SwimAmerica Lessons coming to Pocatello?! (Idaho Falls, Star: home, rent, lease)

[M.Sunie]

As a mom of 3 kids, and with Summer approaching quickly, I am now beginning to look for the swimming pool. I have called around and have found that most places are not running lessons! And the few that are - well, I have been down that road and am dis-satisfied.

I was speaking to another mom in Albertsons and heard that SwimAmerica is coming to Pocatello!? Is this accurate? Has anyone else heard this? I did a little research and found that it is a very structured program and appears to be a quality program that my worth my time and money.

That is all I know at this point. Can anyone direct me on who I need to contact to see if this is true?

Thank You -

[Torrie]

You can email Julie Nitti of swimamerica, at jnitti@swimamerica.org. She should be able to tell you if a location is coming to your area.

Or call the one in Idaho Falls and see if they know of one coming to your area- Steve Vucovich Apple Athletic Club 2030 Jennie Lee Drive, (208) 529-8600

[M.Sunie]

Thanks Torrie! From my last post, I decided to look at the SwimAmerica website again. I then checked the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA?) site. I learned that to run that program, an ASCA II coach has to own it. With a little detective work, I learned that Pocatello does have a Swim Team. I am going to put in a call to them in the morning and ask if their coach is going to do it.

Have you (or your kids) - or anyone else out there experienced these lessons? Is it a quality program? It looks great from what I have seen on the website. All I know is that Pocatello needs a quality learn-to-swim program ran by people who are familiar with swimming.

Thanks again?

[Johnny_1973]

I called the swim team office - The Coach is looking at buying SwimAmerica and bringing it here! From what I got out of my conversation with the office lady - he is seeking how many people would be interested. I left my name, number, email, how many kids I have, and how old they are.

If we want a quality program for our kids here in Pocatello call them at 232-4366. I want it! Anyone else have more information on this? Cost? Location? Times? Other requriements?

The only concerns I have are who will be in charge, if it is the coach of Swim Team Pocatello then would you have to sign up with the team to join, and does anybody know much about the coach. Please help as I would like my 2 boys to do more than sit and play their Wii all summer.

[pmlthomasy]

I talked with coach Bobby with swim team Pocatello, who said he is trying to get it here. He is a good coach, was a competitive swimmer when he was younger, and is good with his kids on the team. He has won coach of the year 3 times in the last 4 years. From what he is telling me, you will not have to sign up with the team to take these lessons, and that it will be a great starting point for new swimmers to learn the fundamentals the right way. Hope this helps!!

[PocatelloNative]

As a native of Pocatello, it is my belief that quality programs for the youth of Pocatello are hard to find. My kids are now college graduated. The "swimming lessons" in Pocatello have been mediocre...my kids did them for a few years with the old YMCA.

It is my belief we need to urge him to take on this program!

Swim Team Office: 208 232-4366

Call and let him know you want lessons!

[Counting Down]

I know nothing about your local situation, but let me chime in about swimming in general... I have two daughters who both started with city swim lessons here in So Cal. They had a knack for it (after discovering they did NOT have a knack for some other sports *L*) and the instructors recommended they join the local club team. They did this and swam club competitively for about 9 years each. This is an incredibly beneficial sport! I did not swim and have no vested interest in it, but strongly encourage anyone who has kids and a local club or team to get them involved.
Among the benefits are:
1. The obvious conditioning and self-image benefits
2. The fact that you seldom have 'little league' parents... in general the parents are supportive of their kids and, amazingly, also supportive of the other kids. Before my eldest daughter joined club, we went to watch a meet. I recall vividly one little girl in the 5-6 age group who was struggling mightily to complete her 25 yard freestyle event. She finished at least a minute after the other kids and I think half the people on deck wanted to jump in and 'rescue' her. But... when she touched the wall... the entire deck cheered and clapped for her. Great parents and support in the sport.
3. Everyone can indeed be a winner! It's true... every event and every heat has only one first place finisher, but so much of swimming is the quest to improve your personal bests. Finish last and still drop time and you can still feel great about your swim!
4. Few injuries... swimming is a non-contact sport in the best sense. About the only injuries are a result of training too hard and without proper technique... it can happen, but far less frequently than most other sports.
5. This one might be a surprise... A study a few years ago showed that swimmers had the highest GPA's among NCAA athletes. This is generally attributed to time management skills learned as a competitive swimmer. Starting out you don't train excessively, but as you get better and more competitive, as in most sports, you train more. My daughter, in high school, would do a 2 hour work out at 5:00 AM every morning and another 2 1/2 hours every afternoon. Add normal life events, school, homework and so on and you learn to manage your time.
6. Swimmers usually hang together. Both my girls best friends are their swim friends... stands to reason... they spend so much time together. But... being a dedicated and motivated group, they help each other through what most consider the toughest years... high school.

My oldest now swims in college (Div III... no athletic scholarship... damn!) and once again had a built in support group within weeks of arriving as a freshman. She's a junior now and those friends are still her best. Not everyone wants to swim competitively... I realize that. Most won't stick with it. But at the simplest, it's a good skill to have. Every year I read of kids drowning in the backyard pool. Why not give your kids the basic skill and if they find they have the knack for it, it can be a live-long benefit.
Again, I have not connection with any club anymore, but it was fantastic for my girls and I strongly encourage you... even if the lesson program doesn't happen, look into that local club. Sounds as if the coach is good and I'm sure they have something going for beginners!

[twinprism]

I know several swim team kids and their parents in Pocatello who have been very pleased with the program and have stuck with it for several years. I'm not sure about beginner options that feed into their team though.