Atkinson Elementary second graders were the first kids to jump into the local swim safety program, SPLASH, at the Hendersonville Family YMCA.
A free YMCA program that teaches basic swimming techniques and water safety lessons to children nationwide, SPLASH just started at the Hendersonville Family YMCA, according to Executive Community Director Jesse Shepherd.
“We’re grateful that the Y is funding it and opened it up to us,” said Susan Oakman, physical education teacher at Atkinson.
Each afternoon during the week of Sept. 28 to Oct. 2, Atkinson 2nd-graders traded sneakers for swimsuits and goggles and learned valuable safety tips for the pool, beach, and lake.
“The kids are divided up according to ability level and water comfort level,” Oakman said.
On Monday, YMCA Aquatics Director Sam Geis advised students that not all beaches and pools have lifeguards, and that they shouldn’t ever go swimming without an adult supervising.
They reviewed the “Reach or Throw, Don’t Go” lesson, which states that individuals shouldn’t jump into the water after a struggling friend, lest they lose control and find themselves in danger. Instead, they should find a sturdy object to reach out to their friend in the water, or throw a lifesaving device.
Geis and YMCA volunteers helped students practice throwing a life ring in the water – not directly at the person in trouble but a little to the side and past them.
On Wednesday, Geis discussed some potential dangers students should look out for at a beach; piers, jetties and rocks should be avoided and in the case of an undercurrent, and they should “swim with the current, not against it,” Geis said.
Several students already knew not to jump off of rocks because there’s no way of knowing how deep the water is – or if there are more rocks hiding below the surface.
On Thursday, YMCA staff and volunteers covered boat safety with the kids, instructing them how to swim out from under a flipped canoe or kayak.
Oakman said, “A lot of kids between the ages of 7 and 9 are either very experienced in the water – or have no experience.”
So the SPLASH program is a fun way to familiarize students with the water while practicing swimming and safety techniques.
“If kids will have experience and more confidence in the water, the idea is that they’ll be safer – and it might expand their desire to take swim lessons,” Oakman said.
Volunteer Kiki Matthews is an advocate for familiarizing young children with water so they don’t find themselves in dangerous situations – which is why she signed up to volunteer every day of the SPLASH program with Atkinson.
Matthews said she’s enjoyed “watching the kids get more confident with a particular stroke they maybe were having difficulty with.”
She said, “You can see in the span of just a few days how much the confidence has gone up.”
(Written by Molly McGowan Gorsuch, HCPS Public Information Officer.)