Hello,
Swim father of two in a local swim club (8yo girl - fairly competitive; 10 yo boy, happy to be in club and middle o' pack).
Just wondering if parents had any luck using swim DVDs with their kids - and if so, which they would recommend (for example, the Go Swim series, the Swim Fast series, or any others).
My kids are at the point where they have the basics down for all four strokes, and can do flip turns. My daughter has a good instinctive feel for swimming ... good for her age (not upper echelon, but usually top 3 in AG at meets and top 20 at regionals in most events she entered) - and son is a decent breaststroker, but mostly content just to swim.
Unfortunately the club they belong to seems understaffed and short on individualized stroke instruction (i.e., mostly laps), so I was wondering if the DVD route was worth going for added tips. I'm not competent enough to provide any worthwhile input myself ...
So ... long and short. Any parents out there had any success using DVDs with their kids as an added training tool, and if so - which seemed to have the clearest examples/footage/drills, and had broad enough appeal for the younger set?
PS - Not esp. interested in TI input. I've had a TI workshop myself, but I'm more interested in information for competitive swimming ... individualized drills/instruction for all four strokes and turns.
Thanks in advance,
Reg.
Parents
Former Member
I have a just turned 9 year old, and I had the same problem as you. Frankly, I think the "70 mile trip" advice might be the best. Nevertheless, as your question was about DVD's, I'll give my 2 cents on that.
Firstly, as to whether a kid will watch an instructional DVD - I think depends entirely on the kid. My daughter loves watching them, and so do a couple of other kids. On the other hand, I haven't found a boy of that age that will, and a few girls she has mentioned this to have looked at her like she was nuts. Also, there's no reason why you can't look at the videos yourself and try and just get them to look at the parts you think might be relevant. So, this issue really depends on your kids and you.
I bought 4 DVD's, 2 from Total Immersion and 2 from the Go Swim series. I also bought the "Swimming Fastest" book by Maglischo (it's like an encyclopaedia, so think twice before giving it to kids) I also got "The parents guide to swimming, which is a small paperback that I found amazingly worthwhile!
The 2 TI videos are: Freestyle made easy and 4 strokes made easy. The Go swim titles are All strokes, and Breaststroke with Amanda Beard.
Despite your comments, I really recommend the two TI DVD's. The drills in "freestyle made easy" work best with two swimmers working with each other. That one may not be your cup of tea, as it goes back to first principles (which my daughter needs) but the "4 strokes made easy" is really great, and personally I think this is right up your alley. This DVD goes well beyond the TI balance stuff and really deals well with the individual strokes and provides good drills to improve them.
The 2 Go Swim DVD's are good, but don't seem to have nearly as much content as I expected. Nevertheless, there are good tips useful for ALL levels and I would recommend them. Still, you can speed through those 2 DVD's in a heartbeat and wonder where your $100 (can) went, while the TI "4 strokes" impressed me with the volume of content.
Again, if you're going to just give them to the kids, it will depend entirely on them as to whether they will be interested - a bit of a crap shoot. On my daughter's team some of the kids just want to swim without thinking. On the other hand, some of the kids are amazingly self-analytical. One of them never ceases to amaze me with her constant analysis of herself and others. (No wonder she's the best 8 year old around!)
Good luck. Message me if I you want any other information on what I bought or researched.
I have a just turned 9 year old, and I had the same problem as you. Frankly, I think the "70 mile trip" advice might be the best. Nevertheless, as your question was about DVD's, I'll give my 2 cents on that.
Firstly, as to whether a kid will watch an instructional DVD - I think depends entirely on the kid. My daughter loves watching them, and so do a couple of other kids. On the other hand, I haven't found a boy of that age that will, and a few girls she has mentioned this to have looked at her like she was nuts. Also, there's no reason why you can't look at the videos yourself and try and just get them to look at the parts you think might be relevant. So, this issue really depends on your kids and you.
I bought 4 DVD's, 2 from Total Immersion and 2 from the Go Swim series. I also bought the "Swimming Fastest" book by Maglischo (it's like an encyclopaedia, so think twice before giving it to kids) I also got "The parents guide to swimming, which is a small paperback that I found amazingly worthwhile!
The 2 TI videos are: Freestyle made easy and 4 strokes made easy. The Go swim titles are All strokes, and Breaststroke with Amanda Beard.
Despite your comments, I really recommend the two TI DVD's. The drills in "freestyle made easy" work best with two swimmers working with each other. That one may not be your cup of tea, as it goes back to first principles (which my daughter needs) but the "4 strokes made easy" is really great, and personally I think this is right up your alley. This DVD goes well beyond the TI balance stuff and really deals well with the individual strokes and provides good drills to improve them.
The 2 Go Swim DVD's are good, but don't seem to have nearly as much content as I expected. Nevertheless, there are good tips useful for ALL levels and I would recommend them. Still, you can speed through those 2 DVD's in a heartbeat and wonder where your $100 (can) went, while the TI "4 strokes" impressed me with the volume of content.
Again, if you're going to just give them to the kids, it will depend entirely on them as to whether they will be interested - a bit of a crap shoot. On my daughter's team some of the kids just want to swim without thinking. On the other hand, some of the kids are amazingly self-analytical. One of them never ceases to amaze me with her constant analysis of herself and others. (No wonder she's the best 8 year old around!)
Good luck. Message me if I you want any other information on what I bought or researched.
