The stages of a person’s life eventually lead to the one that hopefully fulfills that life’s reason for being. For a reason I was given the gift of being able to visualize the physical adjustments a person needs in order to become a proficient swimmer. In addition it seems I have a unique knack for conveying that information. Those gifts coupled with the joy I receive from teaching swim skills to people of all ages led me to realize that perhaps I could reach even more people if I put my teaching techniques into words.
From my growing up years in a little village named Poland, Ohio to my travels around our magnificent country and tremendously complicated world, my heart comes back to individuals in need of swim assistance. Each human being is composed of innate ability as well as developed learned behavior. For those with innate swimming ability the action and reaction of the body’s muscles in contrast to waves in the water are poetry in motion. Learned behaviors require actual life experiences to enhance their development. Therefore swim lessons are available in many diverse venues (the Red Cross, the “Y”, community pools, etc.) for folks to be taught the muscle memory needed for each particular swim stroke.
My Mother and Father (deceased) were instrumental in facilitating my love of swimming. Daddy had one day off from work each week and every weather-appropriate Sunday in the summer we would travel a few miles to either Firestone swimming pool or New Middleton Lake. I recall wanting Mom and Daddy to continually slide my little body in the water back and forth between them as I learned how to glide. Water sensations cascaded over my body as if I was floating inside a cloud. I felt like I was protected from outside forces by this swimming pool water that enclosed my body; I felt free. Could this be what an in vitro baby feels in amniotic fluid?
I began teaching swim lessons while in college to help with finances while going to school. Even at that early stage in my swim career, parents would often tell me that their child learned so much and progressed so quickly from my lessons. It never occurred to me that I had a special gift from God in that I could visualize and quickly alter body misalignments so that a child or adult could more easily propel themselves through the water. Several venues came to me through the years as I moved from city to city, and my swim training skills constantly developed. I taught Adult Petrified classes, Special Needs classes, Special Olympics diving competition, as well as various summer group lessons. The most fascinating element to me is that I would continue to discover new techniques through each experience. I constantly changed my sufficient systems to develop even more sophisticated methods.
Why did I venture into TUB Swimming? GYMSTERSwim is a little business I began as an offshoot to a physical education and motor development company that I ran for many years in California and Arizona. GYMSTERS® continues with several proprietary owners who are also very dear friends of mine in California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Arizona. As the GYMSTERSwim owner/instructor I am hired by families to go to their private homes or community centers to instruct individuals in water skills and safety. One June day in Scottsdale, Arizona I entered a private home to teach the family’s young son in their back yard pool. The mother and I ascertained that it was just too cool in both the pool water (little tykes need close to 85 degree water to perform the best) and the air temperature for their son to enjoy his water experience. Who would have thought that a June day in Arizona would be too cool to take swim lessons? I am sure that all of you know about Arizona’s 100+ degree weather. I believe that there is no such thing as coincidences, and that one needs to be in the right place at the right time for sequences to gel. Since I never waste instructional time, I asked if I could fill up the family bath tub and have his lesson there. Since my little swimmer had already had a few lessons with me in the warmer pool water, he knew me and what to expect. We had a terrific lesson. All of the goals for my day were met in the family bath tub. Consequently, TUB Swimming was born.
Why me? I have asked myself that question over and over. Doug (my encouraging husband) and I are childless. Nevertheless teaching numerous venues in education has given me quality instructive tools that assist with early childhood development. A child’s self esteem is an immense part of this preparation process. In class I establish rules and expectations to which students are expected to adhere. I am a determined disciplinarian with the parameters that I am firm, fair, and positive. Encouragement is constantly given with rewards for good behavior. The daily lesson expectations are clear and I instruct each person through respect. This question “Is discipline what the children and adults who sign up for my classes needed?” seems to be the million dollar question. I am someone who says what I mean and mean what I say. Children in today’s world need to know what is expected of them and TUB Swimming provides a pattern for success.
I visualize many people enjoying the water after reading and employing the skills learned in TUB Swimming.
TUB Swimming 