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Parent Guide to FACE-UP FIRST® Swimming at B-T
Aquatics
 THE
LESSON Arrive a few minutes early for
your scheduled lesson. Everything goes smoother when children
don't feel rushed. Children should be dressed ready to swim
and sitting in the pool level hallway when the coach comes out to
get them at the beginning of the lesson. (Be sure to visit the
restroom and/or put on a swim diaper before the lesson.)
Swimmers should bring their caps and
goggles (if they are wearing their own) and their towels.
Sailors and Mates towels are placed on a warmer during the lesson.
As soon as you hand off your child to the coach, you should go to
the spectator gallery so you can enjoy the action.
While you are in the spectator gallery,
you may cheer every time your child does something correctly.
Do not cheer misbehavior. Your child looks to you to learn
what is acceptable. Don't cheer every movement... recognize
when your child is following directions well.
Some parents stay in the lower pool
hallway during lessons and do not watch. (It's 20 degrees
cooler in that hallway than in the spectator gallery. Some
parents read or work on PDA or chat during the entire lesson, paying
very little attention to what is going on in the pool. Some
parents hide and watch. Some parents do what we call "hiding
in plain sight." They feign reading or chatting while keeping
an eye on the lesson and occasionally responding with a cheer or a
wave. This behavior sends the message to a child that the
parent is not in the least concerned about what is happing during
the lesson so the child need not be concerned. I prefer
parents to hide in plain sight rather than actually hide, but I
trust parents to act in a manner they know will best support their
child.
Fellow parents are your best resource.
If you have questions or concerns, please ask the other parents in
the gallery. Many of our swimming families have been with us
for years! They are happy to help.
Splashing is part of swimming.
Parents often yell over the balcony railing to tell their children
to stop splashing. While the coaches appreciate the help,
splashing is something that kids have to learn about and regulate.
Swimming is a splashy, splashy sport. Splashing can be lots of
fun. Now, if you witness your child being deliberately mean to
another child, feel free to call down for them to stop. For
the most part, it's ok to let the coach handle the discipline during
the lesson. Time outs are used frequently by our coaches to
discourage disruptive behavior or to give an uncooperative child a
needed break.
All of our swimmers are taught using the
philosophy of FIRST THINGS FIRST. The first thing we teach is
proper head position, then proper body position, then propulsive
movements of the arms and legs, and, finally, refinement of hand and
feet movement.
Until a child has attained a relaxed,
balanced, floating position, very little attention will be paid to
any arm or leg movement. The swimmers may be asked to move
their arms, but it's really just something to distract them while
the coach is working on head and body position. It may seem
like your child is doing the same thing again and again and again...
they are! Watch for independent relaxed floating. After
that occurs, the strokes really start.
During the lesson, watch for the potty dance. If your
child needs to use the restroom during a lesson, you can meet them
at the pool entrance door. Because swimmers sometimes use a
bathroom break to avoid performing a skill they don't enjoy, often a
coach will ask a swimmer to do just one more turn before going to
the restroom. Usually, once the skill is completed, the
child wants to continue to play instead of getting out to visit the
restroom. Sometimes, especially with new swimmers, the coach
may look up to you to see if you think this may be happening.
You know your child best. It's ok to indicate that you do not
think the child needs to get out right that second. If you can
tell the need is real, communicate that to the coach. We
appreciate your help.
SUPERVISION We will
keep children safe in the water, but B-T Aquatics is NOT
equipped to supervise children before or after swimming lessons.
Parents must be at the pool door when class ends.
 ABOUT
THE POOL Our indoor pool is 6-lanes wide and 25
yards long. We have a 1-meter diving board and an underwater
viewing window. The pool is heated to a wonderfully warm 86
degrees year round. Men's and women's locker rooms and hallway
changing booths are located on the pool level. A spectator
gallery is located above the pool. Parents can see and hear
everything, and the swimmers can see and hear you. Cheer as
much as you want.
The pool is 12.5 feet deep at the diving well end and 4
feet deep at the other end. There are four 4' x 4' teaching
platforms in the shallow end to make it possible for young swimmers
to stand and play during their lessons.
Click for
more information:
SWIM DIAPERS
See what the CDC has to say:
http://www.cdc.gov/print.do?url=http%3A//www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/swim_diapers.htm
Parents, please use the pool responsibly.
