The quality of a child's early environmental interaction is a critical first step in all aspects of intellectual, emotional and physical growth. A stimulating 360-degree physical world with two-dimensional environmental interactions offers developing individuals the greatest growth potential. To take full advantage of this developmental opportunity, each child should continue to experience life both above (terrestrial) and below (aquatic) the horizon-and most especially at their interface, where emotional comfort levels are established in the breathing process.
Swimplicity is a learn-to-swim curriculum that places an emphasis on the learner's basic relationship with the water. It uses the qualities of that relationship as both the swimmer's primary safety system and the foundation of all aquatic activities. Swimplicity focuses on a series of specific, playfully-directed aquatic activities that use the water's natural forces to influence brain development, sensory awareness and integration, motor control and learning as well as social development in children and adults.
Swimplicity's Goal
Swimplicity's goal is to provide children and adults the opportunity to experience the aquatic environment in a safe and fulfilling way. This is achieved by creating an intimate relationship with water.
Simple aquatic body shapes in which a person imitates the letters "X," "Y" and "I (Photo #1) and objects such as a pencil (Photo #2) and ball plus an aquatic signature (Photo #3) are the foundations of these aquatic relationships.
From these body shapes, one can first learn to manage aquatic forces for safety, then use aquatic forces for propulsion.
Breathing is the key to complete comfort in the aquatic environment. Being able to submerge, release air, surface at the interface and accept air rhythmically in a relaxed confident manner is critical to building an intimate relationship with the water.
This relationship is achieved through an awareness and manipulation of water's natural forces. Students can learn first to manage these aquatic forces and then use these same forces for propulsion.
The Swimplicity philosophy originated from years of observation with competitive swimmers. Bill Boomer, Milt Nelms and Edie Flood collaborated on their observations over the years to effect change and influence swimming approaches worldwide using the Swimplicity philosophy.
Their recognition of predominant systematic errors in common swimming movement patterns led them to re-examine a swimmer's relationship with the water as the essential problem. They realized that a change in basic swimming philosophy needed to be instituted at the initial stages of human/water interaction.
Together, Bill, Milt and Edie-over the course of the past three years-have combined their swimming knowledge and experience to develop the Swimplicity(TM) Learn to Swim program, which is now trademarked.
It is a curriculum that uses-rather than confronts-the laws of nature. The curriculum is not limited to swimming movements, but is designed to create experiences to stimulate and develop all of the human systems, including the sensory/nervous, physical/motor, emotional and cognitive realms (Photo #4).
Achievable goals include an elevated awareness of body and symbiotic relationship to the water, a calm acceptance, ease of movement and engagement of swimmer and water. Application and integration of these concepts has been observed over time to make positive differences in swimmers.
Bill Boomer is considered a creative pioneer in the development of aquatic theory and their applications to all aquatic activities. Milt Nelms is recognized internationally as a leading expert on swimming technique and athlete development. Edie Flood founded the Wings Over Water School of Swimming and has over 35 years of teaching and creating aquatic programs for numerous institutions, both nationally and internationally.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)