What's a good age to begin swim lessons?

I'm asked this question often, and while there's not an absolute answer (it's never too late to begin learning how to swim) I encourage parents to enroll their child in a small group swim program around the time they are two and a half years old. Kids' brains at this age are amazing; they soak up new information so impressively and can really show the quickest advancements when their brains are at this stage.

Between the ages of birth and 5 years, children's neurological systems are growing rapidly. Their neurons are building information "connectors" called synapses. These synapses are pathways that transport loads of information, the most relevant to this discussion is the information that tells the body how to respond in new environments. In the water our bodies experience buoyancy, which is a unique environment to us that changes the way our bodies move and how we propel ourselves. Children or adults who have not formed the synapses that interpret buoyancy during the developmental stages of their brains will have a more difficult time learning how to swim. This is why lessons at an early age are most important; we want our children to have all the best tools available to them, especially the strongest neural pathways possible.

The movements used in swimming are so distinctly different from other movements we use in everyday life. For effective propulsion in water we use a pointed-toe, mostly-straight leg kick. When we walk, run, ride a bike, climb stairs, or kick a ball we flex out feet and bend our knees. Children who have learned the foundations of swimming have developed the information pathways in their brains that are important for being an effective swimmer.

I recommend the early age of two and a half because at this age, most children have developed the vocabulary needed to understand instructions from their instructors but haven't begun to form a strong fear of the water. Many children in the later stages of neural development who haven't been exposed to a swimming setting (water depths above their head, water in their faces, lying in a face-up floating position) regularly can often adopt an intense fear of water, which makes learning to swim more difficult.

Another benefit to learning to swim at the age of two and a half is that children this age have begun to master many of the gross motor skills needed to appropriately propel themselves the length of a pool. Also, the younger that a child learns to swim, the sooner the added layer of protection against drowning is put into place. Children at this age are curious and large bodies of water offer a great source of intrigue. Children in a good swim lesson program will have learned effective life saving techniques and should be aware of their limits in deep water. While no child can ever be considered drown-proofed, enrollment into a well-researched strong swim lesson program can add an additional tool to potentially saving your child's life.

One final thought: Mommy and Me style swim lessons for infants are wonderful. Effective programs will introduce life-saving skills and teach important aspects of swimming such as breath control, managing water in the face, learning to float and become comfortable in a face-up floating position. Fun programs will offer a great bonding experience for parents and children, include socialization with other children, and will also be educational and teach the parents how to interact with their babies in the water for the most beneficial experience.

Goggles

I tell parents before lessons start that I prefer that their children not bring goggles to class. For most kids, this is a non-issue, but for some, you would think I was telling them I was taking away their most prized possession. The goggle issue can be a sticky one, but once I explain my reasoning to parents, they usually understand and leave me to do the negotiating with the child.

Before I get started with my reasoning, let me preface this by saying that I am talking about children who are not strong swimmers. Lap swimmers can use goggles without a problem. The children I am talking about are in the earlier stages of learning how to swim and won't actually have their faces in the water long enough to necessitate goggle use. In a 30 minute lesson a non-swimmer will be under water for less than 10 minutes. This isn't long enough for even children with chlorine sensitivities to feel a real impact. Also, a well balanced pool (saline or chlorine) should not be painful on the eyes. We could go into pH balance versus free and available chlorine and their corneal impact, but that's not really the intention of this post.

The first reason I dislike goggles in swim class is the amount of time they drain from the lesson. Smaller children aren't able to put their goggles on (or keep them on) correctly. As the teacher, I can end up spending up to 8 minutes (that's 25%!!) of class time adjusting, repositioning, draining, and fixing goggles. Another 2 - 5 minutes can be spent on the child worrying about whether his goggles are on correctly, if they are leaking, and deciding if he wants to wear them or take them off. That's over a third of the class time stolen by a small piece of plastic and rubber.

The second and more important reason I dislike goggles for non-swimmers is the crippling effect they can have on children. Picture, if you will, Dumbo and his feather. That little elephant with big ears sure was cute, but he firmly believed that he couldn't fly without his feather. I have taught too many children who insisted on wearing goggles during lessons because they believed they could not swim without them. Many of those kids swam great with goggles on, but when they would fall into a pool without goggles, they would not be able to swim to the side to save themselves.

