The five principles of One with the Water premium swim instruction.

First, we promise you our uninterrupted presence.  We work very hard to maintain eye contact, especially for our children with special needs. Your safety and well-being are our number one concern. We teach without distractions to avoid any possible safety hazards. If you have questions or concerns while we are teaching, we’d love to address them with you after the fact in order to remain focused on your child’s safety during the lesson. 

Second, we promise to set a high standard for you or your child. We create high but reachable standards of accomplishment for each lesson. Our overall goal is to teach you or your child to swim in less than 4 hours! We are in the business of miracles because we know our methods work.  

Third, we promise to impart life skills. We are preparing our students to learn to swim for exercise and enjoyment for the rest of their lives. We will develop your strengths in and out of the water, including both physical and mental conditioning.  

Fourth, we promise to motivate you or your child.  Swimming is a life-changing skill. It’s therapeutic, calming, and a mental game-changer. And we get to make it fun for you! 

And finally, we promise positive encouragement. We teach all our lessons with laughter and learning. We’ll help you be gentle on yourself when you make mistakes using those opportunities to learn to overcome fear and build confidence. 

Register today.

Swimming isn’t just about drowning prevention and building skills. We teach you to incorporate the positive power of swimming throughout the whole of your life, using growth, hard work, persistence, and motivation to be successful in and out of the water. That is our promise to you. 

If you haven’t already, register today for life-changing swim lessons we provide.  

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Five Principles of Premium Swim Lessons appeared first on One with the Water.

At One with the Water, we talk a lot about the power of a growth mindset in every area of our lives. We believe that how you teach is just as important as what you teach when it comes to swimming lessons because we believe in equipping our clients for success in all areas of life. It informs every part of our coaching, teaching, and decision-making process. So what exactly is our coaching philosophy?

What is the Coaching Philosophy at One with the Water?

At One with the Water, we teach swimming lessons using a Growth Mindset approach. This is a foundational pillar of our coaching philosophy. Pioneered by Dr. Carol Dweck, the Growth Mindset is predicated on the simple belief that while everyone’s starting point may differ, our most basic abilities can grow and develop with consistent hard work and dedication. As authority figures, the messages we send to students and clients about success can often cause them to fall into the fixed mindset, as their success breeds a fear of failure. If success means they are smart/talented/brilliant/athletic, then failure means they are the opposite of all those things. At One with the Water, we praise our clients based on the growth processes used to perform – practice, study, effort, consistency, and persistence — and connect it to the outcomes, successful or not. And we are always developing new strategies and approaches. Because everyone is different. Because everyone learns in a different way.

Register now to take advantage of our premium lessons and start your journey today. 

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post One with the Water Coaching Philosophy appeared first on One with the Water.

First: Swim lessons matter. Drowning is preventable.

Just a refresher. For the past two and a half decades, an average of 10 people drowned PER DAY. Additionally, one in every five fatal drownings happens to children under the age of 14. Beyond those numbers, for every one child death, another FIVE more were sent to the emergency room with immersion injuries.

Fortunately, swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by a staggering 88%, creating safer kids and smarter adults.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children as young as one start with swimming lessons in order to reduce their risk of drowning, and live safer, healthier lives. The bottom line? Your child needs swim lessons. Which leads me to point number two – not all programs are the same.

Not all swim programs are the same.

Who is teaching your child and what they are teaching them matter a great deal. Below, we’ve listed some essential items to check for when choosing a quality swim program.

• Instructors are experienced and qualified through nationally recognized programs, and CPR – trained lifeguards should be available.
• Instructors are teaching water safety first and foremost, in and around the water. Water competency skills like self-rescue are a foundational piece of any good swim program. These are critical to ensuring the safety of a child who finds themselves in the water unexpectedly.
• Instructors allow parents to watch the class to determine if the program is a good fit, if their child is getting an appropriate amount of one on one time, and how the instructors engage with the students.
• Finally, learning to swim is a progressive task and should occur over a set period of time. Check to see that instructors have mapped out a plan, and necessary skills are increasing. Continue lessons until your child displays competency in the water. *

At One with the Water, our coaches hold multiple certifications in safety and swim, including a Level 4 Disability Swim Coach Certification and Level 3 U.S. Masters Certified Swim Coach with the American Swimming Coaches Association (Coach Rippetoe), and multiple American Red Cross Certifications for First Aid, CPR, and Lifeguarding.

