“Does  your child suddenly seem to not like swim lessons? Does he refuse to try a certain skill? I CAN’T EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH: Evaluate your feedback.  Experts agree that young children are motivated to learn through what they perceive as to be fun or play. Our Parent & Me and Swim 101 course reflect this philosophy. It is critical that teachers and parents are sensitive to this developmental perspective.  Try not to ever force an adult work ethic upon young children. Preschool swim lessons should be fun, playful experiences.”

Short social media messages like that are invaluable.  You can communicate your philosophy, observations, and share tips in an informal manner.  You eliminate personal confrontation and give the parents a chance to digest what you’re saying.  Last but not least, you keep their attention because you aren’t writing an essay.  Let’s face it.  Attention spans are not very long these days, even with adults!

One more tip: Try to pretty regularly open with a question to engage your reader.  This can make or break whether they even take a look!

Hope this helps! you.  Anytime you have a question for me feel free to email me at swimprofessor@sc.rr.com

1. I email my current staff to find out which Swim Instructors will be back to teach for our spring and summer sessions, and how often and at what times they can teach.

2. I create a Staff Schedules for all eight of this spring and summer’s locations.  In the beginning planning stages, I just use a basic word table to organize and project how many new swim instructors I will need to hire, train, and mentor.

3. I “tweak” last year’s Help Wanted ad (if needed) and I pay to have it published in the Daily Gamecock (our local university’s newspaper).  I NEVER provide my phone number in the ad.  I provide my email only.  I will call them IF I like their pre-interview questionnaire which I will get to in a minute.

4.  I set the dates of this year’s classroom staff training.  This year I will lease a conference room at the Columbia Wingate Hotel on Sunday March 11th, 18th, 25th, and April 1st from 1PM – 6PM.  All new instructors will be required to attend.  All returning instructors are encouraged to attend and are paid a minimum wage for attending.  New instructors are not paid, however, their certification cost is “on me.”

5.  I respond to every swim teacher candidate who emails me expressing their interest in the swim instructor position (which is the first step of my hiring process).  I email them a “Pre-Interview Questionnaire.”   My questionnaire includes items such as contact info., summary of experience, availability for spring and summer, ability to attend all training sessions and mentoring sessions, and the phone number of their previous two employers).  This helps me weed out candidates who wouldn’t work out and waste my time interviewing.  I only want to interview candidates who sound great on this pre-interview questionnaire.

6.  I schedule Interviews at my office.  I pencil in all candidates I like that and are ready to accept the position.  I ask them if I can have their permission to submit their information for a background check at that time.  Once I fill all my swim instructor positions, I continue to offer “potential positions.”  I always offer the next half dozen or so applicants free training with a potential position.  I invite them to attend the training with the understanding that I may or may not have an immediate opening.  Those candidates who do the training always make a really good impression because it shows me that they are very enthusiastic about the position.  In addition, it never fails that candidates who accept the job end up changing their minds or their plans for whatever reason.  When that happens, you have an enthusiastic instructor trained and ready to go!  If it doesn’t happen, then I didn’t break any promises and they benefited from the free training.  And nine times out of ten, you eventually get them on board, and both you and your new instructor feel blessed!

So this is the beginning of my “To Do List” for the summer.  Of course there are many other items, i.e., website updating, determining which local events to be an exhibitor, where to advertise, etc. that will come up.

Please let me know if you have any questions and feel free to comment.  I hope this blog helps you, and I wish you the very best for your upcoming Summer Swim Lessons season.  If you would like to adapt the Swim Lessons University Instructor Training and Certification program, please let me know so I can get you started.  And I hope to see you at our next Swim Lessons University conference in New York.  And don’t forget, if you would like to do a “one-on-one phone consultation,” I CAN help you improve your swim lessons program/business!

How do you change this?  First, understand the way a typical child  approaches his/her activities.  Unlike adults, very few children are naturally inspired to be the most technically-sound kid on the block.  What do we know about children?  They want to race, play around, go underwater, and simply have fun–especially when they are in the swimming pool!  So as swimming instructors, we have to be one step ahead.  Here is a simple little game I use with my stroke classes that the kids really love, it’s called the “Olympic Games.”  Here’s are some basic instructions:

Step #1:  Give an Overview, i.e., “Now we are going to play a game called the Olympic Games.”

