Off-Season Swimming Lessons: Refresh Those Skills!

We’ve discussed swimming lessons and closing your pool in the off-season in the past, but what about off-season swimming lessons? That’s right, even though the pool is closed, it’s always a good time to sharpen your skills. In today’s blog, let’s take a look at the value of refreshing your water safety knowledge during the colder months. After all, when it comes to children, drownings are on the rise.

Off-Season Swimming Lessons: Keep Fit All Year Long

Obviously, swimming can be great exercise. In fact, we’ve written about the health benefits of swimming before. Of course, even though the weather is chilly, that doesn’t mean that its time to get out of the water. Off-season swimming lessons may be just what the doctor ordered! Keeping up with swimming education keeps kids active and fit. It also encourages water safety!

If you live in a warmer climate, it’s a perfect time to start lessons. In more mild temperatures, this is a perfect time to join the swim team or find an indoor pool. This can help you and your family to keep your skills sharp and your bodies out of harm’s way.

Off-Season Swimming Lessons?

Swimming lessons are always in season. For anyone looking to stay safe in the water, we recommend both professional off-season swimming lessons and lessons during the summer months. While we always recommend that you bring your children for professional lessons, you can also take a swimming course yourself. After all, it’s never too late to learn or brush up on your skills!

According to the Red Cross, roughly half of Americans cannot swim well enough to save themselves from drowning. Even worse, only four in ten parents of children aged 4-17 report that their child can perform all five basic swimming skills.

These essential water skills include being able to:

• Step or jump into the water over your head;
• Return to the surface, float or tread water for one minute;
• Turn around in a full circle and find an exit;
• Swim 25 yards to this exit;
• Exit from the water. If in a pool, you must be able to exit without relying on a ladder.

Learning to swim and keeping your skills sharp is essential for pool safety. Kids love to get in the water, but it's crucial that they know how to get back out!

Even Babies Can Learn to Swim

While swimming skills are important for both kids and adults, did you know that babies can benefit from lessons too? That's where Infant Swimming Resource, or ISR, comes in. ISR is a swim survival program designed to help children as young as six-months-old.

ISR offers individualized lessons designed to train little ones to survive when submerged in water. The training offers specialized one-on-one attention for all students. To learn more, check out our full article about Infant Swimming Resource.

That’s about it! No matter your age, before you hop into the water, think responsibly! Take off-season swimming lessons to keep the basics of water safety top-of-mind.