ABOUT
I'M EMILY
I absolutely love to swim.
The hot sun, the cold water—it all feels like home to me.
I swam competitively for nine years and played varsity water polo during my senior year of high school. Four of my six siblings swam competitively too. My parents were USA Swimming officials and starters. Our family vacations were centered around swim meets.
I have four kids of my own. A few years ago, I put my oldest into city swim lessons and after two weeks of them "teaching her how to swim" the instructor put her back in floaties on the last day to go down the slide and play at the pool. Way to kill her confidence...I felt like all that progress and hard work was destroyed! I went up to the instructor and told her that my daughter was not allowed to wear floaties and that I believed she was a good enough swimmer without them--and she was! My poor daughter was embarrassed because she wanted desperately to do what the instructor told her, but I knew it wasn't to her benefit. After that, I decided my kids weren't going to do public swim lessons again.
My daughter didn't like to learn from me, so I taught my husband how to teach her to swim. It went so well!
Once she gained the initial confidence, she wanted to keep learning and now I teach her. We love spending time at the pool together.
THE WHY
I have been teaching swim lessons for a long time, but this was never meant to be a full-time job. Without promoting my swim lessons, I have had more clients than I could physically manage, and I didn't know anyone to recommend. I found myself giving lots of information to parents so they could teach the same set of skills when I wasn’t available.
I have always given personal instruction to parents on what they can do in the pool (or bath) to help their children learn to swim. It is not me that creates a swimmer. Parents have to give their children exposure to the water and provide an environment that their kids can succeed in.
My whole goal is for children and parents to develop confidence and safety in the water. I want kids to be excited when they are invited to a swim party, instead of feeling embarrassed or awkward with their lack of swimming skills. Kids who learn to swim confidently recognize that they can do challenging and scary things, and have more confidence in their everyday lives.
MY EXPERIENCE
During my first summer teaching, a parent came up to me and asked if I offered private lessons. I started with one client for a couple weeks and by word of mouth, my clientele grew. I coached high school and club team swim teams, developing a stronger passion for teaching the foundations of swimming. With over 10 years of experience, I have taught literally hundreds of kids.
My passion is in teaching beginner swimmers. I have taught beginners from ages 0-68 years old! I was once honored to receive a mentor pin from a young Eagle Scout that had serious water-related trauma. While working with me he was able to conquer some very difficult fears and earn his swimming merit badge.
COURSE INFO
I was first certified years ago to teach Red Cross Swim Lessons, but I felt like that program was not enough to develop proper techniques and strong swimmers. So I have combined my knowledge from being a competitive swimmer, coaching swim team, and teaching lots of students with different backgrounds to create a program that allows kids to not only know how to swim, but to look good swimming too! One of my favorite compliments is that my students “swim beautifully.” Beautiful strokes include proper technique—which means less strain, more endurance, and more fun in the pool!
You can take my free quiz to know which level is right for your child. The quiz can be repeated as many times as you need, especially if you have multiple children.
