North Penn YMCA

For Youth Development, For Healthy Living, For Social Responsibility

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Youth Swimming

Whether taking lessons or enjoying open or family swim, your kids stay fit, healthy and strong when they spend time in the water. Swimming also helps them gain confidence and improves coordination while they have a great time.

Group Lesson Descriptions

SWIM STARTERS | 3 MTHS-3 YEARS

Accompanied by a parent, infants and toddlers learn to be comfortable in the water and develop swim readiness skills through fun and confidence-building experiences, while parents learn about water safety, drowning prevention, and the importance of supervision.

LEVEL A | WATER DISCOVERY – This class introduces infants and toddlers to the aquatic environment.

LEVEL B | WATER EXPLORATION – (No prerequisite) This class focuses on exploring body positions, blowing bubbles, and fundamental safety and aquatic skills.

SWIM BASICS | 3-5 YEARS

Students will be taught personal water safety and basic swimming competency with the following benchmark skills:
• Swim, float, swim-sequencing front glide, roll, back float, roll, front glide, and exit
• Jump, push, turn, grab

LEVEL 1

WATER ACCLIMATION – Designed to acclimate the beginning swimmer with no swimming experience to the water and instructional process.

FOCUS SKILLS

  • Blowing bubbles out mouth
  • Back float & front glide assisted
  • Kicking on stomach and back assisted
  • Rolling over in water
  • Jumping in from side of pool on teacher cue with assistance

LEVEL 2

WATER MOVEMENT – For the beginning swimmer – This level builds on the basic skills of Level 1 with the goal of improving the basic skills and safety around the water.

FOCUS SKILLS 

  • Blowing bubbles with face submerged and out nose
  • Back float for a longer period of time with goal of being unassisted
  • Front glide with improving body position and less assistance
  • Kicking on stomach and back improving quality and distance
  • Rolling over in water
  • Beginning to learn to tread water 10 seconds and exit pool
  • Jumping in from side of pool on teacher cue with less assistance and completely submerging

LEVEL 3 

WATER STAMINA – Designed to move the beginning swimmer to more independence in the water applying the basics covered in Levels 1 & 2 but being done without assistance and with better mechanics overall.

FOCUS SKILLS

  • Improving body position and kicks working toward front & back crawls
  • Front glide adding rotational breathing
  • Kicking on stomach and back assisted
  • Jumping in deeper water on teacher cue and submerging
  • Treading water for 1 minute and exiting pool

SWIM STROKES | 3-5 YEARS/6-12 YEARS

Having mastered the fundamentals, students will be taught additional water safety skills and build stroke technique, developing skills that prevent chronic disease, increase social-emotional and cognitive well-being, and foster a lifetime of physical activity.

LEVEL 4

STROKE INTRODUCTION – Designed to introduce the basic stroke techniques for the front and back crawl (freestyle/backstroke).

FOCUS SKILLS

  • Drills building to being able to swim 15 yds front crawl with rotary breathing
  • Drills building to being able to swim 15 yds backstroke
  • Introduce Breaststroke kick
  • Introduce Butterfly/dolphin kick
  • Diving in from knees on teacher cue in deep water
  • Tread water with quality kick and arms for 1 min and exit pool

LEVEL 5

STROKE DEVELOPMENT – (Approval required for ages 3-5) Designed to start refining freestyle and backstroke and introduce breaststroke and butterfly.

FOCUS SKILLS

  • Endurance, any stroke or combination of strokes for 50 yds
  • Freestyle, bent-arm recovery, 25 yd.
  • Backstroke, 25 yd.
  • Dive, kneeling/standing
  • Resting stroke, sidestroke, 25 yd.
  • Tread water, scissor & whip kick, 2 mins.
  • Beginning Breaststroke, 25 yd.
  • Beginning Butterfly, simultaneous arm action & kick, 15 yd.

LEVEL 6

STROKE MECHANICS – (Approval required for ages 3-5) This level further refines stroke technique on all major competitive strokes and begins to teach flip turns as well as expecting students to swim longer distances.

FOCUS SKILLS

  • Endurance, any stroke or combination of strokes, 150 yd.
  • Front crawl, 50 yds and begin working on flip turn
  • Backstroke 50 yds & begin working on flip turn
  • Dive, standing
  • Resting stroke, elementary backstroke or sidestroke, 50 yd.
  • Tread water, retrieve object off bottom, tread 1 min.
  • Breaststroke, with open turn, 50 yd.
  • Butterfly, 25 yd.

Private/Semi Private Lessons

Private or semi private swim lessons are available by the 1/2 hr.  Private lessons are for age 4 & up.  Ages 4 and under need the approval of the aquatic director.

Swim Team

Our swim team gives children of all athletic abilities the opportunity to build self-esteem and healthy bodies with wholesome fun of a rewarding team sport.  The team competes in the Penn-Del Swim league, an association of the YMCA teams in Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware. The Gators swim team is open to children ages 5-19 and runs at our Lansdale Area Family YMCA.