Register now to learn more about we can make you and your children safe and successful in the water.

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Elements of a Good Swim Program appeared first on One with the Water.

Worse, childhood obesity has far-reaching effects, lasting long into adulthood. Children classified as obese in childhood are five times more likely to be obese as adults than children who were not obese. These children are also at far more risk for certain diseases in adulthood, including Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer.

So what can you as a parent do to prevent or reverse childhood obesity?

Swimming is a powerful way to start.

1. The low impact, high resistance nature of this full body workout makes it ideal for children who struggle with obesity.
Plus, water buoyancy allows previously restricted individuals to move freely and helps build muscle in low muscle tone individuals.

2. Physiologically, swimming also does the following:

• Improves flexibility within the joints and muscles.
• Strengthens the cardiovascular system.
• Strengthens the major muscle groups in the upper and lower body.

3. Finally, because the heart works harder when the body is submerged, swimmers benefit from decreased swelling, reduced blood pressure and improved joint position, in turn creating better body awareness and ease of movement.

Don’t be a statistic. Register now for our premium swim lessons (also available for adults) and create a pattern of healthy habits that will last a lifetime.

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post 3 Ways Swimming Fights Childhood Obesity appeared first on One with the Water.

5 things your mother never told you about swim lessons.

1. The first record of swimming dates all the way back to 2500 BCE, appearing in ancient Egyptian drawings and paintings. In fact, swimming was considered an essential part of Egyptian culture.

2. Far from the sleek, aerodynamic goggles of today, the very first goggles were made of tortoise shells and debuted in the 14th century in Persia. No word on how effective they were. The goggles we know and love were introduced in the 1930s.

3. Benjamin Franklin invented swim fins (for hands, not feet) at the age of 11! In 1968, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame for this very feat.

“When a youth, I made two oval pallets, each about ten inches long, and six broad, with a hole for the thumb, in order to retain it fast in the palm of my hand. They much resembled a painter’s pallets. In swimming, I pushed the edges of these forward, and I struck the water with their flat surfaces as I drew them back. I remember I swam faster by means of these pallets, but they fatigued my wrists.” – Ben Franklin, American Inventor and Founding Father 

4. A 2014 survey conducted by the American Red Cross discovered that OVER HALF of the American population could not swim. That number goes down by race and gender. (Men are more likely than women to know basic swimming skills, and only a third of African Americans report knowing basic swimming skills.)

5. Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death in children under the age of 14 (CDC). Parents and guardians can begin swim lessons with infants as young as three months old, and swim lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by up to 88% in children older than one.

There you have it. Swimming is an ancient sport, culturally significant, and championed by a founding father. All of that pales, however, to the fact that learning how to swim may save you or your child’s life.

Register today for our premium swim lessons offered to adults, children and toddlers, including individuals with special needs. 

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post 5 Things Your Mother Never Told You About Swim Lessons appeared first on One with the Water.

Life skills learned from swimming:

First, swimming teaches you determination. Beyond hard work, an effort expended in the moment, getting back in the pool repeatedly to actually do the hard work displays a sense of long term dedication and an intrinsic desire to improve your skillset.

Second, swimming teaches concentration. There are a host of ways swimming benefits the brain, but a 2017 UK study (written by Ian Cumming and Karl New from the University of South Wales) found specifically that swim training has a both short and long term effect, increasing concentration for hours after the exercise, as well as stimulating the growth of new brain cells.