The most important aspect of swim lessons is the life-saving skill that children learn. Living in Texas, we have so many bodies of water around us: lakes, ponds, bayous, the ocean, and countless backyard pools. Children fall into these far too often, and most times that happens without goggles on. It is important to me that my students learn to swim without using goggles as a crutch. Once a student can swim the length of the pool without goggles, I will let him use them during lessons. Of course, he has to be able to put them on by himself and leave them on during class. Once they start sucking the time out of class, they are gone again.

Why is TKO the premier choice?

Why Choose TKO? There are a myriad of reasons, including: I have over 12+ years of experience in the industry; I teach roll-over breathing, and have done so since 1999; I am a 3 time recipient of the USSSA's Outstanding Teacher award; I have successfully taught over one thousand swimmers; and I was the most highly requested instructor at my last two swim schools, leaving Sea Star with a 4.89 parent rating (out of 5). Beyond the numbers, however, there are intangibles that make the difference in your child's swim lesson experience. One of those is determining your child's best learning method.

I have spent thousands of hours working with children of all ages from 6 months - to 16 years (and adults, too!) learning the best phrasing, holds, imagery, timing, and techniques that work for each skill level. In all that time, the most valuable thing I have learned is that there is not one right answer. Each child learns differently and responds to different stimuli. I make it my goal to find out which method or combination of methods your child learns best from and I use that to my advantage in swim lessons.

Some children learn a new skill best by experiencing it physically. My best example is 5 year old Brady when he was learning to breathe to the side for freestyle. I could talk till I was blue in the face to Brady. No amount of watching his brother or his other classmates made a difference to him. Once I took his arms in mine and guided his head to the side to feel the correct positioning for the turn, he had that lightbulb "aha" moment. A few more repetitions with me, and Brady was ready to take off on his own, showing off his new found skill. Of course we had a lot of fine tuning to do, but I knew that physically experiencing the feeling of the skill was the best method of learning for Brady.

Nina was a 30 month old student of mine who was a great example of a visual learner. She started out in a Mommy and Me class with me and eventually progressed to a "Big Girl" class without her mom in the water. She was big, boisterous, and always laughing. Her attention span was typical for a two and a half year old, so I broke down each skill for her so she could learn it one piece at a time. Nina didn't respond to me physically putting her into the correct position in a positive way. After all, she was in a "Big Girl" class and wanted to do everything all by herself. I would show Nina the skill I wanted her to accomplish and then she would try it on her own. When we were working on independent floating, I was worried because that is a skill that can be difficult for the little ones without some support. I floated on my back and showed Nina where her chin needed to be to make her float. When it was her turn, as I was holding her, she told me, "Let go, Miss Christy. I can do it just like you." As I let go, she pressed her chin into the air as I had shown her, and sure enough, she floated on her own.

Verbal communication is another common learning technique for many students. 4 year old Ethan was one of my students who excelled best by having skills explained to him in imaginative ways. When he was learning to roll over to his back to float and get a breath, he had a hard time understanding the roll-over concept. We started talking about the way his dad made pancakes and how they needed to be flipped to the other side so they could be cooked. This imagery worked for Ethan, so when he needed to roll over I would tell him to "flip like a pancake." He was excited to "cook" on both sides and within two lessons, he was rolling over on his own.

Most students need a combination of verbal, visual, and physical communication to learn new skills. I utilize all three of these techniques when teaching and when I find which of these (or which combination of these) styles of learning works best for each individual student, I begin to transition into a teaching style that works best for the student. This is intuitive to me, as I believed it would be for most instructors. However, as I trained new teachers at my previous swim school, I realized this is not the case. Unfortunately, in a swim school setting there are many teachers who do best by learning an instruction technique and who stick to the script to fit within the swim school model. Now that I am on my own, teaching independent private lessons, I have the freedom to modify each swim class to work best for each individual student. When you choose TKO you know that the lessons will be tailored to your child's strengths. I have a curriculum filled with skills and milestones I want each child to achieve, but I take the liberty to mold the lesson to the child's best interest and not try to fit them into the standard mold.

