YOUTH

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Kids are diving into Hubbard Family Swim School

BY LILA BALTMAN Peoria Times Contributing Writer

Now that kids are back in school, many parents are enrolling their children in after-school swim lessons at the Hubbard Family Swim School in Peoria.

“Back-to-school is a great time to enroll children in swim lessons during the week or on the weekend,” said Ann Marie Sunderhaus, chief executive officer of Hubbard Family Swim Schools.

“Not only is swimming excellent exercise for children to enjoy after school and a wonderful way for them to burn off energy, we don’t want children to lose the important swim skills and swim strokes they learned over the summer.”

The temperature of the heated indoor pools remains at a very warm and comfortable 90 degrees year-round.

Founded in 1998 by co-owners Bob and Kathy Hubbard, Hubbard Family Swim School offers lessons to children 2 months to 12 years of age. The Hubbard’s basic philosophy is “Children everywhere must learn how to swim. Learning to swim should not be a choice.”

Children who learn how to swim demonstrate more advanced cognitive and physical abilities than other children, according to research led by Griffith University in Australia. Its groundbreaking 2013 findings of a four-year study indicate that swimming children have many advantages when starting school. Swimming children scored significantly better than the normal population on a number of measures that are very important for their transition to school — their cog-

There are Hubbard Family Swim Schools in Phoenix, Peoria, Mesa and Goodyear. Peoria’s Hubbard Family Swim Schools offers swim lessons seven days a week at 8402 W. Thunderbird Road. (Photo courtesy of Hubbard Family Swim Schools) SEE SWIM PAGE 28

Driving school officially opens at Arrowhead Ranch

BY PEORIA TIMES STAFF

DrivingMBA will host a ribbon-cutting event from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, at its newest site in Glendale.

Located at Il Palazzo at Arrowhead Ranch, 5940 W. Union Hills Drive, Suite D210, Glendale, the official ribbon-cutting ceremony will include appearances by the mayor, council members and Glendale Chamber of Commerce members, along with local businesses focused on car and driver safety.

The special outdoor event will also include an official dedication to Jennifer Hinds. The daughter of Frank Hinds, the founder of Red Means Stop, Jennifer was killed by a red-light runner in 1997 when she was a senior in high school. Frank has worked tirelessly to pass “Jennifer’s Law,” increasing the penalties for red-light runners who injure and kill others.

“The relationship between Red Means Stop and DrivingMBA is significant. Among other things, in the past, Red Means Stop has provided scholarships for students who have been unable to afford quality driver training,” said Maria Wojtczak, chief operating officer at DrivingMBA.

“We are dedicating the West Valley office to Jennifer because she was a student at Ironwood High School in Glendale,” Wojtczak said.

“This dedication is an important reminder that we need to do better, that Jennifer’s life wasn’t lost in vain, and we need to continue to educate the public about the horrific consequences of running a red light.

“Unfortunately, Arizona remains No. 1 in the country for red light running, so we haven’t been able to move the needle on this just yet. But we will continue to fight to bring awareness to this important cause.”

To further raise awareness in the community, DrivingMBA is combining the West Valley grand opening event with a Safe Driving Expo.

DrivingMBA will have its mobile unit on-site, where attendees can take a turn on the defensive driving simulator. The afternoon will raise awareness for all aspects of driver safety. Greulich’s Automotive will be on-site to demon-

DrivingMBA will have its mobile unit onsite during the ribbon-cutting ceremony in October, when attendees can take a turn on the defensive driving simulator. (Photo

SWIM FROM PAGE 27 nitive development, language development and their physical development. The study surveyed 7,000 parents from Australia, New Zealand and the United States for more than three years.

The study showed that children’s fine motor skills and overall coordination were more developed as a result of taking swim lessons, and it showed that children who start lessons early were more socially and emotionally ready to start school.

In 2019, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also stated that children and parents need to learn to swim. Basic water competency swim skills, according to the AAP, include the ability to enter the water, surface, turn around, propel oneself for at least 25 yards and then exit the water. The Hubbard swim instructors work hard to meet those goals by laying a strong foundation for skilled, confident swimmers.

“We have spent over 20 years here in Arizona watching thousands of children under the age of 4 become calm and confident swimmers,” Sunderhaus added. “It’s such a joy for us to help introduce children to the wonderful sport of swimming, which can easily become a lifelong sport.” Many students who grew up taking swim lessons at Hubbard also went on to have competitive swim careers in high school and college.

There are four Hubbard locations across the Valley — Phoenix, Peoria, Mesa and Goodyear. The Peoria school offers swim lessons seven days a week and is located at 8402 W. Thunderbird Road. For more information and to register for swim lessons, call 602-9714044 or visit hubbardswim.com.

Christina Fuoco-Karasinski at 480-898-5631 or christina@timespublications.com

DRIVING FROM PAGE 27 strate how to check tire tread, put air in tires, check oil, and other basic car care tips.

Red Means Stop, AAA and State Farm Insurance, representatives from Glendale Police and Fire, as well as other automotive-related businesses will be in attendance. Enjoy food from the plaza’s food vendors, including Rita’s, Café Rumba, Ginger China Bistro and Heroes Pub & Grub.

Since opening its doors a decade ago, DrivingMBA has graduated over 15,000 students and has become known as one of the Valley’s most comprehensive teen driver training programs. Research shows motor vehicle crashes are the No. 1 cause of death among teenagers in the United States and most of these fatal collisions occur within six months of a driver obtaining a license.

“For any family considering registering their teen for driver training, this is the time to do it. We learned early on that standard driving training isn’t enough to keep Valley teens safe on the roads,” Wojtczak said.

“Our mission is to save lives, and we believe in the power of education and providing our students training and tools based on research and science to help them become competent, responsible and safe drivers for the rest of their lives.”

DrivingMBA is in Scottsdale and Glendale. It offers driving education for all ages and skill levels, including programs for adult drivers, exceptional learners, senior assessments and fleet drivers.

For more information, visit drivingmba.com or call 480-948-1648.