With over 15 years of experience teaching swimming lessons to babies, children, teenagers, and adults, we often see children grasp a new skill during practice but struggle to integrate it into their overall technique. In this article, we cover the swimming skills taught at Swim Generation, explain why some are harder to master than others, and show how our coaches help swimmers overcome these challenges.
Different Swimming Skills
Many parents and swimmers are surprised by how many skills and techniques they need to learn to swim effectively and competently. Many swimming skills require swimmers to coordinate several elements, including body position, timing and breathing. Some children master skills quickly, while others take longer and need more practice. Some of the main skills covered at Swim Generation typically include:
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Breathing control.
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Floating on the back and front.
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Swimming strokes, including front crawl (freestyle), breaststroke, and backstroke.
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Arm and leg coordination
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Different kicking techniques.
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Treading water.
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Pool entries and exits.
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Lane turns and finishes.
Many of these skills must be combined to master a swimming technique. For instance, our coaches combine several skills when teaching front crawl, which is introduced at Stage 4 (Beginners 2) of our 10-stage swimming programme.
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Flutter kick for propulsion and body position
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Alternating arm pulls and recovery
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Side-to-side body rotation (rolling)
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Controlled breathing to the side
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Streamlined body position and glide
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Timing and coordination so the arms, legs, and breathing all match up
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‘Many swimmers quickly learn individual skills during lessons. It is when they have to combine those skills that they can initially struggle.’ Tara Rahilly, Operations Director at Swim Generation. |
Some Skills Feel Natural
Some skills taught in our 10-stage swimming programme require far less time and practice, while others require far more. Often, the skills that feel natural and familiar are the ones you master faster. Below is an outline of skills swimmers find more natural and others that take more time to master.
| Skill | Swim Stage | Reason |
| Floating | Stage 1 | Children can master this skill quickly, but holding a stable position takes practice. |
| Basic kicking | Stage 1-3 | Basic kicking builds upon familiar leg movements children have already mastered. |
| Breathing | Stage 4-5 | Correct breathing technique can take longer to master, as children need to coordinate breathing with their body position, arm movements, and timing. |
| Body position | Stage 4-5 | Maintaining a streamlined position whilst concentrating on arm, leg and breathing can take time to get right. |
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‘With regular lessons and practice, we often see children who initially struggle to combine individual skills become more confident and coordinated as they progress through the programme.’ Christopher Whitworth, Founder of Swim Generation. |
3 Reasons Why A Swimming Skill Can Be Difficult To Master
A common question from parents at the end of a swimming lesson is why their child finds a certain skill challenging. Often, parents watch from the poolside and see that their child understands what to do, yet still struggles to do it. Several factors can affect how effectively a child performs specific skills. Our coaches regularly see the following:
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In the early stages, confidence in the water is extremely important. Without confidence, children often hesitate to try new things and struggle to focus on the skill itself. That is why our coaches teach in the water (Stage 1 through approximately Stage 6) to boost swimmer confidence and provide immediate feedback.
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Fitness and stamina can also cause hips to drop when swimmers get tired, especially when practising routines over longer distances. This is why our swimming lessons also emphasise improving swimmers' fitness levels.
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Swimming techniques can often involve unfamiliar body movements. One that swimmers often find difficult at first is backstroke. Many find swimming on their back unnatural, and they also comment that it feels strange not being able to see where they are going.
Coordinating Movements And Techniques
This is one of the most common areas that regularly challenge children, especially younger swimmers. In the early stages of our swim programme (stages 1-3), children often practise individual skills such as floating, kicking, and gliding. At stage 4, when skills are more actively combined (such as freestyle with breathing techniques), swimmers may initially struggle to coordinate proper kicking and arm technique. During staff training sessions, coaches often note that swimmers can perform each part correctly individually, but combining them successfully takes time and practice.
Experience shows that with regular practice and proactive, hands-on coaching, swimmers improve significantly, and combining different techniques becomes more natural and competent. When swimmers struggle to combine all skills at once, coaches often focus on two elements first, then gradually introduce the others.
