Summertime means water time, but as much as we love water, it can be dangerous. Particularly for children. Teaching kids water safety is a vital part of reducing child drownings. In Florida, drownings are one of the leading causes of child deaths. When Coach Anne asked for volunteers to teach young children how to swim at the Port Orange YMCA, she wasn’t surprised when many of the Spruce Creek Swim Team members answered the call.
Alexis Maenza, Ben Yim, Brendan Myers, Brooklyn Call, Connor Wiles, Dikshita Acharya, Dylin Bundza, Elizabeth Meyer, Ella Moore, Emma Raines, Jacob Christie, Jason Foster, Jordan Lopez, Maggie Pang, Maris Wainright, Maura Myers, Sammie Loukes, Talulah Cheney, and Juan Beltran heeded the call and were ready to volunteer their time on a Saturday morning. Each attended a two-hour training session to learn the necessary skills needed to teach the children before meeting the group of children.
The main focuses were to ensure the child knew that they were safe with the instructor and teaching safety issues around the pool. The team of instructors taught the swimmers how to “monkey crawl” along the gutter from one place to the other. This drill was to help the swimmer get comfortable being in the water and knowing how to get to the steps or a ladder. As each swimmer began to feel more comfortable with their instructor, we began to see the swimmers getting their faces wet, blowing bubbles, and submerging their heads in the water.
It was amazing to watch as these young swimmers progressed. The swimmers were floating on their stomachs or backs unassisted, recovering toys from the bottom of the pool, kicking from one instructor to the next, and a few even took a stroke or two by the end of the lesson.
As apprehensive as these new swimmers were to start the day, many didn’t want to get out of the water when it was time to say goodbye. You can bet these kids are ready for their next lesson.
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