We do not want anyone to get sick, and we do not want to close the
pool.
COMPETITION
We host Splash
Meets and
Sea Splash
events every month. Splash meets are open to anyone who can
swim one length of the pool independently. Sea Splashes are
open to those who can pass the
Seven Seas
Endurance test. These meets are not sanctioned. They are
developmental meets, and we follow our own rules to provide an
optimum competitive experience for developmental swimmers.
COMPETE:
Latin
competere,
"strive in common"
from com-
"together" + petere "to strive, seek"
It’s more fun when we do it
together!
We swim for good
times!
SCHEDULE During the school year, we
follow the Brownell-Talbot School schedule as much as possible.
When there are NO-SCHOOL days, we often, but not always have
NO-LESSON days. Please check the dates for your session.
An eight-lesson session does not necessarily mean eight consecutive
weeks. Make it habit to check the B-T Aquatics website
regularly. You won't be surprised by a schedule day off and
you won't miss any of our other fun events!
www.btaquatics.org/btahome.htm
The pool closes when B-T closes for
severe weather conditions. We do not make-up lessons missed
due to B-T "snow" days. We not close or exit the water for
thunderstorms.
MAKE-UP LESSONS We
do not provide make-up practices for short-term illnesses or
conflicts with other activities, and we do not issue refunds.
Occasionally, we must cancel lessons due to mechanical problems or
instructor availability issues. In the event of such
cancellations we offer make-up lessons or credit toward future
sessions. We do not provide make-up lessons for conditions
beyond our control, most notably weather conditions.
Again... we do not offer make-ups or
refunds for lessons missed due to illness or conflicts with other
activities. However, your time slot is yours to use. You
don't have to lose it if your child is ill or if you have a
scheduling conflict. You may switch time slots with a friend
for another day/time or you may send your next door neighbor, a
cousin, or a sibling to use your time slot if you can't make it to a
class. This is yet another advantage of our no-level system!
Anyone attending a Voyager practice must be able to complete 25
yards of crawl stroke and backstroke.
You may not attend a different time slot
to make-up for a missed class without swapping with someone else.
Times that appear "available" on the schedule are available for new
registrations, not for make-up lessons. . Our policy
provides for sending someone else to use your spot so it is not lost
or swapping with another currently registered swimmer.
LOCKER ROOM ETIQUETTE To
be considerate of all patrons, we prefer that children over
the age of four use the appropriate-gender locker room or our
hallway changing booths. Parents, please be considerate of
other users when escorting your young child into an opposite-sex
locker room to use the restroom or shower. The locker rooms
are often crowded, and at no time are appropriate places for
horseplay. Our locker rooms are designed as group shower and
dressing areas. Sometimes patrons prefer to change privately
in the restroom stalls. However, priority for the use of these
stalls must be given to those needing to use the toilets.
Please check your bags before you leave.
Toiletries, hair grooming implements and accessories, and
socks/underwear are treated as trash at the end of the day - not as
Lost & Found items. Lost and found items are disposed of
regularly.
SUBSTITUTES Everyone needs time off, and
everyone should stay home when sick. Some of our coaches are
also parents who must stay home when their children are ill.
B-T Aquatics staff, especially Coach Neal, sometimes attend
aquatics-related activities or events that take them away from our
pool.
Face-Up First® coaches are trained and
our curriculum streamlined to ensure that the same techniques are
used and the same skills are taught by all coaches to minimize
disruption in the event that an instructor is absent.
PARENT VIEWING AREA
Parents are invited and encouraged to watch practices from the
spectator gallery. You can see and hear everything from the
gallery and your children can see and hear you. Cheering is
encouraged! Parents are not allowed on deck except during
Camera Week.
Please adhere to this policy which is
designed to make swimming lessons easier for your child. Do
not come through the pool door during lessons.
Children who are upset or fearful in the
hall usually calm down immediately after coming through the door.
If your child is upset, please do not prolong this process thereby
increasing the length of time he/she is sad, afraid, or angry.
CAMERA WEEK
Parents are typically restricted to the
spectator gallery during lessons. The gallery provides a
spectacular bird's eye view of the Sailors, Mates, and Voyagers.
We know that it's also fun to get a
close-up view. During the final week of each session, parents
are invited to the pool deck to take photos of their swimmers in
action.
