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 |
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| 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.
