2018 Volume 29 Issue 1

V O L U M E 2 9 | I S S U E 1 2 018

U N I T E D

S T A T E S

S W I M

S C H O O L

A S S O C I A T I O N

USSSA Celebrates 30 Years of Success!

HOW YOUR SWIM SCHOOL CAN USE MARKETING TO PERPETUALLY WIN OVER CUSTOMERS

Try a little Tenderness...

NOT IN BUT ON THE BUSINESS Intensive Swimming Promotes Success

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IN THIS ISSUE 3

Letter from the President

5 From the Desk of the Executive Director

6 Q&A with Atlantis Swim Academy 8 Not In But On the Business 13 Intensive Swimming Promotes Success 14 Stop Drowning Now 16 Calendar of Events & Sponsors 13 INTENSIVE SWIMMING PROMOTES SUCCESS COVER & TABLE OF CONTENTS PHOTO CREDIT

17 So You Want Your Teenager To Get A Job… 19 How Your Swim School can

use Marketing to Perpetually Win

Over Customers 22 Ask Al 24 Small School Progression / Moving from a Backyard to a Rental 26 Try a Little Tenderness 28 Making Industry Waves

2017 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE WINNER Photograph Category by K & K Swim School

ASSOCIATION HEADQUARTERS 7100 E. Cave Creek Rd., Suite 109 Cave Creek, AZ 85331 480.837.5525 usssa@usswimschools.org usswimschools.org Executive Director Lisa M. Zarda, CAE, CNAP Editor Monica Martin ASSOCIATION OFFICERS President John Kirk, Little Otter Swim School Vice President Mike Williams, American Kids Sports Center ASSOCIATION DIRECTORS Tracy Koleber, Nitro Swimming Tiernan Murphy, Making Waves Swim School Jeff Purchin, 5 Cities Swim School Casie Shore, Swim to Shore Swim School Matt Young, Hubbard Family Swim School

29 New Member List USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 1

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Time to come together to think and dream.

Luosto, Finland – As I write this, I am north of the Arctic Circle in a cabin with a group of old and new friends and we are thinking about how to design a swim school for the future. While this is an interesting problem to explore, I am struck by how much swim schools are alike around the world. We share many of the same problems and triumphs. We are so grateful to our hosts, John and Sally Coutts. They are giving us the time to come together to think and dream. They are also giving us time to work and to play.

Yesterday we got to speak with Simon Minty. He is a little person that helps others understand the challenges that he has navigating the world. One thing he suggested is to take the journey that your customer takes in moving through your swim school.

There are many simple things we can do to make our spaces more inviting. For instance, if you have coat hooks in your bathroom stalls, maybe mount one lower in addition to the high one. This would allow someone who is little or in a wheelchair to be able to use them. Someone in the group pointed out that when we really think about it, half of the people who come into our buildings struggle with things that are above their reach. I am speaking of the children. Now, sometimes we don’t want children to reach things but in doing that, are we denying access to other people.

There will be many aha moments in the next week but just thinking of simple things that can improve how our buildings work for everyone will be something I will be exploring when I get back.

John Kirk

Yesterday and today, we worked on the ideal pool design. It is always fun to get out a sheet of graph paper and just come up with different schemes. It was doubly fun to get paired up with someone from a different part of the world. We ultimately came up with 3 first sketches but soon learned that those will have to be modified, tweaked and defended. I was teamed up with Nikki Grazulis from Perth, Australia. She teaches in a large community pool that has many cool features. It was interesting to learn what “play” features she uses to teach and it opened my mind on some fun things that you would not typically find in a learn-to-swim pool.

We (myself, Pat Sunderhaus and Tiernan Murphy) will be giving a presentation at the fall National Conference in Las Vegas. I can’t wait to have more discoveries and share what we learned with all of you!

JOHN KIRK President US Swim School Association

Recipients of the inaugural annual Coutts Family Scholarship

USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 3

FROM THE DESK OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.”

James Cash Penney As I approach my one-year anniversary with the US Swim School Association I can’t help but reflect on how many people have come together to make things happen for USSSA. It is because of the dedication and willingness to give back to others that this association is where it is today. It’s fulfilling to see the work of the board, committees and staff give rise to new benefits for our members. Some of these benefits include: • Webinar series: Our webinar series is back up and running this year with a mix of paid and free offerings available on a variety of topics, including a webinar hosted by our Small Schools Committee coming this spring.