Step #2:  Determine the skill you will award them on based on their performance:  “If you show me super nice, big strokes on your freestyle, will will pretend you won the gold medal.  If they are good, we will pretend you will won the silver medal, and if they are pretty good, we will pretend you won the bronze.   If they are bad, we will pretend you won nothing at all (I am usually silly when I say this and rarely give nothing at all).

Step #3:  Start your student, and upon completion, give your student some feedback or a brief evaluation.

Step #4:  Tell him/her what medal he/she won.

Step #5:  Celebrate it in a fun way, whether it’s doing a body bump, a high five, or pumping their fists-make it fun and let them come up with some fun ways to celebrate on their own.

Swim Lessons Games really can lead to improvement.  I hope you and your students enjoy this game while making some stroke technique strides in the process!

NEVER BUY AMTRAK POINTS! The Amtrak Rewards system  doesn’t add up or make any sense. They had an Amtrak Points Rep tell me to buy $270 worth of points to and my next trip would be free.  It ended up being a free trip via Coach which is worth about $100.00. Their terrible policies don’t even let their managers refund my $270 for the points I purchased three days ago!  Their excuse:  Because points are through a 3rd party service, points.com!   Well someone has by $270 and I would bet Amtrak has most of it!  Talk about bad customer service. My blood pressure is off the charts right now!  By the way, I called points.com.   They told me they didn’t have authority but Amtrak did.  They put my call back to Amtrak.  Do you see the pattern?  I feel like I have been robbed.

If you’re going to have a “guest rewards” system, shouldn’t the goal be to make your guests feel special?  Well I feel “especially ripped off.”

If you’re in business, whatever you do, do what you can to make your guest feel special.  Let them know that you care.   Throw out policies that will make them never want to use your business again and tell their 800 plus friends about their bad experience on facebook (which is what I just did).   I guess big companies, especially those that have a monopoly on their market can afford it.  I know my swim school can’t.   And I know one thing for sure… I NEVER want to make a customer as mad as Amtrak made me today, especially without ever coming up with a solution to make things right.  Every business is going to fail their customer at one point or another for one reason or another.  But what makes you great is how you react and respond to the problem.   I was going to tell all my Swim Lessons University and Swim Lessons Company friends and followers about how Amtrak fixed my problem.  Instead I am telling anybody and anyone who wants to listen that it feels like Amtrak just robbed me of $270.00.

Whether you are a swimming instructor or a school teacher—Water Smart 101 is a program you can easily adapt and teach in the schools (not in pools) in an effort to save lives by educating our youth before they are let out for the summer.

Water Smart 101 was inspired by South Carolina State Representative Wendell Gilliard, who reached out to me last year to create the program. Representative Gilliard proposed a bill in South Carolina that requires one hour of Water Safety Instruction in the classroom in every elementary school in the state.

This DVD is part of an entire curriculum which consists of this DVD, lesson plans, a homework assignment, and exam. The homework features a Water Safety Promise that both the child and parent(s) study together, discuss together, and sign together. The content of the Water Safety Promise is then reviewed in the next day’s lesson, which is followed by a written exam.

By the time children enter kindergarten, they are old enough to understand both the pleasures and risks involved with the water. To be truly successful, I think it is critical that we not only teach the children how they can keep themselves safer, but also involve their parents.  Parents are obviously a vital link in the overall plan, as they can further reinforce the importance of this water safety education and you can include them by having them participate in the homework assignment and sign the Water Safety Promise.

You will never be able to drownproof a child, but you can teach them to be 100% Water Smart!” If all of our children are 100% water smart–here’s no telling how many lives will be spared.

