6 to 12 months
Rollback to Float
A baby learns to roll onto their back to float, rest and breathe, and to hold that position until help arrives.
Survival swim lessons for babies and toddlers in Helotes, with Coach Glare.
ISR Self-Rescue, taught one-on-one by Glare Sanchez, ISR Certified. Ten minutes a day, Monday through Friday, for 4 to 6 weeks, from six months old to six years.
The ISR Self-Rescue sequence
Swim, float, swim, all the way to the wall.
ISR is drowning prevention, not a splash class. Every ten-minute lesson rehearses one route: what a child does if they end up in the water alone, from the first stroke to the hands on the edge.
Fall in
The moment that matters: an unplanned trip into the water, often fully clothed.
Swim, head down
A few strokes face down toward the side, the way the lessons drill it.
Roll to the back
When air runs short, the child rolls face up on their own.
Float, rest, breathe
Held on the back at the surface for as long as it takes.
Roll over, swim on
Back onto the front and on toward the edge, in a repeat of the sequence.
Reach the side
Hands on the coping and crawl out, or stay floating until rescued.
10 min
- Mon
- Tue
- Wed
- Thu
- Fri
Five days a week for 4 to 6 weeks, one child and one instructor in the water. Short, daily and consistent is the whole method.
What will my child actually learn?
It depends on the age. ISR teaches each stage the one skill that keeps that child's face out of the water, then layers the rest on top.
Coach Glare Sanchez
An island kid, an engineer, then a mom at the pool edge.
Glare grew up on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, swimming, surfing, windsurfing, water skiing and boating. For islanders, she says, learning to swim young is imperative. She graduated as an engineer, then stayed home when her son, Noah, was born, and first met ISR when she took him through it at the age of one.
She became a swimming teacher, then a certified ISR Instructor. Her goal is simple: to give moms an additional layer of security by equipping their young ones with water survival skills.
Glare's story1
Noah's age when Glare first took him through ISR herself.
5.0
Google rating across 8 reviews of Infant Swim San Antonio.
Parents name the child, the season and the moment it clicked.
Kate, two summers running
“Absolutely love Coach Glare! Kate took lessons with her last summer and this summer. She has a way with the kids.”
Kristen, ISR Client · isrsanantonio.com
A little longer than six weeks
“Mrs. Sanchez is amazing! It took my child a little longer than the 6 weeks but Mrs Sanchez was patient and motivated to have my child truly comfortable and confident swimming. She doesn't teach for the money, but teaches a life skill of swimming, and wants to keep our children safe.”
Lindsay Valle · Google review
Isabella
“Glare is the best coach in the world! She is kind patient fun and just has the greatest attitude! She made me feel so safe and calm, and she connected with my daughter Isabella on another level!”
Erika, ISR Client · isrsanantonio.com
Back every season
“Glare is simply amazing. My son put up a fight at first but she was so patient and knew exactly how to get him to trust her. We continue to come every season!”
G DB · Google review
Twelve questions
Why don't parents get in the water?
That one, and the eleven other things parents ask Glare before the first lesson. Answers are from Infant Swimming Resource.
All parent questionsISR (Infant Swimming Resource) is aquatic survival instruction for infants and children, developed since 1966. Its focus is teaching your child to become a productive swimmer, or floater, in any depth of water: an "aquatic problem solver" rather than a child who has simply had fun in a pool.
ISR runs numerous safety protocols, and your child's health is monitored every day. A medical and developmental history is a mandatory part of the ISR national registration, held strictly confidential. Instructors attend a yearly re-certification symposium with quality control and continuing education, and parents get access to the Parent Resource Guide by Dr. Harvey Barnett and JoAnn Barnett.
ISR Instructors work from each child's individual strengths and experiences, using what they know of the behavioral sciences, child development and sensorimotor learning to guide the child through the sequence of learning to swim and float.
Parents enroll because they want their children to be able to help themselves if they ever end up alone in the water, and swimming is best learned early in life. ISR says its lessons greatly increase a child's chance of surviving an aquatic accident.
ISR claims a retention rate of 94-100% up to one year after lessons. Children can still pick up habits that interfere, like floating in a bathtub or playing on the steps, so staying in touch with your instructor and coming back in good time matters.
Dr. David Carr, a pediatrician in Orlando, Florida, conducted an extensive study on ISR. After completing it, Dr. Carr and his wife enrolled their own daughter in ISR lessons.
A baby does not need to perceive danger or be afraid to respond. If a baby has learned to roll over and float when they need air, they need skill, practice and confidence to deal with it calmly, not fear.
Children often fuss in the first few lessons because the place and the people are new. As they become more confident in the water, the fussing decreases, the same way any new skill feels hard until you get the hang of it.
ISR does not want a baby to first associate the water with a parent's love and attention. Teaching a child to respond to an aquatic emergency also takes concentration and objectivity that parents often find too hard to keep with their own child.
Being apprehensive in a new environment is different from fear. ISR is a drowning prevention program rather than a traditional swim class, a bit like a car seat: something you do for safety. Once children are competent, many cannot be dragged away from the pool.
Children under the age of 6 months are not neurologically mature enough to benefit from ISR instruction.
Flotation devices give children a false sense of security and hold them upright, a posture that does not fit swimming skills. Life jackets must still be worn in a boat or around water where accidental submersion is possible: they are not a substitute for the ability to swim or for adult supervision.
Registration, the waitlist and the fee
$105enrollment, new students
$35refresher classes
The enrollment fee is non-refundable and is paid to ISR, not to Glare, by PayPal, credit card or e-check, through the link in the email you get after signing up online. No slots open? Join the waitlist and you'll hear by email or text when one does.
Questions first? How sign up works, step by step