A new skill set, be it swimming, dancing, fly fishing, whatever – requires a considerable amount of practice to become proficient. The more this practice can be strung together uninterrupted, the faster the learning. With swim lessons, the big inhibitor to learning is breathing. Students can only practice the skill as long as they can hold their breath, which is usually 5-10 seconds before everything comes to a halt. This leads to a lot of fragmented episodes of starting and stopping.
With the Free Flow teaching system, once oxygen is freely available, any skill set can be practiced without pausing to catch a breath, lending to a much steeper learning curve. This also allows for a more patient pace in which to incorporate important aspects such as relaxation and balance, two other aspects that when applied not only helps increase the speed of learning, but also to create a better understanding of the principles involved in beginner swimming.
This is why all of our initial teaching, from the very first time in the water, begins with becoming comfortable with and using a front mounted snorkel.
“Relax – Breathe – and Press” is the mantra that will follow you and your students throughout your Free Flow experience.
Kerry O’Brien
1980 – Present
- Head Coach of Walnut Creek Masters
- Team of 500+ members
- American Swim Coaches Association Level 5 Masters Coach
- United States Masters Swimming Coach of the Year 1987
- Pacific Masters Coach of the Year 1992
- Masters Aquatic Coaches Association Lifetime Achievement Award 2000
- Pacific Masters Contributor of the Year 2016
Advanced Tip Of The Day!
When going for a breath in butterfly make sure the pull drives you forward and not upwards so that your chin just breaks the surface of the water for a breath.