Tips for Teaching Swim Lessons: 12 Things That Make the Biggest Difference

By Mark Young

If your lessons feel like hard work, or a swimmer still isn't getting it after the third explanation, you're not doing anything wrong. It happens to every swimming teacher, me included. The good news is that most of the fixes are small things you can change in your very next lesson.

These are the tips I come back to again and again after more than 30 years on poolside. Some will feel obvious. Keep in mind that the obvious ones are usually the ones we stop doing when we're tired, busy or teaching our fifth class of the evening.

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1. Know who's in front of you

Before you plan a single drill, think about who you're actually teaching. A nervous six-year-old, a confident ten-year-old and an adult who had a bad experience as a child all need very different lessons, even if they're working on the same skill.

With children, age makes a big difference to how long they can listen and how much they can take in. With adults, it's usually their past that matters. Many adults I teach have one frightening memory of water, and until you know about it, you're teaching with one hand tied behind your back. So ask. A quick chat before they get in tells you more than ten minutes of watching. 

2. Give every lesson the same shape

The main thing that separates a calm lesson from a chaotic one is structure. I plan every lesson in the same order: entry, warm up, main theme, contrasting activity, exit.

Swimmers settle quicker when they know what's coming, and you never stand on poolside wondering what to do next. The contrasting activity is the part teachers most often drop when time runs short (it's also the part swimmers often enjoy most), so try to protect it. It's the perfect place to practise breath control, or to pre-teach a skill that's coming up next week.

If you want to see how the timings work in practice, have a look at my 30-minute swim lesson plan.

3. Stand where you can see everyone

It sounds basic, but where you stand decides how safe your class is and how much you actually see. Stand where every swimmer is in view, and where they can see and hear you. Keep scanning the whole group every few seconds, even when you're helping one swimmer.

One of the most common things I see with newer teachers is standing at the end of the lane, watching swimmers swim away from them. You end up looking at a row of feet. Walk alongside instead, or stand to the side about a third of the way down the pool, so you can see body position, arms and breathing as they come towards you.

4. Show it, say one thing, then let them try

Swimmers learn by doing, not by listening to us. A good rule of thumb is to demonstrate, give one short teaching point and get them moving, all in under a minute.

If you give three teaching points at once, most swimmers remember the last one. Some remember none. So pick the one thing that will make the biggest difference right now, say it in as few words as you can, and save the rest for next time. "Long legs" beats a two-minute talk on where the kick should come from.

5. Keep them moving

A swimmer standing in a queue isn't learning, and they're probably getting cold. Send swimmers in waves, small groups going one after the other, so everyone gets more turns and you can still watch each one properly.

A quick check: count how many minutes each swimmer actually spends swimming in your lesson. If it's less than half the lesson, there's usually a way to organise the group better. Think about shorter widths, starting the next wave sooner, or giving the waiting group something to practise while they wait.

6. If it doesn't click, change the words, not the volume

When a swimmer doesn't get it, it is very common to say the same thing again, just louder and slower. I've done it more times than I'd like to admit. It rarely works.

Every swimmer hears things differently. "Kick from your hips" means nothing to one child, but "kick like you're kicking off your flip-flops" clicks straight away. Some swimmers need a direct instruction, some need a picture in their head, and some need to feel what's happening. If your first explanation doesn't work, try a different kind of explanation, not the same one again.

There are plenty of examples in my poolside communication phrases for swimming teachers.

7. Turn it into a game

With children, games are gold. A child who won't put their face in for "blow bubbles" will happily do it to find a sinking toy or to "make the water boil". They're so busy playing they forget to be worried.

So many times over the years, I've completely changed a child's attitude to a skill just by turning it into a game. They engage, they join in, and they make progress. If you need some ideas, try these swimming lesson games for beginners.

8. Slow down for nervous swimmers

Patience is your most important tool, especially with adults. Adults often take longer to relax in the water, and they're far more aware of being watched. Give them time to get used to the pool, the temperature and the feel of the water before you ask for anything else.

Never move a nervous swimmer on until they're comfortable where they are. If they tense up, go back a step. That isn't going backwards; it's how trust is built. There's more on this in my guide to teaching adults to swim, and in teaching swimming lessons to beginners.

9. Progress, but don't push

Go back over a drill, tidy it up and embed it. That's still progress. But don't let swimmers sit on the same exercise for weeks either. Try to give them something new to aim for every few sessions, even if it's small.

As swimmers grow in confidence, they love a challenge: a longer distance, deeper water, a new stroke, a race. The trick is timing. Push too early and you lose their confidence; leave it too late and you lose their interest.

10. Give feedback they can use

"Well done" is lovely, but it doesn't tell a swimmer what to keep doing. Try "great, your legs were much straighter that time" instead. Specific praise tells them exactly what worked, so they're more likely to do it again.

Keep corrections to one at a time, and make them about what to do, not what went wrong. "Keep your chin on your chest" works better than "you lifted your head again". And notice the effort as well as the result, especially with swimmers who find it hard.

11. Vary the equipment and the drills

It's easy to get stuck using the same float for the same drill every week. Swap a float for a noodle, add fins to a kick drill, or combine two drills into one. A change of equipment often makes a swimmer notice a skill in a new way, and it keeps the lesson feeling fresh for you too.

Remember that noodles, floats and pull buoys aren't just for beginners. Used well, they let you isolate one part of a stroke for swimmers at any level. For more on this, see my swimming teaching techniques.

12. Win the parents over

Teaching swimming isn't only about the swimmers in the water. It's also about the adults on the side. A parent who understands what you're working on is your best ally; a parent who doesn't can be a real distraction, especially if they start coaching from the poolside.

A quick word at the end of the lesson ("today we worked on floating on the back, so a bit of practice in the bath helps") goes a long way. For more, read my guide to managing parents during swimming lessons.

Common questions about teaching swim lessons

How do I make swimming lessons more fun?
Turn drills into games, use toys and different equipment, keep everyone moving, and finish with something they enjoy. Fun lessons aren't less productive; swimmers who are enjoying themselves try harder.

How do I teach a swimmer who is scared of the water?
Go slower than you think you need to, stay close and let them set the pace. Teach them to stand up from floating early, because knowing they can get their feet down is what lets them relax.

What should a 30-minute swim lesson include?
An entry, a short warm-up, a main theme of around 15 to 20 minutes, a contrasting activity of 5 or 6 minutes, and a safe exit.

How do I keep a mixed-ability group busy?
Give the same activity at different levels, with or without equipment or over different distances, and send swimmers in waves so nobody waits long.

For your next lesson

Don't try to change everything at once. For now, pick two things: count how long your swimmers spend actually swimming, and the next time a swimmer doesn't understand, try a completely different way of saying it.

You'll be surprised how much difference those two small changes make. Keep going. The fact that you're reading a page like this says you care about getting it right, and that's half the battle.

The Definitive Guide To Teaching Outstanding Swimming Lessons.

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