“During training, swimmers are always thinking about what they are doing and trying to improve their technique. This means they are using both their brain as well as their muscles and stimulating all areas of the body.” – Ian Cummings

Third, swimming promotes teamwork. Teamwork encourages socialization, cooperation, and accountability while elevating individual performance and creating outcomes impossible to achieve alone. It’s easy to recognize that heightened teamwork skills translate to success on the field. It’s important to realize that these same skills cross over into all areas of life. Fred Northup, Founder and President of Athletes for a Better World, espouses these same sentiments in his book, Winning More Than The Game.

“We are all on more than one team all the time: the family team, the work team, the neighborhood team, the school team, and even the national team because as citizens of this country we are all on the same team.”

Finally, swimming can be a powerful tool in learning to conquer fear. Using the growth mindset, swimmers learn coping mechanisms for fear, including the knowledge of your competency in the water, and the mastery of techniques that allow rest and recovery in a potentially dangerous situation.

One with the Water offers premium swim lessons built on the core needs of confidence and growth that form the foundation of our approach. We use the growth mindset mentioned above (pioneered by Dr. Carol Dweck, one of the world’s leading researchers in the fields of personality, social psychology, and developmental psychology), to ensure success in and out of the water. Sign up today to learn the life-saving skill(s) of swimming!

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Four Invaluable Life Skills Learned From Swimming appeared first on One with the Water.

Swimming has a profound impact on the physical, mental, and psychological make-up of a person.

Swim lessons for water safety.

The number one method of reducing drowning risk is access to quality swim lessons. While no method is foolproof, swim lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by a staggering 88%.

Therapeutic recreation benefits.

Swimming strengthens gross and fine motor skills for easier learning. Due to the specific bilateral motions used in swimming, the entire brain – all lobes and both hemispheres – are working in concert with each other. These movements help to develop the connecting tissue between the hemispheres and increase communication between the two halves of the brain — the results: better cognitive function and better learning ability. Additionally, a 2012 study discovered that children taught to swim at a young age hit developmental milestones consistently quicker than average. They displayed better coordination and increased fine motor skills like cutting paper, coloring in the lines, and other mathematically-related tasks. The applications are far-reaching, especially for children with special needs.

Health benefits of swimming.

The health benefits of swimming are well documented, but there are specific benefits for individuals with special needs. Water buoyancy allows previously restricted individuals to move freely and helps build muscle in low muscle tone individuals. Additionally, self-regulation, speech, oral motor control, strength, and coordination are just a few areas that can improve with therapy in the water. According to Disabled Sports USA, swimming not only offers flexibility within the joints and muscles but strengthens the cardiovascular system as well as the major muscle groups in the upper and lower body. Moreover, because the heart works harder when the body is submerged, patients benefit from decreased swelling, reduced blood pressure and improved joint position. This, in turn, improves the swimmers’ proprioception, or body awareness.

Social/psychological benefits of swimming.

Research shows that participation in swimming for individuals with disabilities afforded the participants heightened senses of self-concept, independence, ability and pride and an enhanced perceived quality of life. Athletes found that they were able to redefine their physical capabilities, strengthen social connections and improve acceptance among their peers.

Drowning prevention for members of our most vulnerable populations is a matter of life and death. Aside from an increased risk of drowning, children with permanent disabilities who lack consistent therapeutic interventions face increased isolation, increased care requirements, decreased mental health, increased fear and anxiety, and shortened life expectancy.

Your donations are critical to providing the lifesaving skill of swimming to children most at risk.

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Giving Tuesday: Why swimming matters. appeared first on One with the Water.

Did you also know that Los Angeles County alone has over 43,000 private pools plus their natural water sources include 75 miles of coastline, 4 major rivers, and 74 lakes/reservoirs? With its miles of shores, a multitude of natural freshwater bodies, and an abundance of swimming pools, Californians are at increased risk for drowning and near-drowning incidents. In fact, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children between the ages of 1 and 4.

Fortunately, drowning is preventable! And, while drowning prevention is the most important reason to teach your child to swim, it isn’t the only one.

