Year-round indoor heated pools · Oak Ridge North, TX · Serving The Woodlands, Spring & Conroe
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Milestone 2 · Independent Swimmer

Puffin

Level 5 · Training pool

Moving into the training pool and beginning to shape freestyle and backstroke.

The Pod Aquatics color-coded level wristband the pod band · Level 5
Puffin swim level character, The Pod Aquatics Journey
Inside the level

What this level looks like

Who it is for

Independent swimmers moving from survival skills into stroke work.

What a lesson looks like

A 30-minute group lesson, five swimmers to one instructor, in the training pool, which is kept above 90 degrees. Private lessons are also available.

How long it takes

From here the timeline lengthens. Solid stroke mechanics in strokes like freestyle and backstroke generally take 50 to 80 or more lessons overall, spread across the Independent Swimmer and Advanced milestones.

What earns the wristband

Puffin is complete when a swimmer holds streamline, reaches with the arms, kicks on belly and back, and swims longer distances with and without goggles.

Parent questions

What comes before Puffin?

Otter, where swimmers first reach a destination unassisted.

What is the training pool?

A dedicated teaching pool, one of three heated pools on site, where swimmers learn strokes before moving to the four-lane 25-yard lap pool.

How many swimmers per instructor?

Five, for 30 minutes.

What you'll master

Skills in Puffin

Check them off as your swimmer earns them, one skill at a time, before moving up the Journey.

✓
Introduction to training pool
✓
Swim with and without goggles
✓
Swim longer distances by continuously using Swim-Float-Swim
✓
Swim on back with appropriate kicks
✓
Introduce streamline
✓
Introduce reaching arms
✓
Develop flutter kick on belly and back
Have questions? Contact us
The Journey

Where Puffin sits

Ten levels across three milestones. Tap any level to open its page.

Up next on the Journey
Penguin
Stroke + endurance
Penguin