Water Safety Instructor Aide/Junior Lifeguard Training

When the kids on the swim team are 11 years old, they have the option to take two courses: Water Safety Instructor Aide (swim lesson teacher’s aide) and/or Junior Lifeguard. Most of the older swim team kids work as swim lesson teachers and lifeguards. Ryan has been SO excited to do both of these classes! Monday, June 20, he started both of them. So, we get up at 6:00 am every morning in order to be in the pool at 7 am for swim team. They both run for two weeks. He has swim team from 7-9, WSI aide from 9-10:30, and Junior Lifeguard from 10:30-12! Yes, he is in the pool every day for FIVE HOURS! Here’s the funny thing – twice his friends have invited him to go back in the afternoon to swim for fun. He obviously loves the water.

The WSI aide class has already been a great experience. His teacher, Jessa, was also his Level 3 or 4 swim lesson instructor, so she is thrilled to have him in her WSI Aide class! (He is the only one doing it right now.) On the first day, she gave him the “exit skills” papers for all of the swim lesson levels (about 11 of them). Parents who have had your kids in swimming lessons – you are familiar with the paper that you get at the end of the class letting you know what your child has passed off. She asked him to review them the first night for homework. The second night, she assigned him to write two lesson plans! He has written two lesson plans for homework every night. He has to come up with an opening activity, a review of skills, the main portion of the lesson, introduction to the next day, closing activity, etc. He has done such a great job with them! I am thrilled that he has the opportunity to create lesson plans at age 11. Some of my college students have struggled with creating lesson plans in their 30s and 40s!






One of Ryan’s best friends from swim team is in the Junior Lifeguard class with him. There are five kids in that class, which is taught by the head lifeguard, Tanner. They have reviewed basic diving and swimming (strokes) information, and have started to learn some rescue techniques and basic first aid. He loves it!

I’m always one to look ahead. Lately there have been many stories, both locally and nationally, about how teens are the age group having the most difficulty finding employment in the current economy. Hopefully this training, and next few years of experience, will help Ryan secure a great summer job, when the time comes. And in the meantime, he’s gaining some excellent skills…and loving every minute of it!