Confidence Is Key
Our children’s swimming lessons use small groups and in-water instruction to help children build confidence and develop their technique. This is one reason our coaches provide in-water training, usually up to stage 6, with immediate reassurance and feedback.
Without confidence, swimmers often hesitate and are reluctant to fully adopt new swimming skills. Below is a list of practices and techniques used at Swim Generation to help build confidence and swimmer progression.
Confidence is an important foundation, but children also need to develop the skills to be safe and capable in the water. Read our guide to what water competence means for children.
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Small class sizes allow for immediate feedback, support and individual attention.
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We focus first on building water confidence through safe pool entries and exits, floating, and short swimming distances.
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We provide constant in-pool feedback and dedicated time at the end of each lesson.
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Lessons can be tailored to the individual, focusing on how they progress best.
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Coaches teach in the pool during the early stages; feedback suggests this reassures swimmers.
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Founder Christopher Whitworth selects private, quiet, heated pools for their suitability, fostering a productive learning environment.
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Swim Generations' 10-stage swimming programme breaks skill learning into manageable, gradual stages. We developed it over 15 years of experience.
Stamina & Fitness
If a swimmer lacks stamina and fitness, we have seen how this can hinder progress, even if they fully understand the technique.
‘A swimmer may know how to correctly perform and combine techniques. However, if their fitness levels are struggling, this can affect their ability to execute the technique correctly over longer distances.’ Tara Rahilly, Operations Director, Swim Generation.
Why does swimming require stamina and fitness?
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Water creates drag on the body, building resilience in the arms and legs.
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As swimmers progress through the stages, they need to control their breathing, often with their face in the water.
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From stage 5 onwards, swimmers at Swim Generation swim longer distances.
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Maintaining proper body position and good technique requires endurance.
Lessons can be tailored to fitness levels, starting with shorter distances until swimmers adjust. Fitness-related setbacks are often temporary, as regular swimming lessons help build stamina.
How Do Our Coaches Identify What Is Holding A Swimmer Back?
Our coaches use continuous observation, structured assessment against our 10-stage swimming programme, and regular feedback to swimmers and parents.
Learn how our coaches assess swimmers and monitor their progress, from the initial assessment through progression between stages.
| Method | How It Helps Identify Issues | When Is It Used |
| Initial Assessment | Coaches will assess new swimmers against set criteria such as confidence, technique, fitness and ability to listen. | First lesson |
| In-Water | Being in the water with swimmers lets coaches identify issues quickly and provide immediate feedback. | Every lesson (usually up to stage 6) |
| Specific Skills | Swimmers are measured against curriculum skills, allowing coaches to observe their technique and execution. | All programme stages |
| End of lesson | Coaches provide feedback to swimmers; this also gives swimmers and parents a chance to voice any concerns. | Dedicated 2 minutes at the end of every lesson |
Parents can also reinforce the skills their child is learning during lessons. See our practical advice on how parents can help improve their children's swimming.
What Swimming Skill Do Most Swimmers At Swim Generation Struggle With?
With thousands of swimmers taught weekly, some areas are more challenging than others. Below are 3 examples provided by Jess, a coach and Swimming Coordinator at Swim Generation with 8 years of experience.
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Correctly coordinating breathing, arms and legs with the right timing, especially from stage 4 onwards. An example routine is swimming a short distance of front crawl while trying to breathe to the side every few strokes.
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As distances increase, technique can suffer if swimmers are not yet fit enough. In stage 6, when longer distances are introduced, swimmers often start with correct technique, but fatigue sets in and execution suffers.
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Backstroke can be challenging for many children because swimming on their backs often feels unnatural. With a few cues and regular practice, swimmers usually gain confidence quickly.
Our coaching approach has developed over years of working with swimmers of all ages and abilities. Read what we've learned from teaching more than 2,000 children to swim every week.