The accidental drowning of a child at a local park during the summer of 2017 greatly affected Apollo swim coach Alex Badger.
“One drowning is one too many,” says Badger. “We live in Minnesota. With all the lakes, rivers and pools in apartments [that] we have in this state, no one should not know how to swim.”
That notion is what prompted the first ever Apollo Swim Camp this year for fourth through sixth-grade students. The two-weeklong camp is meant to acquaint kids with the water, teach basic swimming skills and, of course, to let them have fun.
The camp is also about mentoring. The Apollo High School Swim Team participates as volunteers teaching students to swim. Some volunteer for one day; others volunteer for several. During camp, each high school swimmer is assigned a lane with a group of students to work on a particular skill. Once a student has mastered the skill, they move up a lane to the next coach and skill.
“We really want to get them started on fundamentals and be safe,” says Badger. “Of course, if they have a love of swimming, we can feed them into the [swim] program when they are old enough.”
The high school students have just as much fun as the elementary students. The older students start the camp with freeze or statue tag to gain the elementary students’ attention. With some of the teachers only being two years older than some of the students, it really allows them to step into a leadership and coaching role.
While some students work on their floating skills, others work on freestyle flip turns.
“I just really like swimming,” says Taylor Knadel, a Westwood Elementary student. “I like everything about it. I’d really like to join high school swimming when I’m older.”
Badger’s goal is to keep the cost of the camp as low as possible to allow as many families to participate. With the success of the camp, she plans on it being an annual camp for students.
“My son, William, just loves it!” exclaims Elizabeth Reisinger. “It’s a great after-school activity. He would love it all year long.”
While students are having fun at camp, Badger, along with her swim team and parents, have a little more peace of mind that these kids are learning how to be safe around water while learning swimming skills that last a lifetime.
It would be awesome if a bridge/ connections could be made with our minority populations to help them learn to swim. Maybe talk with the bilingual liaisons at school to help?
The school district communicates to all students about the availability of the camp including other languages.