I do?
Answerman: Ted you must sign your son up for the Dolphin’s swim team (or the friendliest team near you). Go to the neighborhood Community Center on  (2010 times will be annnounced!). You can learn more at the swim team website: http://www.chdolphins.net , there will also be a registration form there that you can fill out in advance. You can also check out the Answerman’s web blog (www.swimteamanswerman.wordpress.com) for new swim team parents. It will answer many of your questions as far as the philosophical underpinnings of the Aquatic Ethic, psychological insight into human interaction poolside, and other deep analysis of the human condition as well as what not to eat at the snack bar at the Franklin Farm pool.
Doris: I have been to your crummy swim blog in the hopes of getting the daily guidance I need, and you haven’t updated that sorry thing since last summer.
Answerman: I have corrected that oversight Doris…however Truth, beauty, and the Answerman’s advice are not bound by time.

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November 20, 2009

Special Needs Aquatics Programs in Fairfax County

Group Swim Lessons

Get your kids in the water now!


Karen: Do you think swimming or aquatic therapy is appropriate for my special needs kid?

It is never to early to start

It is never to early to start

Steve Bachman: Absolutely, positively without equivocation. In general, the swimming community is the most supportive group of families we have come across in the 17 years that we have been involved with kids sports in Fairfax County. The Special needs volunteers are as you can imagine…outstanding human beings. Your child does not need to be involved in competitive Special Olympics programs to physically and mentally benefit from aquatic training. For some reason, water has a special power, it is almost spiritual. It has a calming effect on children when they are introduced to it in the right way.

The following information was taken directly from Fairfax County park web page on Adaptive Aquatics: Click here to view.

Adapted Aquatics

“The Park Authority’s award-winning Adapted Aquatics is an individualized swimming and water activity program for customers with physical and developmental disabilities. This Adapted Aquaticssuccess-oriented program targets individuals who do not currently meet the prerequisites for participating in an inclusive environment. The program is designed to develop basic swim skills in a structured setting with one-on-one support from trained volunteers.

Students may register for:

  1. Adapted Aquatics Group Classes – These courses are conducted by American Red Cross certified Adapted Aquatics Instructors and trained volunteers.
  2. Small group lessons (one to four students) – These lessons are offered at all RECenter pools. Flexible scheduling is available. Classes can also be arranged for school groups and group homes. Call 703-324-8565 for more information.

Please note that family members may be requested to assist in the water if volunteers are not available.”

Also available are Special Olympic prep programs for developmentally delayed youth who want to participate in swimming competitions. These swim meets are awesome and  encouraging. Check out what the county currently has available HERE.

Here is the main Aquatics Specialty page: Swim now!

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