Since our reopening due to the pandemic, we have changed the class structure of our children’s learn to swim programs here at Excel Aquatics. These changes came after a great deal of research and thought as to how we could best safely and effectively reopen and teach children between the ages of 3-13 years the life skill of swimming, outside of our previous group lessons structure. Overall, we feel that the advantages of our new structure can be summed up as 4 distinct benefits, described below:
- Safety!
Social distancing and limited contact/interactions have become a major focal point in most every facility’s safety plan with regards to combatting the spread of COVID. While appropriate safety protocol is fairly easy to execute out of the water, it becomes a bit different when a child is in a group class with other children outside of their household, sitting within inches of each other on the side of the pool while taking turns. This is why primarily providing private lessons has become the easiest way for us to maintain social distancing while still being able to conduct lessons. Children are paired with an instructor who wears a face shield/mask while teaching, and is given their own lane, separate from other lessons being conducted during that time. Additionally, we offer the option of semi-private and even small group lessons for families and friends who would like their children to take lessons together. However, we feel it is extremely important that parents have the choice of whether or not their children are paired with other families, as well as who those families are.
- Undivided Attention
Particularly for private 1:1 classes, children are provided with a full 30 minutes of uninterrupted swim time. While we do take a lot of pride in our previous structure of 3:1 group lessons and can still vouch for their effectiveness, the general rule of thumb always stands that the smaller the class size, the quicker the progress, especially when the instruction is 1:1.
- A Customized Curriculum
Along with undivided attention, private lessons allow the classes to be customized on a daily basis. Using our EXCELerate curriculum as a foundation of our lessons, our staff can then spend more/less time on each skill, specifically depending on the swimmer. This once again allows for quicker progress in shorter periods of time, helping each child become safer and stronger in the water.
- Spacing Between Lanes
By limiting the number of classes per time slot and offering primarily private lessons, children taking lessons at The College of Saint Rose are provided with more than enough pool space to be properly challenged on a class by class basis. Whether we have a beginner swimmer who only needs 5 ft of space, to competitive swimmers who enjoy having a full 25 yards to swim uninterrupted, our new program structure allows us to meet the needs all swimming levels!
Overall, we are thrilled to be back in action, and look to safely add programs back into our lineup as we are able. On December 8th, registration for our January/February session will open right here on our website!