Harvest, Huntsville, Madison, Madison County Record, Monrovia, News, Sports, Unincorporated Madison County
YMCA offers swim lessons in January
Swim classes will start on Jan. 7 at Hogan Family YMCA in Madison and Southeast Family YMCA in Huntsville. CONTRIBUTED/Heart of the Valley YMCA
MADISON – Learning to swim is a milestone skill that children learn as they grow. Locations of Heart of the Valley YMCA can help a child reach this milestone.
Hogan Family YMCA in Madison and Southeast Family YMCA in Huntsville will offer swim lessons in January.
“The YMCA’s history as an authority and innovator in swim education continues with the launch of a new system of teaching to develop this basic life-saving skill in children from infancy through their teen years,” director of communications Mary Anne Swanstrom said.
“Parents and participants will notice a more skill-based model of instruction with a focus on safety and keeping students active,” Rachel Marshall said. Marshall is Aquatics Director at Southeast Family YMCA.
Swim lessons will begin on Jan. 7. YMCA members will receive discounted pricing on lessons. Financial assistance in the form of swim lesson scholarships is available to households who qualify.
The YMCA Swim Lesson curriculum is organized into three general categories: Swim Starters, Swim Basics and Swim Strokes.
Swim Starters are infants and toddlers who are accompanied by a parent. They learn to be comfortable in the water and develop swim readiness skills through fun and confidence-building experiences. Parents learn about water safety, drowning prevention and supervision.
In Swim Basics, students learn personal water safety and achieve basic swimming competency.
In Swim Strokes, students have mastered the fundamentals and continue to build stroke technique and fitness, developing lifetime skills that prevent chronic disease and increase well being.
After students have progressed through the stages in all three categories, they can follow three different pathways:
* Competition — For students who want to swim competitively, the Y provides swim team opportunities.
* Leadership — For students who want to become a lifeguard or otherwise use swimming skills in their professional career.
* Recreation — For students who want to make swimming a part of a healthy lifestyle and a way of getting the recommended amount of physical activity each day.
* Leadership — For students who want to become a lifeguard or otherwise use swimming skills in their professional career.
* Recreation — For students who want to make swimming a part of a healthy lifestyle and a way of getting the recommended amount of physical activity each day.
For more information, call Southeast Family YMCA at 256-883-9622 or Hogan Family YMCA at 256-705-9622 or visit ymcahuntsville.org/SWIM.
