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Hi! I'm Mark, creator of Swim Teach

Why is Teaching Adults How To Swim Different To Teaching Children?

Published about 1 year ago • 1 min read

Teaching adults to swim is very different from teaching children. Whilst some of the methods are similar, the approach is completely different.

Hi, Mark here. I hope all is well with you.

This week, I am talking about adults learning to swim and how a swimming teacher can adjust their teaching style to suit, as the approach to teaching adults is different to teaching children. There is also a link to my book dedicated to Teaching Adults How To Swim.

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Adults will arrive at the poolside in all shapes and sizes and with different confidence levels. However, one thing that they will all have in common is that they will all appreciate a relaxed and informal approach to being taught to swim.

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Breaststroke is the perfect swimming stroke to teach adults because of its wide arm and leg movements that help build a sense of balance. It can also be performed with the face-up and eyes looking forward, giving the pupil a sense of security and balance. However, teaching adults to swim all strokes brings some barriers and limitations. These include:

  • Lack of Coordination
  • Lack of Flexibility
  • Lack of Fitness

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Add together all of these common limitations, and you have what most swimming teachers experience when teaching adults to swim - very slow progress. Slow progress in adults learning to swim is normal and should not be looked upon negatively.

​For more details on each of these limitations and what they mean to the approach to teaching and learning, click here. ​
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As a swimming teacher, you can do a few things to help:

  • Be calm, relaxed and informal in your teaching style. This will help to relax your adult and keep them at ease.
  • Adjust your expectations accordingly.
  • There are many more. Click here to find out. ​

Teaching Adults How To Swim - Everything You Need To Know.

Unlock the art of adult swimming instruction with 'Teaching Adults How to Swim.'

This indispensable guide will make you rethink your approach to adult swimming lessons. It will equip you with effective strategies, tried-and-true lesson plans, and practical exercises to help your adult learners overcome their unique challenges.

Click the cover image to preview the book, or click here or the button below to go to the download page.

Do you know a new swimming teacher learning how to teach who might benefit from this? Please forward this email to them or share the link. It could boost someone's teaching practice and really help them out.

That's it for this week. Take care and stay safe.

Happy swimming!

Cheers

Mark

​Swim Teach​

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Hi! I'm Mark, creator of Swim Teach

I've been teaching swimming for over 30 years and I built Swim Teach so that I can share all my knowledge, wisdom and experience from the thousands of swimming lessons I have had the pleasure of teaching. Take a look back through my previous newsletters and see what you missed.

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