Swimming Lessons
Enroll in our Western Racquet Club swim lessons and become familiar with both safety skills and swimming strokes. Our lessons will teach basic floats and locomotion strategies to the beginning swimmer and instill swimming proficiency in resting strokes (elementary backstroke, sidestroke, overarm sidestroke, inverted breaststroke, and trudgen crawl) as well as power strokes (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle) to the advanced swimmer. Basic water safety principles are included in swim lessons at all levels.
Small class size
As usual, Western Racquet Club swim lessons maintain the smallest ratio of students to instructors of area group swim lesson programs. Our staggered sections of Eel and Pike (formerly levels 1 and 2) decrease that ratio for our youngest swimmers.
Wondering what level swimming lessons to sign up for?
Pike:
In this level your child will learn about water exploration in the shallow end of the pool with two instructors present at all times. Throughout the course of the lessons, we will begin with assisted safe water entry into the pool, beginning with putting different parts of the body and face into the water, progressing to a full bob, and eventually working on assisted jumping into the pool and assisted front-paddle.
Requirements:
- Potty-trained (no pull-ups allowed in large pool)
- Typically 3 & up years of age
Eel:
This level furthers your child's aquatic exploration with two instructors by continuing to develop your child's front-crawl at a more independent level. Throughout the course of the lessons, we will teach various water skills such as independent water entry and exit skills, independent jumping, submerging and surfacing skills, refining a front-crawl style, and eventually taking a few jumps off the low diving board.
Requirements:
- Completed Pike
- Is able to enter and exit pool with assistance
- Is able to put body and/or face in the water with assistance
- Is able to do front float/back float with little assistance
- Is able to show knowledge of some front-paddle skills
Polliwog:
This level will help your child learn techniques and skills that will further refine their swimming skills. Throughout the course of the lessons we will teach front-crawl skills, elementary backstroke, over arm backstroke, complete independent jumping skills with surface recovery, and safe jumping off the low diving board.
Requirements:
- Completed Eel
- Is able to swim front-crawl one width (short way) of the pool
- Is able to enter and exit the water without assistance
- Is able to do the front and back float without assistance
- Is able to submerge and surface recover with assistance of wall
- Typically 5-7 years of age
Guppy:
This level will expand your child's range of swimming stokes. Throughout the course of the lessons, we will teach a variety of techniques to help swimmers learn the butterfly, breaststroke, and sidestroke. Guppy is an introduction to these more difficult strokes, as Fish will refine them. Also taught in the later weeks of this level is diving off the side of the pool, blocks, and diving board.
Requirements:
- Completed Polliwog
- Is able to swim one length (long way) of front crawl, over arm backstroke, and elementary backstroke.
- Typically 7-9 years of age
Fish:
This level will start to perfect your child's strokes as well as his/her knowledge about swimming. Throughout the course of the lessons, we will teach swimming in a more traditional form by having the swimmers do more laps to build their endurance. At this stage, the instructors help swimmers refine their strokes and work on a more competitive outlook in swimming.
Requirements:
- Completed Guppy
- Is able to swim at least 2 lengths (long way) of advanced front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke, elementary backstroke, and sidestroke.
- Is able to swim one length (long way) of butterfly
- Typically 9-11 years of age
Shark:
This is the final level that is offered. Throughout the course of the lessons we will teach very advanced and competitive skills and swimmers will be able to swim multiple laps of each stoke. Advanced competitive "race-diving" will be taught as well as flip turns and other advanced transitions.
Requirements:
- Completed Fish
- Is able to swim at least 3 lengths and demonstrate advanced knowledge of each: front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke, elementary backstroke, sidestroke, and butterfly.
- Is able to dive
- Typically 9-13 years of age
*If you are unsure of your child's swimming abilities we would be happy to assess your child on the first day of lessons so we can find the appropriate level. In addition, we can look up any records we have from the previous summer. Also, private lessons are available if you want to give your child a head start or refresh their memory so they are ready for the first day of lessons.