Another reason TKO lessons are above par in the industry is that I believe in ensuring that each child is having fun. I have found that a laughing child is a much quicker learner than a bored one. I utilize age specific toys, games, techniques, and even jokes that engage my students, making our lessons more productive. Beyond just being productive, I want swim lessons to be a time your child looks back on fondly. Swimming is a life-long skill that can also be a life-saving one as well: however, learning to swim doesn't have to be a clinical experience. If my philosophy sounds like a good fit for your family, I hope that you will give me a call.

Back in the Saddle

I recently remembered that I started a blog for TKO when I moved to Austin. Busy swim lesson seasons, basketball practices and games, and planning my wedding made me put the blog on the back burner, but I'm ready to fire her back up!

I am adding a new swim lesson format to my lessons this summer. TKO will now be offering 2 Week Intensive lessons for the month of June. These classes will be Monday through Thursday for 2 weeks for a total of 8 lessons. The benefit to an intensive swim lesson session is that with the minimized down-time between lessons, your child will pick up the skills he or she is learning more quickly; the beginning of each lesson your child takes will be a review of the skills he or she accomplished in the previous lesson. With 4 to 7 days between many weekly or bi-weekly lessons, the review can be a slow process. By repeating the process on a daily basis, your child will have more muscle memory recall and accelerate more quickly.

For children who are afraid of the water, the daily immersion is a much quicker way to get past the swimming blues and begin the learning process. Often children who are scared use the days in between lessons to magnify their fears, remembering the scary parts and not thinking about the enjoyable parts. The shorter the amount of time between lessons, the less this happens with the little ones, and the more quickly they adapt to the swim lesson model and get over their fears.

There are two intensive sessions scheduled for this summer. The dates are:

Jun 6 - 16

and

June 20 - 30

These classes will be available every half hour from 9:30am - 1:30pm Monday - Thursday as private lessons.

Many swim schools offer the 2 week intensive lessons as part of their curriculum. I am happy to be introducing these to my repertoire and hopefully extending the number of students I can help achieve swimming milestones this summer. If you are interested in registering for the new intensive lessons, or for at-home private or semi-private lessons, you can check out the pricing on my website: TKO Swim

If intensives go well, there may be additional sessions added after St. Stephen's has their pool replastered in July.

The Conference is Over

Ah! Beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. This is the view off of my balcony. The palm trees swaying in the slight breeze, an average temperature of 80 degrees F, the mountains in the background, and the ... parking lot. Well, if you ignored the cars, it was nice. The rooms on the other side of the hotel faced the pool and the golf course. But... I wasn't there for the hotel room; so on to the good stuff:

This was your typical conference in a hotel: speakers, round table discussions, vendors, networking, and partying in the evenings. But it was a milestone for the USSSA because they had their largest ever attendance of (about)275 conference go-ers. It was exciting to see a lot of familiar faces and to meet some new people. I also got lots of great ideas for the swim school. I can't spill all of my trade secrets :-) but I can share the event topics that I most enjoyed. On Wednesday morning I was invited to the New Member Breakfast (yea!) where I met other owners who just joined the conference. Many of them have been in opperation for a while, but are just joining. Actually, I didn't meet anyone else who was just in the start-up phase. The next thing on the agedna that is of note was the owners forum that afternoon. The topic of discussion was ethics and morals and the struggles of swim school owners in those regards. It was quite interesting, but I probably shouldn't share. :-) Other interesting topics throughout the convention included the panel talk on leased facilities, The Austrailian Swimland swimschool business model, the Swimkids USA speach by Lana Whitehead and Bryan Crane on movement and brain development (I will post a separate blog on that later, it's very interesting), Olympic Gold Medalist Debbie Meyer's talk on strokes and techniques, and my personal favorite, the Round Table discussions on Home Swim Schools.

I also learned a lot through talking to the people I met during the socialization hours. Every night the Embassy Suites had a manager's cocktail reception (read: FREE drinks) on the outside patio which was a popular gathering spot for conference attendees. I had a chance to speak with swim school owners and operators from all over the country each of which had different ways of doing things which gave me a lot to come home and think about. Although this was the most fun part of the convention, the most interesting part was still to come.

