After my first week of teaching swimming to the three and four year old swimmers, I visited a friend who had both three and four year old children. I watched them play, and I was amazed by how the young children were so different in terms of they way they played, the way they interacted, and all the other things they would do (things I would learn in my graduate level child development courses). From that day forward, I experimented with a new approach to teaching swim lessons for preschoolers.
(photo by Jim Reiser)

An early swimming catch helps swimmers to maximize the amount of force they can apply to that water while swimming. Swimmers should grab or catch the water as far out in front of them as their body allows. I define the catch as the point in the stroke when swimmers apply pressure to the water that helps the swimmers move forward. Pushing down on the water is not really catching, even though it is pressing on the water. The catch happens when the swimmers action is helping them move toward the finish. But where or when should a swimmer let go of the water - when do they release that pressure - where do they start the recovery?

Important or key triathlon swim workouts for a triathlete involve race simulation, swimming skill proficiency, sustainable swimming speed, and time to recover after a swim. These factors, along with the athletes experience and goal triathlon race distance, will help a swimmer balance the types of swimming workouts done in the swimming pool (or lake, river, or ocean) among emphases of technique sets, endurance sets, strength sets, and speed sets.

Teaching a baby or toddler to swim can be an invaluable experience. Let's start by answering three frequently asked questions about swim lessons for infants and toddlers:

1. Can a baby or toddler learn to swim?
2. Can an infant or toddler learn freestyle or backstroke?
3. Can you drown proof an infant or toddler?