30 Oct 2018
Jumping In.
Jumping in plays a very important part in our lessons at Safely Swim for both private and group classes. Whether it’s beginners who have just started swimming lessons or those in higher stages we like to get all of our children jumping in. But why?
The primary reason is that jumping in is just so much fun! Most of our swimmers spend the whole lesson looking forward to when they can jump in. This is a great means to motivate them for the first half of the lesson. You will often hear me say; we can have jumps if we try really hard. This helps us get the best out of them. We want all children to love coming swimming, if something as simple as jumping in makes them love coming then we’re all for it.
Jumping in is also really important for their safety. If you end up in the water by accident you won’t have gone in via the steps. Jumping in mimics the motion of falling into water so is important for helping swimmers get used to not panicking and getting themselves to the side safely. This is a vital skill that our swimmers are learning without really realising it. We evolve this for the higher stages when our more experienced swimmers will jump in, tread water and then swim with clothes on.
The biggest impact which jumping in has on swimmers is it builds their confidence. It shows them they can do it by themselves and that they don’t have to rely on their instructor for assistance. I often see the best swimming from a child when they’ve jumped in and are swimming to the side. The jump takes the focus off the actual swimming so they’re just thinking about getting themselves to the side ready for their next jump. Gradually giving them further to swim means they can swim distances that they didn’t ever think they would be able to. That really shows how enjoying something and having fun means you will do so much better at it.
