Water Confidence Course: Learning to Swim When You're Afraid of Water

Signs you need confidence work first

• You hold your breath or panic when water touches your face.
• You grip the wall or the coach and will not let go.
• You are fine in the shallow end but freeze when your feet cannot touch.
• You have had a frightening experience in water before.
• Your child cries, refuses to get in or clings to you at the pool.

How a confidence course works

The principle is small, controlled steps where the learner is always in charge of the next one. Nobody gets dunked, pushed or surprised.

1. Standing and walking in shallow water, feeling the water's support.
2. Controlled breathing: humming and blowing bubbles, first with the mouth, then the nose and mouth.
3. Face in for a count of three, then five, then ten, always coming up by choice.
4. Supported floating, with the coach's hands under the back or holding a board.
5. Recovering to standing, practised until it is automatic. This is often the turning point, because it removes the fear of being stuck.
6. Independent floats and glides, then gradually moving into deeper water.

Once these feel normal, the learner moves on to the regular beginner swimming course skill ladder.

Why 1-to-1 usually works best

Fearful learners need the coach close, patient and completely focused on them. In a group, a nervous learner often waits, watches others and becomes more anxious. That is why most confidence work is done in a private swimming course, at the learner's usual age-group rate. Women can request a female instructor through the ladies swimming course.

How long it takes

This is the part where honesty matters most. Some learners relax within two or three lessons; others with a strong fear need several packages before they float alone. Progress is rarely a straight line. A good lesson can be followed by a nervous one, and that is normal. Frequent, shorter gaps between lessons help more than anything else.

Tips if you are afraid of deep water

• Learn to breathe out slowly underwater. Panic usually starts with held breath.
• Practise recovering to standing until it is boring.
• Stay near the wall when you first move to deeper water, so safety is one reach away.
• Tell your coach what exactly scares you. "Not seeing the bottom" and "water in my nose" need different solutions.

For parents of fearful children

Stay calm and neutral. Avoid promising "it's not scary" and avoid bribes for putting the face in. Let the coach set the pace, praise effort rather than bravery, and keep lessons regular. Read more in the kids swimming course guide.