MASA offers a variety of swim lessons from infant to adult. Here you will find class descriptions to help decide what level is the best. If you are still unsure, give us a call at 715-443-3772 and we will be happy to help!

Preschool Class Descriptions

6 months thru 5 years old

Water Babies/Tiny Tots (6-36 months old with parent) – Introduce basic skills; including safety topics, to parents and children.

• Learn to ask for permission before entering the water.
• Establish expectation for adult supervision.
• Enter and exit the water in a safe manner.
• Explore submerging mouth, nose and eyes.
• Get comfortable with floating on their front and back.
• Learn glides on their front and back.
• Perform combined arm and leg actions with assistance.
• Activities are individualized for each swimmer based on age and ability.

Super Tot I (3-5 years old without parent) -Familiarize children with an aquatic environment and help them gain basic aquatic skills.

• Enter and exit the water in a safe manner.
• Submerge and blow bubbles as well as opening eyes to retrieve submerged objects.
• Learn to float, glide and recover to a vertical position.
• Practice arm and leg action on front and back.
• Combine arm and leg action.

Super Tot II (3-5 years old without parent) – Help children gain greater independence in their skills and develop more comfort in and around the water.

• Enter the water by stepping in and exit by using a ladder, steps or the side.
• Bob and open eyes to retrieve submerged objects.
• Learn front and back floats, glides and how to recover to a vertical position.
• Practice rolling and treading water.
• Combine arm and leg actions on front and back.
• Learn finning arm action on their back.

Novice (4-5 years old) – Help children start to gain basic swimming skills so that they can be successful as well as comfortable in and around the water.

• Enter the water by jumping in.
• Learn to submerge and hold their breath.
• Review floats, glides and how to recover to a vertical position.
• Learn to tread water.
• Combine arm and leg action on their front and back.
• Practice finning arm action on their back.
• Change direction of travel while swimming on their front and back.

Progressive Swim Program Class Descriptions

These classes are for children ages 6 years and up.

Level 1 – For children age 6 and older that have never had lessons before. Many children who have taken preschool lessons or are not afraid of the water are able to skip Level 1. Introduction to water skills that helps participants feel comfortable in the water.

• Enter and exit the water using a ladder, steps or the side.
• Blow bubbles, bob and open eyes to retrieve submerged objects.
• Glide on their front and back, float and recover to a vertical position.
• Learn to tread water.
• Learn arm and leg action on their front and back.
• Combine arm and leg actions on their front and back.

Level 2 – For children age 6 and older that have had past swimming experience or lessons. Level 2 gives participants success with fundamental aquatic skills.

• Enter the water by stepping or jumping from the side.
• Exit using a ladder, steps or the side.
• Fully submerge while holding their breath, bobbing and opening eyes to retrieve submerged objects.
• Introduce rotary breathing.
• Float, glide and recover to a vertical position.
• Roll and change directions of travel while swimming on their front and back.
• Combine arm and leg action.
• Finning arm action on their back.
• Tread water.

Level 3 – Stroke development; build on previous skills in deep water.

• Enter by jumping from the side.
• Learn the head first sitting and kneeling dive.
• Bob to safety.
• Build on rotary breathing.
• Float, tread water and change from a vertical to a horizontal position on their front and back.
• Introduce front crawl and elementary backstroke.
• Introduce elementary, dolphin, breaststroke and scissors kick.

Level 4A – Stroke improvement to develop confidence and improve skills.

• Learn head first entries; dives from a compact and stride position.
• Introduce feet first surface dive, survival swimming, and front and back open turns.
• Improve needed skills for treading water.
• Practice front crawl dolphin and scissors kick.
• Introduce back crawl, elementary backstroke and breaststroke.

Level 4B – Continue stroke improvement to develop confidence in previously learned skills.

• Practice dives.
• Practice treading water while increasing strength.
• Build on front and back crawl, breaststroke and elementary backstroke.
• Introduce sidestroke and butterfly.

Level 5 – Stroke refinement provides further coordination.

• Introduce a shallow-angle dive from the side.
• Learn pike and tuck surface dives and front and back flip turns.
• Increase endurance in survival swimming and treading water.
• Refine strokes and build endurance on their front and back including crawl, elementary backstroke, breaststroke, sidestroke and butterfly.

Level 6 Fitness – Skill proficiency means that participants strive for perfection so that they swim with ease, efficiency, power and smoothness over greater distances.

• Helps prepare participants for competitive swimming.
• Teaches participants how to use swim aids to build arm and leg strength, to learn more advanced aspects of competitive swimming.
• Builds more endurance and instills a lifelong desire for aquatic fitness.

Level 6 Personal Water Safety – prepares participants for advanced activities including Water Safety Instructor Aide, Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguarding.

• Provides individuals with general water safety information in order to create an awareness of causes and prevention of water accidents.
• Develops a desire to be safe and to encourage healthy and safe water recreation.

Water Safety Instructor Aide – This is an aquatic challenge for youth age 11 and up that will teach you to be a more effective aide to our WSI instructors. 

• Your training will include a one hour orientation and then you may aide for one of our swim classes here at MASA. 
• You can help teach preschool through ARC Level 5 where you will gain experience in working with kids.
• These orientations are usually offered at the beginning of each swim session. 
• You may aide for as many sessions as you like after taking the orientation. 
• We try to place you with different swim levels each time. 
• You must have completed ARC Level 6 – Personal Water Safety.

There is no cost for this class.