When Emilee and I decided to bring this “safety first” technique of swim instruction to southeastern Idaho, we knew that we were going to be faced with a lot of decisions. With that in mind, we decided that no matter what, the one thing we would always keep as a top priority was the quality of lessons we were providing. Regardless of time, money, and scheduling, we knew that we could never sacrifice this quality because it saves lives. With that in mind, we have developed a training program for ALL new instructors that allows them to be the very best for you and your children. So, what do we do to make our instructors great?

First, we hire amazing people. We interview all of our instructors both in and out of the pool and have rigid criteria that we look for. As a result, we hire less than 1% of all applicants for our job positions. During the hiring process we look for past swim experience, knowledge of childhood development and psychology, and passion for water safety. We look for the very best candidates and the ones that we feel confident will develop into incredible resources for your family’s journey towards safety in the water!

Once we have found a good candidate, and confirm that they are CPR certified, we immediately start training in the water. Each instructor spends 60 hours in the pool with a head instructor before they ever take a lesson on their own. That equals out to about 180 lessons that they observe and participate in, with support, before they have their own schedule. After they have completed 60 hours, they spend 1 month teaching their own lessons with constant support from a head instructor. Throughout this month, they have a resource to answer questions, solve problems, and continue training while putting their skills into action.

Outside of the pool, we nurture a culture in our workplace of constant growth and development. We understand that our lessons are about much more than swimming. In fact, each instructor needs to have in-depth knowledge about anatomy, physiology, and developmental psychology, as well as how to apply this knowledge with your child to help them self-save in a crisis situation and develop a healthy love of the water. To assist in this growth, we provide yearly recertification opportunities, complete with local experts in these fields that come to assist our instructors in their progress.

 

Finally, each and every instructor we hire cares deeply about the individuals they serve. At the end of the day, we are here to save lives and promote the wonderful sport that is swimming. We each love what we do and love creating connections with every child and family that we work with. As we move forward, and continue expanding our locations and schedules, you may have the chance to meet more of our employees. The trust and connection that you build with your child’s instructor will set the tone for the relationship your child will develop with them. Please know that they have put in a lot of work to be here, and take some time to get to know them. As you do, you will come to see just how incredible they each are and how much they care for your children.

If you have had a great experience with any of our instructors, we invite you to share with us on social media or our Google business reviews! We would love to hear about it!