On Saturday morning, everyone who signed up for the swimschool tour dragged ourselves down to the busses (the awards banquet had been the night before and celebration went into the wee hours.) There were four stops on the tour: Swimkids USA, Aquatots, Gold Medal Swim School, and Hubbard Family Swim School.

Swimkids is Lana Whitehead's school. With modest signage in the front, one might wonder how much exposure the school gets. However, their position as a leader in motor development secures a top spot in the swim industry for this professional program. They have a definite emphasis on brain development in their curriculum as evidenced by the dance and gymnastics programs included in their school to complement their swimming lessons. The literature available at this school explains the correlation between movement and academic achievement as well as outlining the ways that swimming enhances cognitive, emotional, and motor development is toddlers. A playground area in the middle of the facility further enforces their devotion to keeping kids in motion. Another theme that is carried throughout the facility is the dedication to Blake's Miracle (http://www.blakesmiracle.org/) a foundation established in the name of Blake Whitehead to benefit children suffering from terminal diseases through the research and use of alternative pain therapy.

Swimkids has two teaching pools and an available practice pool. The two teaching pools are in separate enclosures.

Other notable features of the facility are the gym, the podium for students who progress to the next level (there is a medal ceremony for these students), and the retail center.

One last shot of the facility on the way out:

Next we have Aqua-Tots, a mighty swim school franchise. Many of these franchises include a scuba shop in conjuction with the swim school. Scuba divers also use the pool while swim lessons take place. Aqua-Tots, located in the corner unit of a strip center, is very open and bright.

They have one teaching pool divided into stations for each swim or scuba class.


The parent viewing area looks quite cozy with oversized arm chairs and cafe tables. This is an idea I will definitely use when I open my own facility. Another idea I would like to implement is a kids play area. In my new home, I will have space for this in our upstairs waiting room.

The scuba retail portion of the facility was rather large but it was partitioned off from the swim lesson side by a large fish tank.

Although this swim school felt very kid-friendly, I had this strange feeling like I was in a McDonalds. I think I prefer the idea of personalized swim schools that haven't outgrown their britches. For some reason I have attached a stigma to the concept of a franchise. I do realize that there is more money in it for the business owner, but something gets lost in translation to the client. Gold Medal Swim School was my favorite on the tour. It was founded in 1995 by Michael Troy, a double Olympic gold medalist and a former Navy Seal. He later teamed up with Mike Walker, a two time Olympic swim coach, in 2006 to open Gold Medal Swim School in its new location. When you walk into the facility you can see Michael Troy's Gold medals displayed on the wall (VERY cool!) The viewing room is set up for parents to be able to watch lessons while behind a glass wall (typical of most swim schools.) But the cool extra feature that they added is a couple of closed circuit TVs that have information for the week displayed. Anyone who has ever worked in a children's facility knows that there is information that needs to go out to parents(tuition is due next week, closed for holidays, new programs being added, etc) but people have a bad habit of not looking at signs. Because our society has been programmed to watch tv, this may just be a better (and neater) way to grab people's attention. Also, I am not sure if GMSS does this, but I would flash student's pictures on the TVs as well giving the parents even more incentive to watch the TVs.

The structures in the facility (changing room stalls, benches, cubbies, etc.) were made out of styrofoam(!) and then coated with a special substance to make them look like stone. Styrofoam, it seems, has a unique ability to avoid molding, mildewing, and smelling, which makes it a better building material than wood or sheetrock. The coating that was used makes the structures incredibly sturdy and VERY heavy. And on top of all that, I really liked the way they looked. This will serve as my note to self to check with GMSS on their building supplies. They also used colorful shells placed into the styrofoam to create a textured, more inviting look. Even as I look at the pictures I can't believe that's styrofoam!

