A little bit about me..
If someone had told me in college that I was going to end up a swim teacher - I would not have believed it. I was athletic, but only a moderate swimmer and not a lover of water. On the other hand, If someone told me that I would one day be working with young people, helping them discover an amazing skill that they didn’t know they could do… Yep, I could have believed that.
I am an uncle to 50 nieces and nephews so I discovered at a young age that connecting with kids was natural for me. However, it wasn’t until I had a pool and a child of my own that I had to research the rugged waters of getting my two year old swimming.
A friend of mine recommended 80 yr old Tom Bradbury who had been teaching since the 50’s. I was a bit concerned, as any parent should be when they are about to put their two year old in the water with a stranger, but after a knuckle biting first couple of days, it was riveting and beautiful to see all the kids happy and swimming. Tom was trained in a Hawaiian method called the “The No Nonsense Method” which had been around as far back as anyone can remember. The “No Nonsense” refers to the teacher; meaning no patronizing toys, games, begging or manipulation – just get in the water and get to the business of learning how to swim. This does not mean that the teacher needs to be harsh or disrespectful.
After witnessing my daughter and the other kids basking in the glory of their own transformation at only 2 years old, I was thrilled! They went from being horribly afraid to being happily in control in just a matter of days. Now, when I say “in control” it doesn't mean I was ready to throw my 2 year old in the pool and go have some cocktails, but a huge weight was lifted knowing that my daughter was definitely capable of swimming to the stairs and to the edges of the pool.
Inspired by the experience, I ended up training with Tom for the rest of the summer part of the next summer and going on to received my training in CPR from Child and Parent Resources. I enjoyed it and figured it might be fun to help friends and family teach their kids how to swim and I figured it might even save a life along the way. Well, like many unpredictable events in life's journey; it has turned into a full time passion.
I'm entering my 10th season as a swim teacher and I find it tremendously rewarding as long as I can keep connecting with kids. The other half of the year I design and build developmental toys and games for kids, play music and I'm a full time Dad because that is usually when my wife goes to back to work.
I am an uncle to 50 nieces and nephews so I discovered at a young age that connecting with kids was natural for me. However, it wasn’t until I had a pool and a child of my own that I had to research the rugged waters of getting my two year old swimming.
A friend of mine recommended 80 yr old Tom Bradbury who had been teaching since the 50’s. I was a bit concerned, as any parent should be when they are about to put their two year old in the water with a stranger, but after a knuckle biting first couple of days, it was riveting and beautiful to see all the kids happy and swimming. Tom was trained in a Hawaiian method called the “The No Nonsense Method” which had been around as far back as anyone can remember. The “No Nonsense” refers to the teacher; meaning no patronizing toys, games, begging or manipulation – just get in the water and get to the business of learning how to swim. This does not mean that the teacher needs to be harsh or disrespectful.
After witnessing my daughter and the other kids basking in the glory of their own transformation at only 2 years old, I was thrilled! They went from being horribly afraid to being happily in control in just a matter of days. Now, when I say “in control” it doesn't mean I was ready to throw my 2 year old in the pool and go have some cocktails, but a huge weight was lifted knowing that my daughter was definitely capable of swimming to the stairs and to the edges of the pool.
Inspired by the experience, I ended up training with Tom for the rest of the summer part of the next summer and going on to received my training in CPR from Child and Parent Resources. I enjoyed it and figured it might be fun to help friends and family teach their kids how to swim and I figured it might even save a life along the way. Well, like many unpredictable events in life's journey; it has turned into a full time passion.
I'm entering my 10th season as a swim teacher and I find it tremendously rewarding as long as I can keep connecting with kids. The other half of the year I design and build developmental toys and games for kids, play music and I'm a full time Dad because that is usually when my wife goes to back to work.
