“Come on Patrick!” Coach Bobby’s voice booms across Kinder Swimmer’s Renton Highlands pool. “One arm! Two arm! Eyes and bubbles.” Bobby continues on with Patrick’s weekly swim lesson.
It’s that time of year again, the rain has stopped (knock on wood) the trees are blooming and summer is heading fast toward the Pacific Northwest.
I love this time of year when you drive by the Henry Moses Aquatic Center you hear the laughter and squeals of delight of kids having a good time. A time when Coulon Beach will be swarming with kids ready to take the plunge . . . or at least most kids.
For the past few years it’s been painful watching my 5-year-old Patrick troll around large bodies of water during the summer time. I can always find him on the sidelines, life jacket strapped on tight as he watches his siblings, cousin, neighbors and friends blissfully swim the day away.
He is so desperate to be part of the fun and yet always literally on the edge of it because he’s afraid to learn how to swim.
Fortunately, this year I discovered Kinder Swimmer in the Renton Highlands. Kinder Swimmer specializes in warm waters, low chemicals and amazing teachers like Bobby Landig.
Coach Bobby has been a Kinder Swimmer teacher for about a year now. He is also a local lacrosse coach for eight years. Recently, he left corporate America to pursue a master’s degree in education.
“I was tired of the bureaucratic process and politics of corporate America. I’ve always had a passion for teaching, so I decided to let it all go and just go for it! I love my job,” Bobby said.
Watching Bobby each week at Patrick’s swim lessons it is obvious that he genuinely enjoys working with kids. And though Patrick is fearful of water, he pretty much trusted Bobby instantly.
I remind myself that Bobby’s the best thing since sliced bread every time I hear Patrick cry out, “Bobby, hold me!” as I sit beside the other parents at the edge of the pool.
I know tears aren’t too far behind and all I want to do is run over and comfort his anxiety.
But my “saving” him will not teach him how to swim. And every Friday night at Kinder Swimmer I am constantly reminded just how important the role teacher’s play in kids’ lives—even saving their lives.
I had a chance to chat with the owners, Carrie McCarthy and Leona Day, of Kinder Swimmer poolside at their Renton location this past Friday while Patrick was working with Bobby and we talked about just that.
“It is so gratifying to see former students and their parents who have come up to us and thanked us for saving their kids because when they were swimming and were in a situation when they could have drown they stayed calm and focused on what they had learned at Kinder Swimmer,” Leona said.
Carrie and Leona are local moms with a great story.
They met each other for the first time nearly 17 years ago at a local public pool where they had both signed their babies up for a swimming class.
“We had just met each other and were both in the pool holding our 12-month- olds. We were supposed to be blowing bubbles. But the water was so cold my kid was crying and Leona’s kid’s lips were turning blue,” Carrie said.
“By our fourth lesson we looked at each other and agreed that we would be doing this for a long time…and that we could do better!”
Both Carrie and Leona live on the Cedar River so they felt it was a necessity to teach their kids how to swim.
Carrie and Leona saw an opportunity for a small business they could build together and still stay at home with their kids. And that’s exactly what they did. Leona now has three kids and Carrie four.
Their business plan included Carrie and Leona watching each others kids while the other taught Kinder Swimmer lessons.
“I remember coming home after teaching my first swimming lesson and I felt really good about what I was doing. I had the feeling that I could do this for a long time,” Carrie said.
Carrie and Leona first started offering lessons twice a week at the now defunct Aqua Barn in Renton.
Through word of mouth and pounding the pavement with flyers it didn’t take long for their Kinder Swimmer business to grow. After only a year parents were lining up to join.
Eventually, they built a pool at Leona’s house, secured another home pool in the Renton Highlands and seven years ago purchased a home together with a fabulous pool in Spanaway. Business is booming.
“Our classes are small—no more than five. We provide structured classes that help children to swim three times faster. All of our facilities are located at home-based pools where our pools are 92-degree salt water and our float-belt system makes our program unique,” Leona explained. “Fearful swimmers are one of our specialties,” Leona added.
As if on cue, I heard Bobby’s voice. “Patrick, Jump!”
Part of the Kinder Swimmer curriculum is for all swimmers to take a turn jumping into the pool, something Patrick (and I) dread each week.
I look away from Carrie and Leona for a moment to watch my son take his turn. I recognize the fear in his eyes and his little legs are shaking. But I also see something else: the desire to jump.
The other parents sitting beside me begin cheering.
“Go Patrick! Go Patrick!”
At long last, my boy jumps into the deep blue water.
He comes up gripping Bobby and shouting, “Mommy! Did you see me!”
“Yes, Patrick,” I shout back. “I see you!”
I love suggestions! If you know of people or places in Renton that surprise, delight and inspire the community, drop me a line at carolyn@pippimamma.com. Also follow Carolyn on her blog, www.pippimamma.com.
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