swim pair that has grown close together is senior Luke Southall and 8-year-old Shad Grimsley. Grimsley attended the first swimming lessons last year and instantly made a connection with Southall.
Photo courtesy of Naomi GrimsleyEvery Friday in January, the Hood River Valley swim team holds swim lessons for kids aged 5-11 at the Hood River Aquatic Center.
Shelly Rawding, head coach for the HRV swim team, said the lessons are aimed at getting kids comfortable and used to being in the water.
“We started it last year just wanting to give back to the community, especially wanting to target kids who might not have access to swim lessons,” Rawding said. “We promoted heavily in the upper valley. One of our coaches, Becca, works at Mid Valley Elementary, so she was able to spread the word there, and it’s awesome because it’s getting the word out that we want everybody to know how to swim.”
The goal of the swim lessons are to teach kids how to swim, introduce them to the sport of swimming and hopefully get them to swim in the high school team, Rawding said.
Kids are usually shy and tentative of the water at first, but soon discover how fun it is to swim.
A total of 24 kids attend the lessons of which get their own swim instructor.
“We cap it at 24 because we have somewhere between 24 and 30 high schoolers that can actually stay and teach them,” Rawding said. “So, we like it to be as much one-on-one as possible.”
This one-on-one time also has the ability to spawn great relationships with swim instructor and student.
For example, Shad Grimsley and HRV junior Luke Southall became best of friends last year when Grimsley first attended the swimming lessons.
Naomi Grimsley, mother of 8-year-old Shad, said he would not stop talking about Southall after meeting him last year.
“(Shad) is comfortable in the water because he trusts Luke so much,” Grimsley said. “I’m appreciative and respect the HRV swimmers. They’re some of the hardest working kids.”
Rawding explained the kids usually look up to the high schoolers and see them as role models, especially Shad Grimsley.
“(Shad) views me as a friend, which is a great feeling,” Southall said. “He’s so happy whenever we see each other. We don’t always have to practice swimming strokes. Sometimes we hang out in the pool, talk about how his day went and we just have a good time.”
Visit the Hood River Aquatic Center’s website, hoodriverparksandrec.org, for more information on the swim lessons or call 541-386-1303.
Information from the News and our advertisers (Want to add your business to this to this feed?)
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sign up to receive notifications when a new Columbia Gorge News e-Edition is published.
Would you like to receive our news updates? Signup today!
Receive weekly updates on obituaries and death notices.
Oregon Capital Press presented by Columbia Gorge News
Receive updates on upcoming promotions and special sections.
Receive weekly updates on local sports news.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.