A swim instructor touches her community by providing leadership and swimming lessons for children and adults. With this fitness and safety certification you have an opportunity to work outside in good weather and teach skills that could save someone's life. Some swim instructors earn money for their work, while others volunteer their time.
Red Cross
Individuals seeking training to become a nationally certified swim instructor can complete a local Red Cross Water Safety Instructors course. Once completed, a water safety instructor can teach learn-to-swim classes levels one through six and parent-child aquatics, along with giving water safety presentation.
Prerequisites
To qualify as an eligible participant in the Red Cross Water Safety Instructor course you must first meet certain criteria. Participants must be at least 17 years old and hold a current Fundamentals of Instructor Training certification or an instructor for another Red Cross course. Before the course, participants must pass written and performance based water skills pretest with a passing grade of 80 percent or greater.
Pretest Skills
Ideal candidates for the swim instructor training course are strong swimmers already with the knowledge of several rescue techniques. You must successfully perform 13 specific aquatic skills before you are permitted to participate in a swim instructor training course. Perspective students must execute a standing dive from the pool deck as well as swim the butterfly, breaststroke, sidestroke, back crawl, front crawl and the elementary back stroke for 50 yards. Other required skills include a reaching assist, a throwing assist, an armpit tow and a long shallow dive.
Training Objectives
The course material covered in your swim instructor training should prepare you to plan, conduct and evaluate swimming and water safety classes. At the end of the course you should be able to customize swimming classes to meet participants' needs and ensure their safety. You will also come away with knowledge about spinal injury techniques and risk management. Swim instructor trainees learn to maintain records and give corrective feedback.
Duration
You cannot complete the Red Cross Water Safety Instructor course online. You must attend 10 weeks of classes and complete the required syllabus. The end of swimming instructor training culminates in a written final exam and water skills test. Class topics include teaching skills, such as stroke work peer coaching, training principals and customizing swimming lessons for persons with disabilities. You will also experience five sessions of practice teaching.
Member Comments