Swimming with your Chin!!

I have learnt quite a lot in the last few weeks just from being at the side of the pool and watching the coaches in action with the children.

One said to the children "Do you know how to swim with your chin?" I looked puzzled as did they.

It was soon explained that they were not to use their hands or legs but to swim just moving their chin down to their chest and up again. The further the chin goes down the better the body position. This enables butterfly to be far easier to learn and is a fun way for children to learn this stroke.

On watching the children do two lengths swimming with their chins it soon became apparent why the coach had used this method.

When doing the poolside helpers course I also discovered that children will do exactly what you tell them. For a coach to demonstrate a leg kick there are several ways of doing this. One is to stand on one leg and demonstrate the leg movement BEWARE children will take this literally of using one leg only when going up and down the pool.

Another way is to sit on a piece of apparatus and demonstrate with both legs so that the children understand exactly what they are meant to be doing.

Or as one coach demonstrates using both his arms as legs to show the stroke.

The main pieces of kit for the children in lane swimming are goggles, floats and pull buoys. Some of the coaches use fins which can be separate but for fly kick they use a set which are joined together like a mermaid. This is called a training fin.

With butterfly the kick comes from the hip not the knees and these fins help the pupil understand the technique.

If a game of water polo is to be played GOGGLES ARE NOT TO BE WORN. The reason for this is the ball could hit the goggles and cause some damage to the eyes.

For lane swimming goggles are useful as the swimmers are underwater and these protect the eyes from the chlorine.

The main thing I have learnt is that the lessons should be fun at all times so that the children enjoy the activity.

Lets hope I enjoy the rest of this journey.

Best wishes
Fee