Swim school or private coach?

Swim School or Private Coach: Which Option for your child?

With hot and humid weather whole year round, swimming is non arguably one of the most popular sports in Singapore. Besides the multitude of health benefits it brings, swimming can also be a fun competitive or DSA sports for some budding swimmers later on. With the increasing number of parents starting swimming lessons for their kids from young to master this important life skill, the most common dilemma many may encounter is where or who to send their children for swimming lessons: a swim school or private coach? 
 
Serious About Preschool did some research and spoke with The Aquatics Swim School for some insights and advice.
 
1. Quality of coaches  
One of the most important consideration in your child’s swimming journey is none other than the swim coach. Can you trust that your child is learning well under his or her coach? The quality of one’s swimming techniques may not be obvious to the untrained eye, making it difficult to tell if your child is progressing or not. 
 
The level of progress for students under private coaches varies greatly, depending on their coaches’ personal experiences and individual judgement. While it may allow certain flexibilities to their classes, you are totally reliant on the coach’s opinions when it comes to gauging the performance of your child.

Photo Courtesy of The Aquatics Swim School

Swim schools will be able to help parents monitor progress in a more systematic manner. To uphold standards, schools often follow a syllabus to ensure that all skills and techniques are covered. Good swim schools are transparent with the progress of your child, keeping you informed and reassured. 

The Aquatics Swim School provides accessible and comprehensive avenues for parents to check on their children’s development. Not only do they have an application that monitors students’ progress, they also have a dedicated customer service team that regularly communicates with parents through multiple means. With such system in place, parents are inline with the school’s expectations and child’s progress. 

2. Coach credibility and trust  
It is important for one hiring a private swim coach to verify his or her credentials first as there are many coaches in the industry, it may be overwhelming to decern whom you can trust. 
 
With private coaches, parents are highly encouraged to verify their experiences and credentials on their own as they are not checked or backed up by any company. Some basic checks include CPR and First Aid Certification which are essential to ensure the safety of your child. The best bet may be to seek referrals from other parents since they would have experiences with private coaches teaching their children. 

Photo Courtesy of The Aquatics Swim School
 
Swim schools on the other hand, will have a panel of qualified coaches who have been checked for valid certification and training. The Aquatics Swim School have a legal team whose job is to ensure that their pool of coaches can be trusted. Their coaches also continue to attend regular coach training programmes to ensure that they uphold their knowledge and standards and continue to give their best to the students. This greatly reduces the pain of going on a quest to source for a qualified coach and allows one to have a peace of mind when entrusting their child with the school.
 
3. Enrichment and Exposure

When parents send their children for enrichment, many would hope for the multiple advantages that come along with learning a new skill. Be it new experiences or achievements.
 
Depending on the experience and network of the private coach they engaged, some are able to arrange for Swimsafer exams and competitions for their students. However, if exams and competitions are somewhat your goals for your child’s swimming journey and you wish to hire a private coach, it is best that you check with the coach before you engage him or her first as not all private coaches have the resources for such arrangements.
 
Swim schools may have more resources to provide your child with more exposures and opportunities. Since swim schools are officially registered, it is a norm for them to be able to prepare and award your child with Swimsafer certifications, which are recognised by all water related sports in Singapore. This is an important consideration if you wish for your child to progress in swimming officially. 

Photo Courtesy of The Aquatics Swim School
 
Schools like The Aquatics Swim School are able to give your child competitive swimming exposures and send him or her for tournaments every year. These experiences can open up your child to more opportunities in the future.
 
4. Syllabus and programmes
What is your child learning during lessons? Like any other sport, swimming has techniques and skills that one needs to develop. To ensure that they are learning them properly, parents are encouraged to carefully research the available programmes and syllabus that all options offer to ensure that you are receiving information about your child’s progress as they learn.
 
Private coaches are able to give personal feedback of the child’s progress. The pace of the classes can also be adjusted to suit the child’s level accordingly. 
 
Swim schools on the other hand, have their own methods to record progress. More often than not, parents will have less direct interactions with the coaches, thus you might not receive the same level of personalisation as private coaches. However, most schools will monitor and ensure the child’s advancement in their own ways so that parents are aware of their children’s learning pace and standards.

Photo Courtesy of The Aquatics Swim School
 
Some swim schools even have applications that can track the progress of individual students. The Aquatics Swim School shares this app with parents to allow them to journey alongside their child. In the app, parents will see a step-by-step progressive syllabus along with the values learning principles that are unique to the school. 
 
Programmes are carefully crafted to cater to swimmers of different age groups with progression timelines based on their individual progress. This ensures that what your child is learning matches their pace and development, and that while they are learning techniques they build character too. This means that you get updates on your child’s learnings and progress right at your fingertips!
 
5. Class placing 

Photo Courtesy of The Aquatics Swim School
 
Are you worried that your child will be placed in a class with a different standard? Or that your child is progressing so fast that his/her class is no longer suitable? These are both common worries that run across parents’ minds all the time. The flexibility of class placement will greatly differ based on the number of students and classes available.
 
Private coaches can offer more flexibilities due to their freelancing or part timing nature. However, since they are teaching as individuals, the number of students they can teach at a location is very limited. Sometimes, this may result in your child being placed in a class of mixed standards, or in many cases, following the progress of a sibling or friend who are much older or younger. 

Photo Courtesy of The Aquatics Swim School
 
Swim schools have a larger student and coach pool, allowing students to be sorted together based on age and skills. This allows for more flexibility for make-up classes too. Many swim schools allocate children of similar standards in the same class to ensure that he or she has continuous progress at a comfortable pace.
 
To conclude, it is possible to source for a good coach or swim school for your child, even during these unprecedented times! Many coaches and swim schools are happy to work around the restrictions to ensure your child learns while staying safe. Your choice on a private coach or a swim school will depend largely on your objectives. Do consider the above factors before sending your child for classes to kickstart an amazing swimming journey!
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