Old City Swim School

The number one breathing mistake adults make in the water: forcing the exhale out fast.

It happens without even noticing. Air comes in fine, but the second the face goes underwater, the exhale turns into a panicked rush instead of something controlled. That rush is what makes the whole thing feel harder than it should.

The actual move is simple. A big, relaxed inhale through your mouth. Then underwater, a slow, relaxed exhale through your nose. Not fast, not forced, just calm air out at your own pace.

Get that part right and almost everything else in the water gets easier, because you’re not fighting your own breath anymore.

You don’t fix a fear of water by throwing someone in it. That makes it worse.

What actually works is voluntary exposure, one small step the person chooses, not one forced on them. If someone’s scared, you don’t start in the pool. You start sitting at the edge with feet in the water, paying attention to breath, paying attention to tension in the body.

From there it’s small and controlled: get closer if that feels okay, stay back if it doesn’t. Eventually into the shallow end, where standing is never in question. Then just getting the chin wet. Only after all of that comes breathing with your face in the water.

None of it is rushed, because rushed is exactly what doesn’t work. This is how we start with every swimmer who’s afraid, adult or kid.

We make kids swim with goggles on and goggles off on purpose. It’s not random, it’s a safety habit.

If a kid can only handle the water when their goggles are on, that’s a problem waiting to happen. Because in a real fall, goggles aren’t guaranteed. If a drop of water in the eyes makes them panic, that panic shows up at the exact moment it matters most.

So we mix it in early. Some drills with goggles, some without, so water in the eyes is just water in the eyes, not a reason to freeze. It’s a small habit now that removes a real risk later.

The one question most parents never ask before hiring a swim coach: can they actually swim?

Sounds obvious. It’s not. Most swim coaches can barely swim themselves, they know the drills, they can say the words, but they can’t get in the water and do the skill they’re teaching.

Every coach at Old City can do every skill they teach, at every level. If they’re coaching it, they can demonstrate it. We’ve actually taught some of our own coaches how to swim for exactly this reason, because we don’t hire people who can talk about the water. We hire people who can move through it.

Before you hire your next coach, ask them to show you. Not tell you.

Your legs aren’t the problem. Your shape is.

The starfish float is harder for adults than kids, and it’s not about strength. Adult legs are longer in proportion to the body, kids are mostly torso, so the same float that comes easy to a kid has more weight to lift for you.

The fix isn’t fighting harder. It’s changing your shape. Fold forward and you sink, that’s just physics working against you. Open your chest with a big breath and arch your back, pressing your lungs and shoulder blades into the water, and your hips lift on their own.

One breath. One shape change. That’s the whole float.

We keep our group classes small on purpose, and it’s not just a scheduling choice. It’s a teaching strategy.

Kids learn by watching each other. When one student lands a skill, the others in the group want to do it too, and that peer motivation does work no instructor can replicate alone. Group lessons also naturally build in rest between reps, which means each child gets time to reset and come back focused for their next attempt, instead of rushing through tired reps.

Private lessons exist for a different job entirely: getting a child over a specific hump that’s holding up their progress, moving through a level faster, or hitting a skill by a specific deadline.

Neither format is objectively better. They’re built to solve different problems, and knowing which one your child needs is part of how we structure a plan.

The number one reason kids panic in the water: it’s their first time being in it without mom or dad.

So in level one, we’re not just teaching skills. We’re building comfort. That starts with independence: can they get into the water without their parent right there?

That’s why we ask parents to sit in the back. We’ll handle it. Our coaches use different toys and methods to help kids calm down and focus on the lesson in front of them.

Comfort first. Skills follow.