This Friday is Career and Hobby Day at my son's school. Most likely I will be put in a kindergarten class to speak for 15 min on swimming as a hobby. I have to repeat this 6 times (for each class). There is a chance that my coach, Jeremy Linn, will also come and he and I will share the time. But, in case something comes up, I need to be prepared to do all 15 min. Any suggestions as to what to do? What to say to 6 year olds about swimming? I do have photos of me swimming while growing up. I'm not sure what else I will bring. Maybe a few pairs of old goggles (I have about 10) and they can all put them on.
Oh and the guidance counselor suggested I bring my parka, too. I guess the kids could try that on as well. And I'll have my gear bag with snorkel, fins, zoomers, kick board, etc.
Talk to them about the merits of I-pull versus S-pull, lol. The oher thing you might want to bring up is that swimming can be a little like being in outer space. You feel light, get to float, etc. And the pool water is better for blowing bubbles than milk!
Thank you all for the tips and advice. Today was the day and it went really well. Jeremy missed the first session but made it to the rest. The kids were interested and loved the stuff I brought in. I had old tech suits that are now banned (zippers and clips) so I didn't care what they did to the suits. Some tried on the suits which brought a lot of smiles from the rest. I also had goggles for them to try on and medals for them to pass around. I gave each kid a dolphin or whale pencil topper and for those who said they could swim, a fish sticker. Several kids were talking about their stickers later. I had a short slide show of me at age 2 swimming all the way up to my dad with me at Nationals when he was 64 (he still swims at age 71).
Jeremy was great with the kids. He brought his gold and silver Olympic medals and I heard some "oohhhh" when they got to touch them. A huge success and something that I will plan on doing in the future if they ask.
Swimshark,
That's so great. I'm sure that you made a lifetime swimmer or athlete out of at least one of those kids, and in doing so set that child on a path to gaining better health and self-discipline. You never know when one of these seemingly small interactions changes a child's life forever.
Thanks Karl and That Guy. I hope it made a good impact. Several of the kids said they were on their summer league team which warmed my heart. I told them all that swimming is the only sport they can learn that could save their life. Although a few guessed the sport was football or soccer. hee-hee
