Tag Archives: swim

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Detroit Swims Makes Summer Safer

All children deserve to develop the skills to be safe around water, no matter what their economic status or skin color happens to be. But a national study by USA Swimming found that nearly 70 percent of African-American and Hispanic children have low to no swim skills, and are three times more likely to have a drowning or near-drowning incident than Caucasian children.

For children in Detroit, the reality is stark: of 120,000 children in the city, it’s estimated 100,000 of them can’t swim; many have never entered a pool. Most municipal pools in the city have closed in recent years. But the YMCA program Detroit Swims is turning that tide. Since the program launched in 2010, 1,300 children have taken swim classes through Detroit Swims at no cost to them. Program staff transport them to local high school pools, provide them with a suit and swim gear, and work with them to ensure that they learn enough skills to be safe around water.

It’s fitting, since the Y is  the largest single provider of swimming lessons in the country and more or less invented the way swim instruction is provided. And now Detroit Swims is using that expertise to literally save — and transform — lives.

Gwendolyn Howard believes in the program so much she’s taken responsibility to supervise her granddaughter Madison Tate, 10, and her classmates at Dickson Elementary School when they come to Detroit Swims at Cody High School. Madison already liked swimming and had some experience doing it, and has learned how to dive over the course of the program. Gwendolyn, a retired social worker, acknowledged the barriers many parents in the city face in getting their children to swim, with public pools falling victim to budgets cuts and few if any private pools available, but says this is a critical issue. “Detroit parents need to seek this out,” she says. “Everybody needs to be familiar with the water.”

Kids like Laura Whitley are living proof of the program’s effectiveness. Before she participated in Detroit Swims, she was afraid to even go near the deep end of the pool. Now, she can confidently backstroke across the deep end like she’s been doing it all her young life. “I was a little scared before, because I’m small,” she says. “Now I love it.”

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Team Makes a Splash For Strong Kids

It’s amazing what kids can accomplish when given an incentive. And when that incentive means they can help their fellow young people, do something they enjoy, and have a little fun with one of the adults in their lives? So much the better.

That’s what the novice swim team at the Birmingham Y did recently. Their coach, JD Prince, challenged them to raise $75 each for the Strong Kids Campaign. Anyone who did, he told them, could hit him and his fellow coaches in the face with a pie. If they raised $1,000 as a team,  they could have a pizza party.

Swimmers are not a group to shy away from a challenge, and this group of kids not only met the goal, they pretty much demolished it. All told, they raised $2,500 for the Strong Kids Campaign. And one swimmer, Kyra Beauregard, raised $800 all on her own.

The team raised the money by swimming laps; people could either pledge per lap or just give money to their swimmer. All of the team members are new to being on the swim team; many came from Y swimming lessons and joined the team to try out competitive swimming.

Aquatics director Robin Coapman says they’re still trying to figure out what reward to give the team for doing so well with their fundraising, but she’s proud of their hard work in helping other kids whose families might struggle to afford a membership to have all the benefits of joining the Y. Who knows, maybe next year one of those kids might be throwing a pie.

 

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Barracudas Excel In, Out Of The Pool

The Boll YMCA Barracudas Swim Team is tearing it up in the pool: they are swimming at national meets, including last week’s Black History swim meet in Washington, DC; they’re putting in the time at practice and seeing results like faster times, and they are doing all this while still performing well in school.

Swimmer Harisen Davis, for example, came to the Y for swim lessons and, after joining the team, quickly progressed to be one of the fastest swimmers for her age group,  Charisse Woods, the youngest swimmer on the team at age 7, has one of the largest spirits, according to her coach. Charisse placed 6th fastest in all four strokes for her age group, out of 62 swimmers, while in D.C. Both girls are on scholarship at the Y through the Strong Kids Campaign. Neither would be able to participate in this program that has allowed them to excel and grow without the generosity of those who give to the Strong Kids Campaign.

It’s not just the kids on the team who are benefitting from the Barracudas. Another amazing result is the teamwork among the parents of the kids on the team. Many of them face financial challenges — six out of the 17 students are on scholarship, and 12 came to the team through swim lessons taken on scholarship. But they have come together to make the program what they want for their children. Through tireless fundraising, they have financed all kinds of remarkable experiences for the team members. “They want uniforms and national meets and rewards and team equipment and team morale and team camaraderie; so, they decided to fundraise and dedicate themselves to serve on self-appointed committees,” says Boll Aquatics Director Mike Hamlett. “They are using their efforts and networking connections to help build their program into the thriving system that it is beginning to be.”

It all speaks to the higher purpose of the YMCA; beyond teaching some children to swim and giving them a chance to excel through hard work and support, the Barracudas (like so many other Y programs) have built a stronger community. As Mike wrote of the team, “By our actions at the Boll Family YMCA, we have initiated change. Change within ourselves and change within other people. When we do for those who can’t do for themselves, we are serving a much higher purpose than just punching in on a clock and earning a paycheck. We are planting seeds; seeds of respect, honesty, caring, and responsibility into our youth development. As we water and fertilize those seeds, they will develop and grow into socially responsible people; and possibly be able to give back to their communities through the healthy living that they received from us here at the Boll Family YMCA.”

