SIDNEY — For more than 160 years, the YMCA has nurtured potential and united communities across America to create lasting, meaningful change. Everything the Y does is in service of building a better person. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is to teach youth, teens and adults to swim, so they can stay safe around water and learn the skills they need to make swimming a lifelong pursuit for staying healthy.
Y swim instructors, which includes those at the Sidney-Shelby County YMCA, are nationally certified. Their training includes CPR, AED, First Aid and Oxygen Administration. Swim lessons provide important life skills that could save a life and will benefit students for a lifetime. After years of research and surveys, the Y has recently restructured how they teach swim lessons. Y-USA believes this a preventative way to inform children of safety skills to prevent drownings.
The new teaching structure is as follows:
Swim basics for preschool, school age, teen and adult
Students learn personal water safety and achieve basic swimming competency by learning two benchmark skills: swim, float, swim—sequencing front glide, roll, back float, roll, front glide, and exit—and jump, push, turn, grab.
In Water Acclimation, Water Movement, and Water Stamina, students are taught the recommended skills for all to have around water including safe water habits, underwater exploration, and how to swim to safety and exit in the event of falling into a body of water. Activities, games, and drills, geared to reinforce learning, are utilized heavily as students progress in this skill-based approach to swimming.
Swim Strokes for preschool, school age, teen and adult
Having mastered the fundamentals, students learn 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.
In Stroke Introduction, Stroke Development and Stroke Mechanics, swimmers are introduced to the four competitive swimming strokes as well as rescue skills and healthy lifestyle habits.
Specialty classes and programs
Swimmers who love the water and want further instruction for future aquatics activities enjoy participating in our Specialty Programs focused on leadership, competition, and recreation. We continually develop our specialty program curriculum.
The Sidney-Shelby County YMCA offers swim lessons on a monthly basis. For a complete schedule, call the Y at 492-9134 or visit www.sidney-ymca.org. Questions may be directed to Jessica Elliott, Aquatics and Youth Coordinator at [email protected].