My goal is to help you make teaching water safety in the classroom both effective and as easy as 1-2-3.  As we get into the content of Water Smart 101 DVD course, I’m breaking it down and sharing with you what you can do to make your lesson engaging, fun, and effective.  We are currently editing my presentation I did with a local elementary school in South Carolina, while incorporating tips to help you re-produce the same presentation.

I am also considering either a separate DVD or a bonus section that would allow teachers to simply put the DVD in and PLAY IT for their classroom.   This will require me to video the presentation again, but this time talk directly to the camera (so the children watching the DVD have the sense that I am talking to them).  I think this will make it easier for some school teachers, while swim school owners and swim instructors will likely want to do the presentation themselves.

What do you think?  Look foward to your feedback!

So my first tip in this week’s blog is to make sure that you keep your current customers happy!   Never argue with a customer, and always go above and beyond their expectations so they will tell all their friends GOOD THINGS about you!  And with facebook and social networking, this is 100x more important than ever!

What about your list of customers from say… the past year or two?  This list is like gold!  I sure hope you have one!  Constant contact is the key  not only to keeping current customers, but also bringing back previous ones.   Let’s be honest, very few swim lesson families keep their kids in lessons 12 months out of the year.   Because of this, it is so important that you stay in touch with them.  That you keep yourself in front of them.  That you remind them of the importance of ongoing instruction.   If YOU don’t…WHO WILL?

With Black Friday coming up, I thought I’d share my “email of the week” with you.  That’s right, I send an email out every week all year long, with very few exceptions.  And oh yeah… guess which day of the week we do the most swim lesson registrations?  You guessed it!   We do the most registrations BY FAR within 24 hours of my weekly email.  Most of them register online on our website too, which is great because I can cut back on my office staff in the off-season (Would you like a great registration program?  Feel free to call me at 1-866-498-7946 and ask me about ours).

By the way, if you are looking for some more great ideas and tips on improving your swim school, you may want to consider a little gift for yourself!  Invest in one of our “SLU One Day Super Conferences” as low as $85.00 and/or my One-on-One Phone Consultations.  The phone consults start at just $25.00 and I personally promise that little investment will come back to you tenfold in no time at all!

Well here is this week’s newsletter…feel free to use it yourself!

SUBJECT LINE:  What gift should you consider BEFORE Black Friday?

Swim school owners must do the same.  What questions should you be asking?  Here are a number of good ones to get you started:

• How can we improve our staff training?
• What incentives do we offer our instructors to be even interested in improving what seems to be already working?
• How can we improve our customer service?
• What can we do to increase referrals?
• How can we advertise more cost effectively?
• What can we do in order to encourage ongoing instruction and repeat business from the students we already have?
• How can we use social networking more effectively?
• What costs do we have that are “wants” vs. “needs?”
• How can we communicate more effectively?
• What can we do to make doing business with us easier?

The list of questions you have to ask almost endless.   As business owners, we have to ask these questions and then act upon them if we are going to continue to improve.  As the saying goes,  “If what you did yesterday still looks good today, then you haven’t done much today.”

The best in any business don’t turn a blind eye to the negatives that are present–even when the business is successful.  The best are always looking to get better. Like a great coaching staff, you have to pick apart every aspect of your game and find ways to get better.

What if things aren’t going well for you?   Then double the importance of everything we just discussed.   Be resilient, find a way stay positive, and refuse to quit.  Be determined and enjoy the challenge.  Sometimes you have to take chances.  But learn every day, drink from good books, and seek help from those who have been there.

Barb Limbo, Aquatic Director for the Rapid City Aquatics Recreation Department in South Dakota comments, “We have adapted the Swim Lesson University program. The ease of training staff is great. The videos show the instructors how to interact with children, not just show the progressions of the strokes.   Swim Lessons University is wonderful and has been great to work with on the switch at our facility–making our transition much easier.”

There are several real advantages, in addition to it being more cost effective solution for recreation departments, YMCA’s, and swim schools.   To name a few, all training can be done in-house.  SLU training features video-based courses so swim instructor candidates get to learn from watching real learn-to-swim classes and expert instructors vs. the traditional textbook approach.  Swim Lessons University training is also very convenient as swim teachers do all their testing online.

