The Water's Great! The Water's Fine! ... etc.

When tinkering around with this blog, I knew I wanted to talk about Age Group swimming and how big a role it can play in the development of quality athletes and athleticism as a whole in our youth. I just wasn't sure how or what exactly I was going to write about.

The "issue" is when you start to talk about children you either come across as too enthusiastic or too critical. How do you find that balance? And where do you put your emphasis? Especially with such a technical sport. This section is going to be more of an editorial on the sport compared to the other 4 days.

When looking at the importance of swimming and water safety in general, acclimation to the environment is paramount. "More than one in four fatal drowning victims are children 14 and younger.¹ For every child who dies from drowning, another four received emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries." (www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars) Most Age Group swimmers are considered 12 y/o's and younger. It goes without saying that teaching proper water safety, both open and pool, as well as enforcing strong stroke mechanics to help them when they do end up in over their head.

If you're unsure of where you need to go for quality swim lessons, you can always check out your local Red Cross chapter or what I might recommend is inquire with a local club swim team, and see if they have a stroke school program. Your children can always attend swim lessons for the water safety aspect, but club team stroke schools have a tendency to establish better habits technically speaking.

Fast Swims!!!
Flash