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New Class Gives Kids a Spin

Parents of preschoolers are always looking for ways to channel their boundless energy, especially during the winter months when going to the park isn’t as much of an option.

At the South Oakland Y, Mike Wilcoxon launched a “Rinse and Spin” class for preschoolers. Anyone who’s been to South Oakland more than once knows Mike; he’s been a part of the Y for 15 years, done about every job possible short of running the place, and is especially popular with kids in Childwatch.

Each class begins with playtime, where Mike will teach them a new sports skill. On a recent morning it was bowling; other times it’s been soccer or basketball. Then the kids have a snack, and then it’s off to the pool for a brief swim lesson. Once they’re all dried off and changed, it’s time for more play until the class is over.

The class draws about four or five kids every session. Parents like it because it allows their children to burn off some energy while they work out; children like it because they can try a bunch of different activities. And Mike likes it, he says, because of “the things that come out of their mouths,” he says with a laugh.

Sarah Tereau,whose daughter Irelyn is in the class, says “It’s good to get them physically active, acclimated to different sports and in the water — and I love Mike, I think he does a great job.”

The class runs Mondays and Thursday mornings from 9-11, and registration is required.

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Swim Team Scores at National Meet

Two girls from the Macomb Marlins, the Macomb YMCA’s  swim team, competed at the YMCA national meet earlier this spring. Both swam in four events. Marah Pugh had the best National meet in the history of the Marlins with a second place, a third place and two fourth places: fourth in the 500 free and in the 400 IM, where she cut seven seconds off of her time. The third place came in the 1000 yard free and the second place came in the 1650 free. In the process, she set four new Marlins team records.

Nicole had two personal best swims, cutting four seconds off her time in the 200 breast stroke and in the 200 fly where she cut almost a full 2 seconds. Her 200 IM time of 2:09.24 set a new team record.

“Our girls did us proud and they couldn’t have done that without having an amazing program behind them, the swimmers as well as the parents,” says Steve Krankota, membership director of the Macomb Y. “Believe it or not, our little contingent of two placed 21st in the Girls competition, out of more than 100 teams.”

Nicole’s mom, Bridget, said the event was bittersweet because it marked her daughter’s last with the Macomb Marlins. Nicole has been swimming with the Marlins since she was seven years old, and will swim at Bowling Green State University in Ohio next year.

Bridget says the Y core values were very apparent in the swim program. “Out of all the different teams, they seem to be more easygoing  and not just focused on competition. It’s more like a family-friendly place,” she says.

Club swimming also helped Nicole in high school, Bridget says. Swimmers who start young in a club program like the Y have an advantage in high school swim, because they are already prepared for competition and are used to the amount of training it takes to be successful. And that training also helps kids avoid some of the temptations of high school life, she says. “It might be their personality, because they end up with kids who are doing the same kind of thing they are, but they are swimming two hours a day for six days a week…those kids are exhausted!” she says.

Bridget has found that people at the Y stand out for the way they treat others, she says. “The Y is always supportive,” says Bridget. “When we go to these big events and they are just very kind and friendly, it reminds me of  how people are supposed to be — trustworthy and respectful of other people.”

 

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Special Needs Kids Find Fun at the Y

So often getting special needs kids the extra help they need for a full and healthy childhood is either very hard to get or prohibitively expensive. Not so at the Y. Parent after parent tells us how their child with special needs was able to take swim lessons, attend day camp or just “belong” somewhere thanks to the extra attention given to them at the Y.

Evelyn Popejoy is a child who was able to enjoy swim lessons thanks to the expertise of staffers at the Birmingham Y. Evelyn, who has autism and type 1 diabetes, began taking adaptive swim lessons there in September of 2008. Her parents had previously enrolled in a swim program geared for special needs kids. When they left that program and found the Y, however, they discovered that the staff there was more skilled at dealing with children with autism.  Her instructor, Mel, has been able to teach Evelyn to swim by moving her arms and legs. She’s now able to swim a few feet and does a lot of kicking on her own, without help. The Y’s approach to teaching Evelyn her let her achieve success without triggering any behavioral issues she experienced in previous programs.

Evelyn has come a long way in her swimming, and her parents (and the Y staff) are looking forward to even more success in the future.

Camps also accommodate special needs kids, or kids who are simply struggling with behavioral issues caused by problems at home or school. Y staff spend time with kids who may be struggling, and even the smallest actions can have great impact. A child who once acted out becomes a member of a community where they are accepted, and it has an effect on them and on their families.

It’s not just a slogan here …. everyone belongs at the Y!