FAQs
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
Learning to swim when I was five, my family spent a lot of time in the water on vacations and in urban pools as I grew up. I distinguished myself as a swimmer in high school, then continued to train for exercise and triathlon competition until the present day. I first began teaching swim lessons during college. After my freshman year, I came home to Sacramento to work as a city pool lifeguard, swim teacher, and swim coach. I continued that the following year then, on a break from school, became a swim teacher for Reed College and the Boys Club in Portland, Oregon. Eight years ago I began teaching swim lessons regularly again. I applied skills I'd learned from a successful yoga career, and enhanced these with further insights into hydrodynamics, muscle control, buoyancy, bone density and other insights key to teaching swim technique.
- Describe a recent project you are fond of. How long did it take?
One student who came to me, Gerald B., was seriously deficient in both body control and courage towards the water. His fear was terrific. He had trauma from being thrown into the water as a child and nearly drowned. He'd also had grown up in a culture that did not emphasize fitness--let alone swimming skills. He had a very challenging time with everything, but using a rash of new techniques, and over the course of 18 sessions, I taught him a successful freestyle stroke and proper survival skills in the water. He was overjoyed, and I was glad of the new things i'd been forced to learn as a teacher.
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
Though less experienced teachers often have great enthusiasm, instructors with the most years of experience are often the the most skilled. Those with more years invested will, most likely, have more nuanced teaching techniques and broader knowledge. When looking for a good instructor, it's important to have a phone conversation with them first. Feel out your emotional connection to them, and discover whether or not you trust their authority and character. Listen to them describe their course of study and the structure of their classes. Discuss your swimming goals with them and share your degree of confidence in your physical and mental abilities, or lack thereof. If the conversation is successful, dive in! You learn by experimenting. Trust. Try out the first teacher that feels good to you.