Inside the pool room, Gold Medal had installed sound baffles cut in the shape of dolphins to keep the noise level down. They purchased these from a music recording supplier and had the shapes cut before shipping. It makes for an asthetic look while serving a purpose. The pool is a standard competition length, 5 lane pool, which in my opinion is a great size for a swim school facility. Anything smaller restricts growth for students capabilities as well as for the facility as a whole. I am also including a picture of the showers. They have an entire wall of showers along one side of the pool deck. I especially loved the color combination of the tiles. (The yellow in the pictures is really more of a lime green - I don't know why it's showing up that way.) My last photo from this location is of the platforms they used. I used platforms at two of my former swim schools and loved them. I am hoping that I can build or find someone to build one or two of these for me.

The last stop on our tour was at the future site of Hubbard Family Swim School. It is currently under construction in a family oriented center. Hubbard's is at the end of a long walk of shops that leads into the movie theatre. It looks like it may be a great location. Other than the outside area pictures, the rest of the facility is pretty much just a hole in the ground right now.

The USSSA Conference was a lot of fun, very informative, and a great way for me to meet other professionals in the same industry. I had a great time and can't wait to return!

USSSA Conference

In a few hours I will be heading to Phoenix, Arizona for the annual United States Swim School Association Conference. Every year these conferences serve as great tools for learning about new swim lesson techniques and buisness ideas. I come away from each one re-invigorated about my profession and ready to hop right in the pool and try out the new things I have learned. I also look forward to meeting with other professionals in my industry and sharing stories and ideas. These relationships prove to be invaluable when I hit a road block and need advice as well as being a great way to meet new people who are interested in the same things as I am: teaching swimming to kids!

My flight leaves at 3:00 this afternoon and I just can't wait to get there. Once I get back, I'll update my blog to let everyone in on some of the trade secrets I have learned. (But not all of them!) You can view the USSSA web site here: http://www.usswimschools.org/

Why Swim Lessons?

If you would have told me 15 years ago that I'd grow up to be a swim instructor, I wouldn't have believed you. I was going to play basketball for the WNBA. I didn't even swim on my high school team. Swim team was during basketball season, and I wasn't going to quit basketball!! But one thing you learn as you grow up, is that things don't always happen the way you thought they would. I was lucky to have the opportunity to work for a swim school right after college as I looked for a REAL job. What I found was that I am a great teacher. I have the ability to find out what learning method works best for each child and build on that in each lesson. Part of what enables that is my ability to gain trust from children easily and by making swim lessons fun while still challenging I am able to get the most out of each student while they learn.

I spent time coaching basketball and water polo after a few years of teaching swim lessons and learned even more about learning styles and found an even greater passion for sports education. I found that older students can comprehend sports and technique and theory in a way that young ones can't. I loved the heart that the girls put into the game and I loved that they were learning about more than just a sport during each season. But I felt like something was missing.

When I returned to teaching swim lessons to younger students, the mother of Kacy,one of my three year old students, came to speak to me after the lesson. She told me that the previous weekend Kacy had fallen into the pool at a friend's house while she was playing outside. The friend's mother had left the girls outside to go answer the phone and hadn't seen Kacy fall into the pool, but Kacy was able to get herself back to the edge and cry out for help. When the mother came running outside Kacy told her that she "got back to the side, just like in swim lessons!" As her mother was telling me the story, her eyes filled with tears. I could tell she was greatful for the avoided accident and for the skills Kacy had gained in swim lessons. That moment was when I realized that what I was doing was more than splashing in the water and teaching breathing techniques. What I was doing was giving a life saving skill to each child that came into my lessons.

Although I get great joy from the fun I have with each student in my classes, knowing that what I am teaching can save lives is what drives me to continue the work that I do. Since that story from Kacy's mother, I have heard many more like it from other parents of my students. Knowing that drowning is the #1 preventable cause of death in children under 6 in Texas, makes me want to continue working to teach life saving techniques to my clients. The added bonuses I get are when I get to watch my student perform in his very first swim meet, or when a student draws a picture of the two of us in the water that I get to put on my fridge. Not everyone in this world gets to do something every day that they love and that they are good at. I am thankful that I have found both of those things in my chosen profession.

