July 12, 2026
By Jacqui Saxon — BTF Level 2 coach, Trisutto certified, mentored by Brett Sutton. Taught hundreds of adults to swim front crawl from scratch. Last updated: 20 July 2026.
Yes, you can learn front crawl as an adult — most people do it in about eight weeks. I’ve taught hundreds of people front crawl from scratch. Some in their 50s. Some in their 60s. Some who couldn’t put their face in the water on day one. Here’s exactly how we get you from that to a full length.
That’s the short answer. Here’s what actually happens, week by week.
Most adults who come to us learned to swim as kids, badly, or not at all, and decided somewhere along the way that front crawl “just isn’t for them.” That’s almost never true. What’s usually missing isn’t ability — it’s someone watching you closely enough to fix the one thing that’s going wrong.
We don’t start with stroke technique. We start with getting comfortable putting your face in the water and breathing out through your nose while you do it. One length. Stop. Breathe. Another length. That’s week one, and nobody’s watching you but us — sessions are small on purpose.
This is where we differ from most swim teaching. No kickboards. No kicking drills. We put a pull buoy between your legs from early on, because kicking hard is exhausting and does almost nothing for your speed. Your arms do the work; your legs just come along for the ride.
Paddles go on once your arm pattern is settled, so you feel exactly how much water you’re pulling through — most adults are amazed how little effort front crawl needs once the technique’s right. This is also when breathing starts syncing with your stroke rhythm instead of being a separate, panicked event.
By now you’re not thinking about each element separately — breathing, pulling, rhythm start running on their own. We build length by length rather than throwing you straight into 25 metres. Most people who started this course unable to put their face in the water are swimming a full length, unaided, by week eight.
No kickboards. No catch-up drill, single-arm drill, fingertip drag, or any of the generic drills you’ll find in a standard swim lesson. They’re not wrong exactly — they’re just not how we teach, because we’ve found pull buoy, paddles, and close individual coaching gets people swimming faster and with less frustration.
We run this at Axholme North Leisure Centre in Crowle, Thursdays 7–8pm, and we keep the numbers low enough that every swimmer gets coached every session — not lane herding, not a whistle and a stopwatch. If you’re not sure which level you’re at, tell us and we’ll tell you straight. Book onto the Learn To Swim course and we’ll take it from there.
I didn’t learn to swim properly as a competitive swimmer — I learned as an adult who was terrified of triathlon and needed to be able to get round a 400m swim without panicking. If I could do it starting from nothing, so can you. That’s not a sales line; it’s the whole reason this course exists.
If starting triathlon later in life is the only thing holding you back, read the full answer: Am I too old to start triathlon?
How long does it take an adult to learn front crawl? Around eight weeks of weekly coached sessions, starting from complete scratch — including adults who couldn’t put their face in the water on day one.
Do I need to be able to swim any stroke first? No. We’ve taught hundreds of adults front crawl from nothing, including people in their 50s and 60s.
Why don’t you use kickboards? Kicking hard is exhausting and does very little for your speed in front crawl. We use a pull buoy instead so your arms do the work and your legs stop wasting energy.
Will I be swimming a full length by the end? Most people finishing the eight-week Learn To Swim course are swimming a length of front crawl unaided. Some get there faster, some need longer — we coach the person in front of us, not a schedule.
Where and when do sessions run? Thursdays, 7–8pm, at Axholme North Leisure Centre, Wharf Rd, Crowle, Scunthorpe DN17 4HU. Individual coaching, small numbers, every swimmer gets watched every week.
We're Coaches Jacqui and Oliver Saxon, the Animis Coaching Team.
We are a mom and son coaching team who have changed our lives through the sport of triathlon. We aim to break down the mysteries of triathlon training and show you, the avid traithlete, how simple and flexible it can be so triathlon training really does become part of your lifestyle and not just a hobby.
