Swimming Instruction Levels

Raccoon Valley swim lessons progress through a six-level instruction program that we've found to be very successful through the years. Many if not most of the swimmers on the Masked Bandits' successful swim team started out as students in the program. Each level is designed to be completed in one weekly set of four half-hour lessons.

The six instruction levels and major goals of each are as follows:

Level 1 - Red
Face in water
Bubbles through mouth/nose
Whole head under water
Kicking (side of pool & kickboard)
Climb in/out of pool safely
Jump in to instructor
Level 2 - Yellow
Float on back
Float on stomach
Push off wall / face-in with kicks
Jump in pool unassisted
Kick on back with assistance
Introduction to "Big Arms"
Level 3 - Green
Freestyle arms (fingers together)
Freestyle arms with kicks
Correct breathing (bad air out in water)
Swim 8 feet to wall without assistance
Level 4 - Blue
Kick on back unassisted
Backstroke kick (arms at side)
Backstroke arms
Correct backstroke 1/2-length of pool
Level 5 - Purple
Kneeling dive
Breaststroke arms
Breaststroke kick
Butterfly kick
Butterfly arms
Level 6 - Stroke Mechanics Silver
Prerequisite: Levels 4 & 5 or equiv.
Day 1 - Freestyle / Flip-turns
Day 2 - Backstroke
Day 3 - Breaststroke
Day 4 - Butterfly

Ribbon System : Instead of paper certificates, students who successfully complete the goals of each level will receive a colored ribbon – red, yellow, green, blue, purple, or silver. These are similar to the ribbons earned by swimmers (perhaps the student's older siblings) at a swim meet.

Building-Block Instruction : Each lesson level builds on the previous levels. The goal of our swim program is to produce sound, safe, confident swimmers. If a child has trouble mastering a certain level, we may recommend that he or she repeat the level to facilitate the building-block method of teaching.

Safety : All Raccoon Valley swim instructors are certified lifeguards whose duty is not only to teach swimming fundamentals effectively, but also to ensure and promote the safety of children at all times.