DIVING FROM DAY ONE?! HOW WE TEACH BABIES TO DIVE… SORT OF

DIVING FROM DAY ONE?!

How We Teach Babies to Dive… Sort Of

At La Petite Baleen, we begin introducing the mechanics of dives with sit jumps in Baby & Me classes, and by the end of our program, students are able to do a racing dive with an underwater dolphin kick — just like Olympians!

Diving can be a challenging skill for many students, so we start the process early and provide plenty of opportunity to practice. The progression from sit jump, to standing dive, to racing dive centers on good body position and a basic “hands-first, feet-last” entry into the water.

Here are some examples of how we accomplish this in each level:

Baby, Toddler & Level 1

These students are just starting to get comfortable putting their faces in the water when we introduce the sit jump. Teachers (and caregivers in Baby/Toddler classes) will initially be very hands-on, helping students bend at the waist to enter the water with a forward lean. Students will gain more confidence with every sit jump while still receiving verbal and visual cues. By the end of Level 1, students can sit jump independently.

Level 2

Students do the same sit jump as they adjust to swimming with one and eventually zero fins. They also continue practicing the Humpty Dumpty sit jump, which teaches them to turn around and swim back to the wall for safety.

Level 3

It is now time to start introducing jumps from the deck. All standing jumps are done in 6 feet of water. Students who are 5-feet or taller will do a modified “Stride” jump for safety.

Some students have a fear of deep water which we address before introducing the No Equipment Pencil Jump. Initially, modified jumps may be practiced from the island or step, or with equipment, in order to build confidence. Students may also do a silly jump from the deck at first, taking away the concern for form and focusing on fun to make those first leaps into deeper water less scary.

The No Equipment Pencil Jump is a pure safety skill. We want to know that students can comfortably jump in, be completely submerged, and get themselves back to the wall without needing goggles, nose clips, or floating equipment like noodles or inner tubes.

Once the pencil jump is achieved, we begin work on diving. Kneeling dives from the deck can reduce the fear of falling while also focusing on proper form for the head and arms. We have a lot of different tools and tricks for helping kids learn to dive: hands-on corrections, various toys/equipment, and even a yoga ball may all be used during different parts of the process. The Level 3 Dive only requires a basic hands-first, feet-last entry into the water.

Levels 4 and 5

Here we refine the standing deck dive into a racing dive, first by adding a glide and then adding streamline underwater dolphin kicks (“wiggle-butts”). These skills are building blocks for swim team (and beyond). Sometimes students get nervous at this stage because we are asking them to really launch themselves into the water, so we work through it by making it fun and using equipment like a soft mat to dive over or hula hoops to dive through.

We understand that jumping and diving into the pool can be a scary thing for some students to learn. Our teachers are trained and our on-deck support staff are available to help with any issues that may arise at any point in this process. Like everything we do at LPB, we focus on fun in order to alleviate those fears and we always take things one step at a time.