FUF Teaching Tips #2

Face-Up First Teaching Tips #2 Thanks for watching! Tip 1: "Practice jump & recover inside the pool." We tell children and parents that swimmers should "backfloat every jump." Recover to a backfloat and then swim any stroke. You can begin by jumping from inside the pool before progressing to jumping from the side and then from the diving board. Some tips for practice: Never catch a swimmer. Swimmers should jump into the pool on their own. Once the swimmer is in the water, it often helps to put a hand under their head to help swimmer stablize. Verbal clues should include, "Be still and float," or "Be still and wait for your feet to float up." Remind them to be patient and wait, and you should be patient, too. Don't rush to help. Give the swimmer time to recover to the surface. Finally, talk it through before the jump. "You will jump in facing this way. See. Plop. Like this. Then point your head this direction because that's the way you want to swim. Look up at the ceiling and be still while you wait for you feet to float up. You can do it." Jump & Recover & Take the Plunge Videos Jump & Recover:    • Jump and Recover   Jump!:    • Jump!   You just float:    • You just float   Be still & float:    • Be still and float   TIP #2: "#backfloateveryjump" We use this hashtag on our videos of swimmers jumping in and recovering to a backfloat. Reinforce this behavior. Search for our hashtag on Instagram. Add it to your videos, so we can see what you are doing. TIP #3: "Eyeball caps are great for showing proper head position." We tell swimmers that the coach standing in front of the swimmer shouldn't be able to see the swimmer's goggles. The face should be pointing down with the head in line with the spine during freestyle. With these caps, we have the added fun of pointing the eyeballs at the coach. It was an accidental discovery, it's fun to talk about in lessons, but even more fun to watch on video. TIP #4: "Watch the video during lessons." We take lots of video during lessons and show it to the swimmers. We take video of accomplishments, and also video of swimmers who may be struggleing a bit. We have found that sometimes swimming lessons don't look as scary as they feel. Sometimes watching videos can be very helpful to swimmers in many different circumstances. Waterproof phones make this quick and easy. We swim for good times!® You can too. CONNECT https://www.faceupfirst.com https://www.practicemakeshabit.com   / neal.jeanie   [email protected] My videos are made on my iPhone using iMovie, with my wet, pruney fingers, typically while standing in the pool between lessons. :)