Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes – Swimming Tips from Steve Wallen Swim School

As you observe your child learning to swim with Steve Wallen Swim School, you will notice that a great deal of our instructors time is spent on moving and adjusting where your childs limbs, head, and body are in relation to the water. Proper body alignment is vital to an effective and technically correct stroke.

Often, proper body alignment is nurtured and practiced in glides and streamlining drills. A significant amount of time is spent on alignment because, without it, it is nearly impossible to master the various swimming strokes fully.

When in the water playing and learning to swim, your child is constantly adjusting their body position in response to their own buoyancy as well as the constant movement of the water. This continuous response to the water takes a great deal of energy, so our expert instructors will focus on how to move the body into a streamlined position and how to maintain this position.

This essential and critical body position will allow further building blocks of swimming skills to be introduced once mastered. Many of the bodys muscles are called into action to master the streamlined glide on the front and back.

As a foundational skill, the streamlined front and back glide is essential for all strokes that your children will learn later. When in this ideal posture, swimming is made much easier because the perfect posture supports the efficiency of the stroke. In contrast, when the body is not in alignment, the stroke becomes much more challenging to perform, and it also requires a great deal more energy. For example, if the head is lifted out of the water during a streamlined back glide, even slightly, the hips and legs will drift downward.

Imagine the body being perfectly horizontal in the water, lying just below the surface. This position allows for the greatest efficiency while swimming. A significant amount of drag is created when the body drifts out of this horizontal position, such as when the head is lifted.

Of course, your children should take at least one to two swimming lessons each week, all year round. You can reinforce what your children are learning at Steve Wallen Swim School at home, in your backyard pool, at the beach, and even in the bathtub. Practicing the front and back streamlined position is easy. Rely on these key tips when practicing:

• On the front and the back, imagine being a pencil, long and straight
• Squeeze the ears closed with the upper arms
• On the front, bring the chin toward the chest and look at the pool bottom
• On the back, gaze at the ceiling while keeping the ears just below the surface
• Control the hips. Keep the chest to the top of the legs engaged and solid

Come visit us at either of the locations in El Dorado Hills and Roseville or give us a call to learn more about how you and your entire family can become swimmers for health, fun, and adventure.