Former USA Olympian, 1988 Silver Medalist, and swim school owner Beth Barr speaks of Jim Reiser and Swim Lessons University:

“Your appreciation and knowledge of the sport, your business sense and your understanding of children and how they learn is revolutionizing the swim lesson industry.   Your efforts have not only given me the confidence to start BARRacuda Swim Works, they have also reminded me of the critical importance of our profession. Your passion is apparent and catching – it is important to teach children and their parents how to enjoy the water, safely, and to help them develop a skill they can enjoy their entire life.”

Jim Reiser, Swim Lessons University’s Executive Director, just received the President’s Award for his contributions to learn-to-swim world wide at the World Aquatic Babies & Children Conference.   The conference was held in Clearwater Beach, Florida at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort where 17 countries were represented.

For more information on adapting the Swim Lessons University curriculum and Swim Instructor certification program, contact Jim Reiser at jreiser@swimprofessor.com or call 803-665-8709.

Amazingly, also according to SafeKids Worldwide, only four states (CA, AZ, FL, and OR) require some type of fencing around residential pools.   FENCING SHOULD BE MANDATORY IN EVERY STATE.   Don’t agree with me?  Ask Jo-Ann Morris.  Ask Michelle Zieg.

Every residential pool should be fenced in… period!   If children reside in the home or will ever visit, four-sided fencing is a must!  In addition, while it is not substitute for fencing or supervision, every child should learn to swim.  Self-closing gates and pool alarms like the SAFETY TURTLE should also be used.  Every parent should follow the Safer 3.

Eric Probst, an attorney at the Law Firm of Porzio, Bromberg and Newman in Morristown, NJ has represented the swimming pool industry for over ten years.  While he states clearly this message does NOT constitute legal advice, he comments:  “I can tell you that a pool fence is definitely not a luxury.  Fencing in your backyard pool is about safety. Child drowning issues are paramount for the builder and homeowner alike.  Children are too often injured who have parents with the best intentions of keeping them.” As for  liability, no hard-fast rules exist for imposing liability on a homeowner. Each case turns on the status of the person injured (trespasser, invitee, guest) and the facts of the case. Whether a state where a drowning occurs requires the pool owner to have a fence around the pool or not, would be but one fact for the court and jury to consider when evaluating whether the homeowner is responsible for the child’s drowning. There are many other facts that could exist that would affect the ultimate liability determination.

Several other experts have weighed in as well:

Rebecca Wear Robinson • Pool fencing can only be considered a luxury by people who don’t understand why fencing is needed. Indoor plumbing was considered a luxury as well – and people became sick and died from contaminated water sources (and still do in many areas). The bigger issue is communicating to everyone why a pool fence is no different from seat belts and car seats in cars – we have to teach children how to be safe for their whole life, but while they are learning we have to help keep them safe. A pool without a fence is no different from sending a 2-year old off to preschool with a cheery wave, hoping they figure traffic patterns successfully.

Jim Reiser • Rebecca is absolutely right! Fences around public pools are a requirement, and they should be for residential as well. No fence?  No pool!  It should be law!  Whether it’s selfishness or ignorance, the lack of fencing around residential pools is basically killing innocent babies, toddlers, and young children. The homeowner, I would assume would not only be extremely liable if a child drown in their pool, they would have to live with that for the rest of their life.

Jeff Steers • I believe a pool fence is not a luxury, in terms of either safety or facility financial considerations.

It is my understanding (and I’ve been wrong before) that here in Indiana, a fence is required around pools in residential areas but not legally necessary in rural areas. I could be cynical and suggest the residential requirement is more for liability regarding the neighbor kids rather than legislating good parenting skills for the homeowner’s own children, but again, I could be wrong.

If we had a residential pool when our sons were toddlers, we certainly would have had a fence, not around the backyard, but the pool itself. We know how quickly very young children can escape even the best parental monitoring and supervision, and constantly hear news reports about how that has ended with a drowning in their own home pool.

