How I Became a US Masters Swimming Certified Adult Learn to Swim Instructor

Approximately two years ago I became a Certified Adult Learn to Swim Instructor through the U.S. Masters Swimming Certification program. The other day I came across an article I wrote for New England Masters Swimming Newsletter about my experience. I really believe in the benefits of the program and thought others might enjoy reading about my story.

Instructor Training: Adult Learn to Swim

Article reposted from NEM News, February 2015

I first learned about the US Masters Adult Learn to Swim program in April of 2014. I watched a news clip that had gone viral, which told the story of Fox 32 Chicago News Reporter Darlene Hill. After years of being afraid of water, she was finally able to conquer her fears and learn to swim through the US Masters Swimming Saves Lives program last year. It was a very inspirational story.

I learned to swim at an early age and have been a competitive swimmer all my life. Swimming has been an important part of my life and helped me become the person I am today. I take it for granted that I know how to swim. It’s second nature to me. So when I saw this story, I was compelled to learn more.

Fast forward to December, 2014 at the New England LCM Championships at Boston University. I walked by a table set up in the lobby and met Bill Meier, who was spreading the word about the Adult Learn to Swim Certification program. He told me more about the US Masters Adult Learn to Swim program and that there was a new class to teach people how to become certified instructors. I wasn’t sure how exactly I was going to use the certification, but I knew I wanted to attend the class.

On January 17, I drove the 250 miles to Bard College and attended one of the country’s first U.S. Masters Adult Learn to Swim (ALTS) Certification courses. It was a wonderful experience. It was a day long course, which included classroom instruction and in-the-pool role playing, as well as a short swim test.

Bill Meier leading the US Masters Adult Learn to Swim Instructor Training

Masters Coach and ALTS Instructor Bill Meier led the training. His enthusiasm is contagious. It is evident that teaching adults how to swim is a passion of his. There were 50 students in attendance from all over the Northeast with diverse swim-related backgrounds. There were many swimming instructors and swimming coaches. Surprisingly, there were also quite a few people like myself. People who, for one reason or another, were passionate about learning the correct way to teach adults how to swim.

We spent approximately 4 hours in the classroom, learning a broad range of topics including: who should become an instructor, a history of the program, how to organize your own ALTS program, and how to teach adults how to swim. I had never taught adults how to swim, so much of the information was new to me. For example, I did not know that 37% of American adults cannot swim the length of a pool. I also didn’t know that on average, 10 people die by drowning each day (most are adults). I also would not have realized there are several different types of “non swimmers” and that they each require a little different teaching approach.

The class instruction was very informative with great content. I left the instructional part of the course feeling confident I had the knowledge and tools to teach adults how to swim. We even received a laminated progression chart to use while teaching in the water.

After the in-class instruction, we broke for lunch. And then we all suited up for role-play. We teamed up in groups of three people. Then we took turns using our new skills to “teach” our team members how to swim. One person was the student, one was the instructor, and one was an observer. This was very valuable because I was able to immediately implement techniques I learned in the classroom.

Lastly, we had to demonstrate that we were Competent swimmers, as per the American Red cross Water Competency. To show our competency, we had to swim 25 yards, jump into water over our head, float or tread water for one minute, swim in a full circle and find an exit, and exit the water without a ladder.

Overall, I was really impressed with the US Masters Adult Learn to Swim Instructor Certification Course. Bill Meier did a great job teaching useful content in a manner that helped me really learn. I am now a US Masters Adult Learn to Swim Certified Instructor and feel confident I can now create a program in my local area to help teach adults how to swim. I am grateful for the course having been created and look forward to helping to change lives.

Please feel free to share my story on Social Media if you think others would enjoy reading it.