Why Summer starts now at Coach Rob’s Pool School

It may be a chilly 40 degrees outside however summer starts now at Coach Rob’s Pool School. Sounds strange to even think of summer time starting on a blustery cold day, but February and March are the perfect time to start your summer off right with swim lessons at Coach Rob’s Pool School.

By the time May rolls around kids are looking forward to the end of the school year and parents are planning on warm summer days near or in the water. That’s also when we (my instructors, Millie in the office and myself) are asked these questions that typically end with “what can we do”. They go something like this –

• “Coach Rob, we are building a pool and want Junior and Sissy to be water safe when we open it, what can we do?”
• “Coach Rob, we are renting a house in Seaside right after school, what can we do to get the kid ready for a great vacation?”
• “Coach Rob, we are going to buy a boat this summer and want the kids to be water safe, what can we do?”

The answer to all three questions and many more that are similar is to start swim lessons in January and February. Our classes are small and the teacher to student ratio is most favorable.

For a non-swimmer, one set of lessons is not going to prepare the child for a safe summer around the water. Everyone learns at a different rate, just like learning to read. While one child learns quickly, others who are not comfortable in the water or have had limited exposure to the water do not move the dial at the same rate. However, all kids can learn to swim and be safe around a pool. Just remember, just because the kids can swim does not absolve the parents from supervising their swimming activity. Even good swimmers can get in trouble if they slip and hit their heads on the edge of the pool.

The second and third questions require a more detailed answer. Open water swimming, as opposed to pools, can provide more challenges and the need to be more efficient if they have to swim greater distances than those involving a pool. If the water is moving, as in a rip current at the shore, even greater skill, strength and endurance is required. More instruction and swimming is necessary to meet the challenges of open water. Many of our families spend time on the gulf in the summer and need much greater skill levels to be water safe in beach conditions.

However, the answer to each of the above questions is to start early to obtain the results you want for the summer swim season. Summer does start now at the Pool School.