Changing gears, what is the additional expense of installing a fence at a facility compared to the huge liability expense should an incident occur? And I would presume that the absence of a fence would create a larger ongoing liability expense in terms of increased premiums.

When I say liability expense, I am also speaking in terms of moral and ethical liability as well as financial. First, who wants to be known as the Drowning Place? Second, and more importantly, do we not have a caring responsibility toward our fellow human beings to prevent access when rescue staff are not available? To be even more melodramatic, not installing a fence around a pool is like the Titanic builders saying, “Ah, we don’t need so many lifeboats…”

I agree; I see a pool fence as not only very important, but as near necessity.

Don Coppedge • I’m glad we are on the same page. As someone in my line of work, I can’t tell you how many times I have come across misinformed consumers who do not think they can ever become victims of an accident; therefore, don’t need a pool fence.

I hope this blog will serve as a means to prevent childhood drowning.

Please feel free to add your comments too.  If you are pro-fencing—I will approve them!

I hope you can help w/more advice. I”m still a beginner swimmer. My teacher told me I need to work on my kicking, and I’d like to get some fins. Saw some lightweight flippers at Todd & Moore, and then just regular swim fins (I guess). I think I need “short fins” or something like that. Suggestions? I haven’t looked at Dick’s Sporting Goods yet, but might tomorrow. thank you.

- Roxanne D.

Dear Roxanne,

Swim fins can be helpful for all swimming ability levels.  Personally, I would strongly recommend the Finis Zoomers.  Here are the reasons why I prefer the short blade Zoomers over other versions.

1.  Short Blade - Long blade fins do have a purpose, for instance, scuba diving.  If I have to get away from a shark, I want the longest blade possible, LOL    But seriously, long blade fins are a nice training tool for elite competitive swimmers for “sprint assisted” swimming.   Research shows that one way to improve sprint speed is to train at speeds faster than you can normally go.  The long fins allow for that.  Of course there are other ways to do that too, i.e., sprint assisted work with tubing.  But long fins can serve that purpose for a coach who has lots of swimmers in the pool.

So why do I recommend the short blade fins for swimming instructors and their swim lesson students?  Very simple.  If you study closely the movement pattern of the kick with a short blade fin, it will resemble very closely the movement pattern with no fins at all.  ON THE OTHER HAND, if you observe a kick with the long blade fin, the kick is a little different.  For competitive swimming especially, when races are won and lost by fractions of a second, you would clearly want to gain a training edge.  So when you are training with fins, you would ideally replicate that movement as closely as possible (I will touch on swim fins for beginners again at the end of the blog).

2.  Negative Buoyancy – The zoomers (at least the Original Zoomers did) are constructed with a rubber that give the fins negative buoyancy.  In other words, they sink.   Why is this an advantage?  From a training standpoint, your legs will experience the strengthening benefits that are a result of the fins making your legs work harder.  Floating fins, on the other hand, won’t work your legs quite as hard.

Let’s get back to swim fins for swim lessons, beginners, and novice swimmers.   When I am teaching a non-swimmer or beginner to swim, you don’t want the teaching tool to give more assistance than necessary.  It goes back to my lesson plan philosophy with flotation devices, holds, supports, and progressions.  The best artificial support is the one that gives the student just enough support to be successful.  If you give the learner too much support, they become dependent on it.  Then when you ask the learner to perform the skill on their own, it’s like asking them to climb a mountain instead of a small hill.  If you take baby steps, the learner will not only experience physical success  faster, but he will experience a psychological success as well,  and more importantly–his confidence will grow.

I believe this directly applies with swim fins for beginners.  If you give your beginner swimmer this big flipper that provides extraordinary propulsion, that’s all well and good until you remove the fin and ask them to swim without it.  Suddenly, their feet feel like rocks instead of flippers,  often resulting in a discouraged student who was on the verge of success, only to learn it was the flipper, not him!   The Zoomers, on the other hand, make the transition much easier because while they do provide additional propulsion, the kick with the Zoomers feels very similar to  the kick without the Zoomers–because it is!

So there you have it!  I hope my recommendation helps you and many others!