The philosophy of the YMCA Youth Aquatic Program is to enrich the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of each child. The YMCA Aquatic Staff asks that swimmers 3 years and older that have had lessons elsewhere or new swimmers to our program be tested to determine their level. Testing is done Saturday mornings at 11:30 a.m. except on holidays and interim weekends.
Physical Development:
A portion of each class is devoted to sustained swimming in order to develop endurance and fitness.
Mental Development:
Problem-solving techniques through method instruction. Discussion on topics of safety and the mechanics of swimming.
Spiritual Development:
Classes will encourage Christian values by exploring good ways to handle situations, working together and enhancing lives of others. Our Youth Aquatic Program stresses five major components:
1. Personal Safety
2. Stroke Development
3. Personal Development
4. Rescue
5. Peer Grouping
Classes-
Polliwog I
(New Beginners; 1 big float):
Front/back float, flutter kick on front/back, front crawl arm stroke with over arm recovery, breath control, and throwing assists.
Polliwog II
(Beginners 6 yrs. & up; 1 small float):
Front crawl, rhythmic breathing, intro to rotary breathing, tread water. Personal Floatation Devices (PFD), sit dives, equivalent to EEL II.
Guppy
(Advanced Beginners 6 yrs. & up; 1 small float, if needed):
Front crawl with rotary breathing, elementary backstroke with arm movement and flutter kick, back crawl, survival float, standing dives, equivalent to Ray and Starfish.
Minnow
(Advanced Beginners):
Front crawl with rotary breathing 50 yards, back crawl 50 yards, elementary backstroke, diving safety, endurance skills.
Fish
(Intermediate):
Front crawl 75 yards, back crawl 75 yards, intro to breast stroke, Dolphin kick, elementary backstroke 50 yards, underwater swimming, survival float 4 minutes.
Flying Fish
(Advanced Intermediate):
Review skills, intro butterfly, 200 IM, open turns, personal health issues.
Shark
(Advanced) :
Review skills, sidestroke, flip turns, lifesaving medley.
Porpoise
(Instructor Recommendation) :
Highest youth level attainable. Includes a review of all strokes, advanced safety and rescue skills, and leadership opportunities. Participants are required to fufill 15 hours of swim instruction with a YMCA instructor as a mentor, after which participants may begin to teach their own class.
Private Swim Lessons :
Private swim lessons have a 1:1 teacher to student ratio, where students receive the extra attention that is needed. All lessons must be pre-approved with the Aquatic Director before registration.
Semi-Private Swim Lessons :
Semi-private swim lessons have a 2:1 teacher to student ratio, where students receive the extra attention needed. All lessons must be pre-approved with the Aquatic Director before registration.
Instructor Aide:
This class is designed to provide training to assist the YMCA instructors in swim classes. Participants must be between the ages of 11 and 14 and should be able to demonstrate all the skills completed in the fish level.
Pre-Guard:
This class is designed for children ages 11-14 who would like more of a challenge and are interested in becoming lifeguards in the future. You will learn about prevention, fitness, response and leadership and how they are involved in lifeguarding. Some of the class may take place out of the water. Participants must be able to swim the front crawl 25 yards continuously, tread water for one minute using arms and legs, and be able to swim 10 feet underwater, or they have completed the fish level.
