SWIM STRONGER: LEARN THE PATTERNS
In Milestone 1 of 4, Swim Stronger Students Learn the Four Competitive Strokes
Students who reach the Learn the Patterns milestone will:
- Refine their freestyle and backstroke
- Learn how to swim the breaststroke and butterfly
- Work on timing and technique
- Build strength and stamina
The great thing about swimming is that there is always more to learn and room to become stronger. Our Swim Stronger program picks up where our Learn to Swim graduates finish, helping students who already know how to swim improve their abilities.
The first step of swimming stronger is learning the complete patterns of each of the four strokes we teach (freestyle aka front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly). Graduates of our Learn to Swim program have a great foundation and have learned components of the four strokes.
To become a stronger swimmer and swim greater distances faster, the next step is to learn how all the pieces of a stroke come together most efficiently. If a swimmer wants to swim competitively, they must also be using a “legal” stroke, which learning the pattern helps them achieve.
Milestone 1: Learn the Patterns of the Four Competitive Strokes
In the Swim Stronger program, the first milestone is learning these patterns and repeating them often enough that they become second nature. When a student who has reached this milestone swims, they won’t need to count or think about the pattern, it will just come naturally.
Freestyle
We start by teaching this one arm at a time, later adding both arms. The pattern is Scoop (reach far out ahead and scoop the water), Push (draw that hand back and push water behind), and Breathe (inhaling while turning the head with the shoulder as it rotates out of the water and reach for the next scoop).
- One-arm freestyle with pattern and rhythmic breath, 75 feet x 5 laps
Backstroke
Like freestyle, we teach backstroke one arm at a time. The pattern is Paint the Ceiling (a tall reach), Chop (rotating the shoulder and bringing the arm down into the water), and Jumprope (pushing the water back). The names are familiar from earlier levels, but here they all come into sequence. As in freestyle, the stroke is completed with the addition of both arms.
- One-arm backstroke with pattern, no equipment, 75 feet x 5 laps
Breaststroke and Butterfly
The motions are different (dolphin kick for butterfly, and the “whip kick” or “frog kick” for breaststroke, for example), but the patterns we teach are three kicks paired with an arm stroke to get students comfortable with the timing and sequence of the motions.
- Breaststroke with pattern, 60 feet x 5 laps
- Butterfly with pattern, 60 feet x 5 laps
The Swim Stronger Levels
We teach the skills behind the Swim Stronger: Learn the Patterns Milestone in two levels, Middle 5 (for students 5-7 years) and Big 4 (for students 7-10 years). Ask a teacher about moving on to Swim Stronger when you graduate from Learn to Swim, or if you are new to FOSS, consider a Preview Lesson to determine if Swim Stronger is right for your student.
The Swim Stronger Levels
We teach the skills behind the Swim Stronger: Learn the Patterns Milestone in two levels, Middle 5 (for students 5-7 years) and Big 4 (for students 7-10 years). Ask a teacher about moving on to Swim Stronger when you graduate from Learn to Swim, or if you are new to FOSS, consider a Preview Lesson to determine if Swim Stronger is right for your student.
How Patterns Lead Into Swimming Stronger
Once students have mastered the patterns and can swim them without thinking about them, they are ready to move onto the next phase of Swim Stronger: learning how to complete turns and finishes for the strokes.
With these skills, a swimmer will have many of the pieces in place to swim competitively on a team, but even if racing isn’t the goal, those additional pieces continue to improve efficiency in the water and allow swimmers to take up swimming for exercise or enjoyment.
