Anonymous wrote:
Let's assume 6 lessons, 1 hour each.

Lesson One: Freestyle, starts(dives), flip-turns

Lesson Two: Backstroke, starts(how long to stay underwater w/ dolphin kicks); flip-turns(stroke count), underwater finishes.

Lesson Three: Breaststroke, starts(pull-outs), turns.

Lesson Four: Fly, starts, turns.

Lesson Five: Review

Lesson Six: Review

Thank you so much! This is great and gives me a starting point for the coach.

The backstroke ideas were things I didn’t think about but make backstroke so much more enjoyable when swimming it for fitness. I hadn’t thought about turns for fly or breast, either.

Let's assume 6 lessons, 1 hour each.

Lesson One: Freestyle, starts(dives), flip-turns

Lesson Two: Backstroke, starts(how long to stay underwater w/ dolphin kicks); flip-turns(stroke count), underwater finishes.

Lesson Three: Breaststroke, starts(pull-outs), turns.

Lesson Four: Fly, starts, turns.

Lesson Five: Review

Lesson Six: Review

Anonymous wrote:This seems like a waste. Your kid knows how to swim - that is the goal. They don't want to do swim team anymore so why would you waste your time and money on private swim lessons. This sounds like a you issue struggling with the fact that they're done with swim team. Let it go.

My kid was actually the one who brought it up. She hangs out at the pool with a lot of swim team kids (both club and summer) and doesn’t want to get left behind. Socially but also literally. And of all the things for her to want to waste her time and my money on, I’d much rather she do it on swim lessons than watching tv and buying stuff like bubble tea and jellycats.

This seems like a waste. Your kid knows how to swim - that is the goal. They don't want to do swim team anymore so why would you waste your time and money on private swim lessons. This sounds like a you issue struggling with the fact that they're done with swim team. Let it go.

It might be a good idea to work on her being okay with "looking tragic" doing something she isn't amazing at. And maybe that's something you need to work on too.

You said what your goals are -- what are her goals?

After these 6 lessons with her coach, then what are your plans for her?

She’s kind of old to be just learning these things now, especially if she did swim team for 3 years. Why didn’t she learn before?

Anonymous wrote:I think unless they are small issues, it is unlikely your kid will do a few lessons by August and 9-10 months out of the pool without practice, she can pop back in at the same level. These do not sound like small issues.

Or, moreover show up at the pool 10 years from now to show up those ‘triathlon dads’. Geez.

I think unless they are small issues, it is unlikely your kid will do a few lessons by August and 9-10 months out of the pool without practice, she can pop back in at the same level. These do not sound like small issues.

If the goal is to look decent as an adult during rec swim then just work on freestyle. Unless she will be going to the pool to practice during the rest of the year, I'm not sure how much she will remember from these lessons.

I would ask the coach to evaluate each of your DD’s strokes. Go from there.

Ask this question to the coach that will coach your kid, not a bunch of people that have never seen your kid swim.

My 10 year old did 3 years of swim team in 8 & unders and then decided she’s more of a diver. She has a decent freestyle, a kind of passable breaststroke, but no flip turns or pullouts and I couldn’t tell you what her back and fly look like. She’s a strong swimmer and does open water races but she doesn’t do pool workouts.

We were lucky to get time on the schedule of everyone's favor swim team coach at our summer club and DD is going to do 6-8 lessons with her before the coach goes back to college.

My goal is to get DD to the point that she could easily pop back into summer swim team if she wanted to and/or do lap swimming for fun without looking tragic or not knowing what to do.

Swim team parents, do you have a list of 3-5 things she could work on that would make swim team or lap swimming painless?

I don’t remember the trajectory of what I learned and at what age. I’ve always been a swimmer and do masters now and my goal is for DD to not show up at a pool in 10 years looking like one of those triathlon dads and floundering down the lane.