Summer is a time when thoughts turn to cooling off by immersing oneself into a body of water. In other words, getting wet. Here in the Midcoast area water surrounds us, from the oceans to the rivers to the ponds to the backyard swimming pools. For children especially, it is important to know how to swim to enjoy our natural resources. The Consumer Products Safety Commission reminds us why we must exercise care and caution around water. According to the CSPSC, drowning is still the leading cause of death among children ages 1- 4 and second leading cause of death in children ages 5-14.

The Aquatics Department at the Bath Area Family YMCA not only teaches swimming lessons but also water safety skills a mix of fun and physical activity and safety to create a love of swimming to last a lifetime.

“Learning basic water safety skills is a great introduction to the world of swimming that often continues with swim lessons and competitive swim programs,” says Aquatics Director Sean Vaillancourt. In fact, generations of area residents credit the Y with their first introduction to the water.

The Y provides swim lessons and water safety programs to students in RSU 1, Georgetown Central School and the West Bath School. The methods used at the Bath Area Y are the same methods used at all the Y programs throughout the country. Instructors are taught to stress the child’s own discovery of learning.

“It used to be you started with a more rigid approach,” Vaillancourt says. “Now we go in stages aligned with the child’s physical development.”

Lessons can begin with the infant of just a few months old, entering the water in the arms of a parent, allowing a gentle introduction to the feel of the water on the body.

“If the child can control their head, they are ready to go in the water with an adult,” Vaillancourt says.

Andrea Reiley is one of the 10 instructors in the Y’s swimming program. She teaches all the levels, from 3- year-olds to adults.

“We start with the basic building blocks of swimming: kicking and body position,” Reiley says. “We practice floating in all positions and that leads to rotary breathing. We teach that the body rotates and the head and breathing follow.”

For those older swimmers who were taught that kicking was a “must do,” Reiley says that kicking is important if the swimmer wants to get into competitive swimming, but you don’t want to dwell on it when they are just starting. Comfort and confidence in the water are the main objectives. Water safety is always a priority.

Vaillan court and Reiley both agree that it is never too late to learn to swim. Private swim lessons are an option for adults who have a hesitancy about the water and would rather not be part of a group. Contact the Y to find out about all the Aquatics Department offers. The financial aid program at the Y ensures that its lifesaving swim classes are available to all.

“The main thing is for the learners to have fun,” Reiley says.