The SLWM Safety to Stroke™ Method

Our Curriculum

Step 1: Safety

Our #1 priority for all of our clients is water safety and acclimation. We want to ensure that our students master this first before moving on to more advanced stroke work.

Step 2: Strokes

Once our students are comfortable and water safe, we then work on correct stroke and technique to ensure that you can continue in your swim journey whatever your goals may be - fun, exercise, swim team or even scuba diving.

Our Milestones

Safety

Water Acclimation and Eyes in the Pool

Breath Control

Kicking and Body Position

Streamlines

Safe Submersion

Floats and Rolls

Safe Entry and Exit

Independence

Beginner Backstroke and Freestyle

and more!

Strokes

Advanced Stroke and Technique

Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle

Competition Prep

Flip Turns

Bilateral Breathing

Treading Water

Endurance

and more!

Timeline

Like learning anything, learning to swim is a process that takes a lot of practice. Each of our students have different learning styles, paces, fears, ages, sizes, independence levels and skill levels. We often get asked about a typical timeline for progression, but each of these can factor into the pace that our students accomplish each milestone.

In general, we see water acclimation and basic safety skills be accomplished in the first 8 - 12 weeks. Every student is different, so some will progress more quickly or more slowly. Our instructors will work with you to set goals during your first lesson, learn about your swimmer’s motivations and learning style (do they need to be pushed or need a gentler approach), and help to set expectations and give you ways to practice at home for supplementary learning.

Learning to swim is a lifelong sport and life-saving skill. We’ve worked with thousands of students, helping them to progress through the milestones of safety to strokes, but also learn to love the water and grow into fish along the way. We are excited to be a part of your swim journey and love to watch our students grow in their skills and confidence.

Our Mission

Bring you peace of mind and confidence in your swimmer’s ability and lifelong safety.

Provide an exceptional swim lesson experience - an environment that is fun, efficient and convenient.

Fun: Our instructors are bubbly and make swimming fun!   They travel with kick boards, noodles and water toys. They might even have music and underwater videos up their sleeves too - anything to ensure your child is excited to swim and has a great experience in the pool.

Efficient: Our lessons are private. 1-1 instruction time ensures that the swimmer is getting 30 minutes of full attention each week. Each lesson is tailored to the swimmer’s individual skill level and fear level.  Our instructors know that this is the quickest way for your kiddo to learn how to swim and will be creative in overcoming fears and other barriers that may be present.

Convenient: We travel to you - Swim Lessons with Mary comes to your home or neighborhood pool.  For travel lessons, we work to schedule lessons around your agenda and will stick to the same time each week for consistency. For indoor lessons, we offer a pool for our clients that want lessons year round, and for our clients that might not have a pool of their own and allow you to sign up for a time that works best with your schedule.

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