Finding HOME

I've been in Austin about a month and a half now and we think we've settled on the perfect location to set up our home and my business. I am quite sure that we have driven our poor realtor absolutely crazy in the search for a home with a pool, enough room to park, easy to get to from major intersections, a fenced-in back yard, a side entrance to the back yard, enough room for all of our stuff(!), and it has to feel like home. She has run all over town for us, and for that, we appreciate you VERY much, Alex Leach!

Our applications and deposit are in, and we are just waiting for the final word before we can move into our new home. It is located in Northwest Hills - West of Mopac, East of 360, South of Spicewood Springs, and North of 2222. I don't want to post the address yet, because it's not final, but the street name even has the word "water" in it! How perfect is that?

Of course, not everything has been perfect. First we had a scare about the neighborhood association not allowing people to run businesses from their homes in the neighborhood, but some quick research on the internet and a few well written emails cleared up that problem. The association members even told me that they were excited to welcome me to the neighborhood and that my services would be a great addition for the residents. But they also informed me that I would have to go through the zoning department of the city. I spent another day researching on the internet and contacting a few of my friendly city officials (one even got my phone number for swim lessons for her grandson!) and I was approved under the Home Occupation provision.

So now that all the hoops have been cleared, it's time to get approved for the lease and move in. The house has an above ground pool with very sturdy decking around the pool. It also has a hot tub directly outside of the master bedroom sliding glass doors - it may not get used at all for swim lessons, but I'm sure I can use it to wind down at the end of a long day! The front of the house does have a side entrance to the backyard which is great for clients to let themselves in if I am still in the water with another student. There is even an upstairs deck where parents can watch the lessons and stay out of sight of the children. (I'll explain why this is a good tactic in another installment.) From the deck, parents can enter the upstairs office to avoid the heat, us the restroom, use the shower for the kiddos after lessons, or serve themselves a cold beverage from the mini-fridge. I will also be adding a television with disney movies on loop to keep siblings entertained while brother or sister swims. I can't wait to decorate it and make it kid-friendly!

The neighborhood we chose is seconds from an elementary school and a middle school. It is also in close proximity to a tutoring facility and a place for music lessons. I think the location is going to be great! Once we get our approval, TKO Swim will have its first home!!

Who Am I?

That's a valid question. Well, I'm Christy Tanner, the owner of TKO Swim in Austin, TX. I have been working in the sports education business since 1999 when I got my first job as a swim instructor at a premiere swim school in the Houston area. After gaining some experience there, I was asked to coach basketball and water polo at my alma mater, St. Agnes Academy, a private high school in Houston. I spent two years coaching there before I began working for another swim school in the River Oaks area of Houston. My four years at that swim school gave me the experience I needed to run a swim school, which I did when I moved into the Aquatics Director position at Sea Star Swimschool (http://www.seastarswimming.com/) The three years I spent running Sea Star prepared me for my next venture, starting my own swim lesson business. I moved to Austin to be with my fiancé and have now started the process of building my company.


Another valid question is "What is TKO Swim?" It is the name of my swim lesson business that I am starting in Austin. My last name is Tanner and my fiancé’s last name is Kargbo-Okorogie hence the T. K. O. I will be offering water adjustment classes and swim lessons to Austin area clientele in my backyard or theirs (I travel!) My classes start for children as young as 6 months and I train up through competition level swimmers who are looking for stroke correction and time reduction. However, my forte is with young children (2.5 - 5 years) who need to learn basic water safety skills and swimming techniques. I teach the roll-over or swim-float-swim method (I'll go into greater detail on this method in a later blog). I will be offering primarily private lessons (as I feel students learn best in a one-on-one environment) but will also offer group lessons to those clients who are interested.

I am excited to begin this blog to keep track of the growing process for TKO, but also as an outlet for safety tips, fun pool ideas, general thoughts on child-rearing and teaching, and anything that I think could be helpful to potential clients. I would love any comments you may have. Thanks for reading!!

TKO Swim is registered with the United States Swim School Association (USSSA)

http://www.usswimschools.org/

Shout out to Kristin Shoffner (soon to be Kristin Tanner) who is working on creating a logo for TKO. The above TKO graphic is from the business cards she is printing for me. Thanks, K!