David G. Thomas has been a swimming teacher and coach since 1948, when he became a water safety field representative for the American National Red Cross. In 1955 he became swimming coach and director of aquatics at Berea High School, Berea, OH. Eight years later he moved to the State University of New York at Binghamton, where he was director of aquatics and swimming coach until retiring as professor emeritus in 1985.

Thomas gained nationwide prominence in 1972 by producing a textbook, a teaching guide, exams, and visual aids for training swimming pool operators. The Swimming Pool Operators Handbook and the other materials were published by the National Swimming Pool Foundation as the basis for their Certified Pool Operators program.

Thomas has published many articles on aquatic subjects and is a contributing author to several books on swimming pool design and operation. He has written extensively since retirement, including the Leisure Press books Swimming: Steps to Success, Teaching Swimming: Steps to Success, Professional Aquatic Management (coauthored with Robert Clayton), and Competitive Swimming Management. Self-employed as a consultant in aquatics and pool design and operation, Thomas lives with his wife, Virginia, in Anderson, SC, where he enjoys swimming for fitness and boating.

Help your students refine basic swimming strokes, master competitive strokes, and discover the art of "watermanship" with Advanced Swimming: Steps to Success.

This second-level swimming book, by master teacher David Thomas, continues the progression started in Swimming: Steps to Success--part of the Steps to Success Activity Series, the most extensively researched and carefully developed set of sport skill instruction books ever published.

Offer swimmers 18 proven steps for mastering advanced skills.

In Advanced Swimming: Steps to Success, swimmers climb 18 additional steps to advanced swimming success. This unique skill progression reviews and improves the crawl and breast strokes, introduces the new competitive back and butterfly strokes, and helps swimmers learn competitive strokes and turns. Each step:

- explains why the concept or skill is important,

- identifies the keys to proper technique,

- helps swimmers correct common errors,

- explains how to practice each skill in realistic ways,

- lists specific performance goals for each drill,

- gives swimmers a summary checklist for evaluating proper technique, and

- lets swimmers proceed at their own pace.

In addition, this advanced book takes swimmers through the evolution of the breaststroke, the sidestroke, the less commonly known overhand sidestroke, and the series of trudgen strokes.

See all the titles available in the Steps to Success Series.