We love seeing photos of our swimmers.
Please send us some!
Remove your shoes before coming onto
the pool deck.
SWIM CAPS & GOGGLES
Sailors: Caps
and goggles are optional.
Mates: Caps and
goggles are required for every lesson. We have caps and
goggles that you may borrow to use during lessons, or you may wear
your own.
Voyagers: You
are responsible for bringing your own caps and goggles for every
practice. Caps and goggles are available to purchase in the
pool office. You may wear caps and goggles that you purchase
elsewhere.
A cap keeps a swimmer significantly
warmer during the lesson. (Many triathletes use two caps for warmth
during their swims.) A cap causes water to sheet cleanly off a
swimmer's head. Hair on the head causes water to drip annoyingly
into the face.
Our coaches hold onto the swimmers' heads
during the lessons. It is much easier to hold and position the head
properly when the swimmer is wearing a cap.
Caps keep hair in place and off the face.
You do not need to put all of your long hair into your cap. Just tie
your hair back or braid it and use the cap over the hair on your
head. To our swimmers with buzz cuts: We do not measure swimmers'
hair to determine who wears a cap and who doesn't. Caps serve
several purposes, not just keeping the hair out of your face.
PIRATE PARTIES
YOU'RE INVITED! All currently
registered Sailors, Mates, and Voyagers are invited to our Pirate
Parties.
These parties are an opportunity for
parents to get in the water and swim with their Pirates, Plebes, and
Voyagers to have fun and to practice skills.
Lifeguards will be on duty. Open
Swim rules apply. The parties are restricted to invited guests
- that means Sailors, Mates, and Voyagers from the session in
progress on the date of the party and their immediate families.
Each family in attendance must have at least one adult in the water.
There is no charge for these events.
 FEAR!
MATES: I put this last on the list, because
it should be the least of your worries. Your child may be
afraid to perform a skill, but that doesn't make the skill
either dangerous or hard. It's just swimming
lessons. It's very important that you do not indicate in any
way to your child that there may be a reason for your child to be
afraid at lessons. Danger lies in not learning to swim, not at
swimming lessons. An important life skill that may be learned
at swimming lessons is separating what you feel from what you
do. You may feel afraid, but your arms and legs will
still do what you tell them. Just as children learn not to hit
when they feel angry, they need to learn not to scream,
panic, or fight their coach when they feel fear. The ability
to remain in control in a situation that causes them to feel afraid
is essential to their ability to help themselves in and out of the
water. Do not reinforce their fears, justify misbehavior, or
argue for their limitations. Instead, give them the time they
need to learn to control their bodies, praise effort made in the
face of fear, and reinforce the value of following directions.
A child who hears, "I'm so proud of you!" when they emerge from a
lesson in which they screamed and fought the instructor has every
reason to believe that their behavior was appropriate to the
situation and has no reason to change that behavior. It's
helpful to remind a fearful child that you are watching, the
instructor/coach is trying to help, and that you expect them to
follow directions no matter what they are feeling inside. It's
also nice to acknowledge their feelings by saying, "I'm sorry you
were so unhappy today. I want you to be happy. Swimming
lessons are important and I know you can do it!" Also, we
instructors know full well that children sometimes behave in
opposition to what they are taught. Don't ever worry that we
think any less of child who is afraid or who doesn't like swimming
lessons. We deal with it all the time and continue to care for
and support each and every child.
SAILORS: Babies
are often surprised and distressed at their first lesson. Only
a very few continue to be unhappy after the second lesson.
Even very young babies often acquiesce early in the second lesson as
they realize that they are just repeating the same skill over and
over again. During the first lesson, babies don't know that
this will ever end! For all they know, this is what their
lives have become! The few that continue to be unhappy after
the second lesson are in no danger. The water is warm, the
skill of floating on your back is easy, and the lesson is short.
You can help. Speak to your child with words of praise and
admiration for their work during the lesson. Do not comfort
your child as you might if something bad had happened
to them. Again, nothing bad happened, it's just swimming
lessons!
With all ages, the first step in calming
fearful swimmers is letting them know from the very first lesson
that lessons are not optional.
© 2010 Brownell-Talbot School
btaquatics.org
aquatics@brownell.edu
402.556.1205
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