By this time, our level 4 swimmers are considered strong intermediate swimmers starting to learn advanced skills. Usually they are between 9-11 yrs old if they have been coming to the Farnsworth Swim School since they were between 1-3 yrs old. Obviously, there are some exceptions. I love teaching this level because by this time these swimmers are very proficient with their swimming skills and we can go deeper into stroke technique. Also, this level is a lot of fun to teach! What’s beautiful about level 4 is by this time, swimmers are applying everything they have learned so far and it all starts to click!
Level 4 swimmers enter into the phase of stroke improvement, as they have been exposed to all 6 strokes. They will continue to work on technique and stamina in freestyle and backstroke, with an emphasis on mastering breaststroke. They will be introduced to butterfly arms and kick at this level as well.
After learning breaststroke arms and legs separately in level 3, swimmers now put these skills together in level 4. They will work on perfecting the timing of their stroke, kicks, breath, and glide. Breaststroke is very complex, so this process may take quite some time. By the end of level 4, these students will be expected to swim at least 15 yards of breaststroke without any sign of struggle.
Level 4 also provides an introduction to butterfly. Swimmers will learn the dolphin motion that will help them learn dolphin kick. They will also begin to practice butterfly arm stroke, which is arguably the most difficult stroke to learn. These students are not expected to master butterfly in level 4, but they should be able to put the arm stroke and kick together for a very basic butterfly.
Level 4 builds upon previously learned safety skills, now expecting swimmers to be able to tread water for at least 1-1.5 min. Some can do up to 2-3min. These students learn how to tread water with an egg beater kick, and are expected to have mastered this new technique before moving on to level 5. Additionally, swimmers will learn to care for a choking victim, as well as be able to successfully complete a survival and back float for at least 1 minute. Yay, are you inspired? I am!
