Learning to swim in a splash.

The beginning swimming class at Bergen Community College is designed to teach students the basic skills needed to swim in deep water.

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The first major obstacle that must be overcome is the beginner's fear of water. Our sequence of drills in the front crawl stroke is geared towards developing the students' confidence in moving forward from one step to the next in the order of difficulty.

As the students demonstrate progress, they will develop their comfort zone and continue to improve until they achieve their final goal--utilization of the rhythmic breathing technique in the front crawl.

The drills that follow are taught in four sequential steps with each student working with a partner at the shallow end of an Olympic size pool (3 feet deep).

SEQUENCE 1, GETTING COMFORTABLE IN THE WATER:

1. Face In The Water: Students practice the head pivot and learn to exhale with their face in the water (keeping eyes open). They then inhale through the mouth as they turn their head to either side.

2. Bobbing: By first holding the partner's hand then performing alone, each student submerges under water by doing a deep knee bend and holding their breath for a count of three.

3. Pike and tuck position: By submerging and reaching to touch the feet, the students practice the pike position. This is followed by holding their knees against the chest, which is known as the tuck position.

Both movements give the students an understanding of buoyancy, learning to balance themselves in the water, and how to recover to a standing vertical position.

4. Rhythmic Breathing and Flutter Kick: Using their hands as brackets against the pool wall, the students combine the head pivot with rhythmic breathing by inhaling for 3 counts and exhaling for 3 counts. This is then combined with a 6-beat flutter kick so that they inhale and kick 1-2-3 then exhale (face in the water) and kick 4-5-6.

SEQUENCE 2, MOVE IN THE WATER:

1. Prone Float and Recovery: With partner assistance, the students practice the prone float (face down) horizontal position, and try to recover to a stand-up vertical position. As improvement is made, this skill can be practiced holding onto a kickboard, and finally attempted alone.

2. Train Ride: In a prone position, the beginner is gently pulled through the water by his or her partner, who walks slowly backwards. He/she attempts to do the flutter kick while being pulled. This is then followed by incorporating the rhythmic breathing technique along with the flutter kick.

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3. Prone Glide: By pushing off the wall with either leg, the student learns to glide horizontally thus experiencing how effortlessly their body travels through the water in trying to maintain a torpedo-like position.

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4. Moving With a kickboard: While holding a kickboard with arms extended in a prone position, beginners practice the 6-beat flutter kick together with rhythmic breathing. The achievement of more propulsion allows them to go further and faster than a glide would.

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SEQUENCE 3, ARM STROKES:

1. Standing Single Arm Strokes: As they stand in a straddled leg position, each student practices the correct pull and recovery phase for a single arm stroke. This is followed by the addition of rhythmic breathing. The sequence goes like this: Inhale when the right arm is pulling under water together with a 1-2-3 count, exhale with face in the water with a 4-5-6 count.

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2. Standing Double Arm Stroke: This drill is similar to the previous one, except that the other arm is now used to pull as the first arm is recovering. While the second arm is pulling under water, the swimmer is simultaneously exhaling to the count of 4-5-6.

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3. Walking Double Arm Stroke: By imagining that they are pulling themselves up a rope, the students alternate their arm strokes (in succession) while doing rhythmic breathing. They do a slow walk as they try to maintain their 6-beat rhythm. By advancing forward in this fashion, the beginners discover that a powerful arm pull will cause them to leave their feet--which is the prelude to the front crawl.

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SEQUENCE 4, THE FRONT CRAWL:

1. Kickboard and Single Arm Movement: While holding onto the kickboard with an extended left arm, the student can now focus on actually combining the right arm pull with the head pivot and inhaling. This movement is accompanied with 3 flutter kicks. When the right arm recovers, both hands will be holding the kickboard and the swimmer kicks, while counting 4-5-6. With repeated practice, the student can do this modified front crawl stroke using one arm.

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2. Kickboard and Double Arm Movement: After practicing the previous step, the swimmer advances by incorporating the left arm into the sequence. This means that on count of 4-5-6 instead of the left hand holding the board, the right hand will hold the board while the left arm pulls and the swimmer exhales with the face in the water.

3. Splash Down!: The student is now prepared to attempt the front crawl stroke unassisted by coordinating the head pivot, rhythmic breathing, and alternate arm movements, together with the 6-beat flutter kick. As beginners experience the exhilaration of moving through the water effortlessly, their confidence grows with each practice session. This in turn gives them greater incentive to face the next challenge--which is trying to swim farther and in deeper water.

By Prof. Florio DeGaetano, Wellness/Exercise Science Department Bergen Community College, Paramus, NJ