5 Reasons your child needs swim lessons. 

1. Drowning prevention. Swim lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by more than 80%.
2. Swimming is good for your whole body and brain. Swimming increases heart and lung strength, stamina, and endurance with low impact on the body, making it ideal for children with special needs, and can strengthen gross and fine motor skills for easier learning.
3. Swimming reduces anxiety and stress, burn off energy, and help increase focus. The meditative effect of swimming is well known, and the chemicals produced during the exercise are proven to improve focus and concentration.
4. Make new friends. Joining a swim team provides new opportunities for social connections, increased confidence and support, positive peer interactions, and all the accompanying positive benefits of team dynamics.
5. New opportunities.Swimming is the gateway to a new world and foundational for a wealth of other beneficial activities, including kayaking, water polo, surfing, sailing, canoeing, water skiing, and so much more.

Fortunately, we offer premium swim lessons designed to make your child safe, successful, and one with the water! Register now to get started.

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post 5 Reasons Your Child Needs Swim Lessons appeared first on One with the Water.

Choosing the best swim program

First, check the coaches’ credentials. According to the American Swimming Coach Association:

ASCA Certification means that coaches commit to a Professional Code of Ethics that has been in place much longer than the USA Swimming Code.  Each Level that you see reflected on our website reflects both academic training specific to swimming and the in-pool success of that coach’s swimmers and the coaches’ level of experience.

Second, look for coaches utilizing the growth mindset to foster successful athletes at all levels.  Dr. Dweck, one of the world’s leading researchers in the fields of personality, social psychology, and developmental psychology, posits that we should be living life with a growth-centered mindset as opposed to a fixed mindset. In short,

In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. – Carol Dweck.

For programs at the organizational level, a growth mindset is fostered when coaches introduce swimming skills as acquirable; when effort, practice, persistence, and passion are valued along with talent and results.

Third, and this may seem obvious, but check the testimonials and reviews. Talk to other parents, and hear their experiences with the individual coaches and programs. They can often offer valuable insight not readily apparent on a website. 

And finally, check the class size. Children with special needs, anxiety, or other difficulties in a group setting may need private or semi-private lessons to accommodate their needs. Make sure the program will provide the means for you or child to be successful in the water based on your specific requirements. (We offer both of the above, as well as group lessons, and private in-home instruction as well.)

One with the Water

We here at One with the Water want you and your children to live life rising to meet ever more difficult challenges. Swim with us and you’ll see how effort, practice and persistence can help you become one with the water. We are staffed by professional swimmers, expert competitive swimmers, and former Olympians. Our founder and head coach Kenneth Rippetoe has a Level 4 Disability Certification with the American Swimming Coaches Association and has trained with Kahlon Family Services and Inizio Interventions to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other special needs. We believe that everyone deserves the very best in swim instruction.

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Are you choosing the best swim program for your child? appeared first on One with the Water.

1. Introducing babies to the water. At One with the Water, we are passionate about the science behind our coaching methods. We know that when the forehead is stimulated, infants tend to hold their breath. We use the bradycardic reflex to help them with their comfort level in the water. 

2. Teaching a child to get out of the water on their own. Most children are so surprised by sudden entry into the water that they become disoriented and overwhelmed. One of the first things we do is teach them to safely exit the water. 

3. Teaching a child to turn over from their stomachs to floating on their backs. Learning to float is a valuable skill that can keep a child from panicking and going under. 

4. Teaching a child to kick to safety. Kicking is the foundation to learning the core strokes of swimming. Isolating their kicking improves strength, technique and builds confidence in your child. 

At One with the Water, we offer premium swimming lessons to help your children enjoy the water with safety and success this summer. In one 8 week session, your child can safely master these essential skills to staying safe in the water.

Our current locations include options in Burbank, Culver City, and Santa Monica.

Saturday options:

• Burbank 11:30 – 2:00 pm
• Culver City Plunge 09:30 – 1:00 pm (every Saturday all year)
• We currently have a Parent and Me (baby class) at 10 am every Saturday in Culver City.

Sunday Options: Santa Monica Swim Center (Sundays 3-5 pm)

Register now for safety and success in the water!

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post 4 Essential Skills for Water Safety appeared first on One with the Water.