My Experience as a Swim Instructor
Addison shares her experience as a certified swim instructor at Steve Wallen Swim School in Roseville
By Addison Spears, Swim Instructor in Roseville
My time at Steve Wallen Swim School in Roseville began in late April towards the end of my senior year of high school. And I never thought it would have impacted my life so much.
I grew up always being surrounded by sports, whether it was watching them, playing them, or teaching them. The first sport I ever played, committing seven years of my life to it, was softball. It was always high competition since at a young age I played travel ball and went to places like Tennessee, Las Vegas, Reno, countless places in California, and many more. Next came tennis and volleyball for a year, cross country, and then the final sport being soccer for six years. Tennis, volleyball, and cross country were just the fillers to play while I continued to play soccer until my senior year of high school.
When the last season of soccer rolled around I had decided I needed a job I could really enjoy and from the very first day I started teaching swimming lessons at Steve Wallen Swim School I have kept that promise to myself.
Since working at SWSS, I have developed a love for the sport of swimming
Swim had never crossed my mind growing up because it wasn’t something my family would have introduced to me. Since working at SWSS I have developed a love for the sport of swimming. I have even improved my own skills so that I can confidently teach babies, kids and adults various things based on their wants. It was definitely hard in the beginning and many questions were asked from me, but I finally got to the point where I was enjoying every minute in the pool.
From swim lessons to life lessons…
While helping my students learn to swim I also learned a very important skill for teaching; negotiation. From the early ages of kids learning how to talk to kids who are about to be teenagers, it is all about getting them to agree with the things you want them to do. Simply asking a young child to work on their big arms will always be followed up with, ‘how many?’ and the never-ending cycle of trying to work a deal. That is something I will always enjoy doing with kids is watching them try to think of a way that they could bargain their way out of the situation because although the kid maybe only three, they can still be a little lawyer and get their way.
By far, the most rewarding part of being a swim instructor is building relationships with the kids and seeing their progress in each class.
The excitement that builds up in me seeing one of my students change from a shy, timid swimmer to a confident, giggly swimmer that looks forward to lessons every week will never get old. The reactions from the parents as they also get to watch the progress or even the adult that gets to finally feel comfortable swimming by themself after years of being afraid will never get old. Every lesson throughout my day has a different story I get to learn and constantly expands how I teach because no infant, kid, or adult is the same.