• Our new Marketing Toolkits launched and we hope you take advantage of these free marketing pieces available to members. They were created to assist you in spreading the word to your local market about your swim school and the benefits of learning to swim.

• A NEW dual membership with the US Chamber of Commerce for qualifying member schools now gives you free

access to over 100 legal templates on Rocket Lawyer. You can find more details on this program in the members only section of our website.

• Additional education programs have been added to our Online Training library, including some free, shorter options.

• Eight sessions from the National Conference 2017 were professionally recorded and are now available for members to view and purchase (and for those that attended the conference, you have free access to share this valuable training with your staff).

• Elevated conferences have been developed as we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the US Swim School Association. This year’s Spring Workshop included two professional speakers and the National Conference will bring five professional speakers into the mix of valuable information shared openly by successful member schools in the areas of management and swim instruction.

We have a stellar cast of members just like you sharing their time and talents with members of USSSA.

THANK YOU. Thank you to all of you that support the US Swim School Association. Thank you for making it what it is today. And thank you for coming together to continue to grow this association and this industry. Together we can do so much more than as individuals.

Cheers to USSSA and 30 years of people just like you coming together to make a difference!

LISA M. ZARDA, CAE, CNAP Executive Director US Swim School Association

Q&A WITH ATLANTIS SWIM ACADEMY WINNER OF THE ONLINE MARKETING ASSESSMENT We recently caught up with Vlad Dudin (owner) and Zach Butler (Office Manager) at Atlantis Swim Academy! Vlad was the recipient of the complimentary online marketing assessment presented by USSSA sponsor, StringCan Interactive. The contest was presented to all Association Members in August of last year before the Orlando National Conference. The assessment included a comprehensive online marketing analysis, full report and a one-on-one meeting with StringCan CEO, Jay Feitlinger. Here is what Vlad and Zach had to say about discovering how to uncover online obstacles and opportunities!

Q. Was the information you received from your online marketing assessment valuable to you?

A. Yes! The information that was generated helped us to make some important changes not only to our website but to our total brand presence online. It also helped to affirm some of the strategies we had already been implementing and guide us to implement 6 | USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG

VISIT THEM AT www.atlantisswimacademy.com

some that we had placed on the back burner. While there were issues and features we already had an awareness of, the assessment helped to lay it all out in a much more organized way that allowed us to plot our course going forward.

Q. Was it easy or challenging to incorporate the advice from StringCan Interactive?

A. It was a mix of both. If you have any experience managing your brand online via your website, Google and your social media accounts, you will have a much easier time making similar changes. I would say if you manage your accounts and/or website directly, especially with experience with HTML, CSS and the Google Suite, you will have a much easier time plotting your course.

Luckily, we already had experience using these tools so integrating them with our website overhaul wasn’t too complicated. We do all of our web development/marketing in-house so we had total control over our design and implementation of tracking/ advertising tools making the process much smoother. For smaller schools, or those without personnel familiar with web development, these tasks could be challenging, especially since there are so many pieces that hinge on each other to work effectively.

Q. Were you inspired to take your marketing efforts to the next level?

A. Indeed, we were! Before the assessment we had already been planning to completely overhaul our website with a new interface and much more responsive design, especially for mobile users.

The information that we received from the assessment reinforced our idea and helped kick-start our effort to start it in earnest. We redesigned the website to better present our business online as well as to make navigation on our website easier for the user.

The assessment was able to show us how many users on average we had a month as well as where they were going on our website. This helped us eliminate areas that weren’t clear or just not popular and to focus on making features/content available that really

added to the customer’s experience.

The assessment also highlighted organic and non-organic search results which really helps to show how visible your business is in the area as well as how those results can be improved.

Q. What was your biggest online obstacle?

A. Our biggest online obstacle was actually our outdated website. The website we had been using was great for getting our business started but wasn’t something we were truly thrilled to be using after the initial opening. We didn’t feel that the current website was indicative of our brand image and that its design didn’t meet the needs of the growing/aging Millennial population.

We needed the site to be faster, the information to be clearer and registration possible in a reliable online format (thanks Jackrabbit) that wasn’t confusing.

The information we received from the assessment reinforced our concerns and pushed us to take greater control by completely redesigning the website from the ground up.

Q. What key takeaway would you like to share?

A. Online Marketing and Brand Awareness consist of MANY different pieces and it is important that businesses, especially small businesses, exercise tight control over them to implement them strategically.

Make sure your online brand is representative of what you believe your swim school is. Your online presence is

likely the first real impression prospective customers will have about your business.

It is imperative to find a way to incorporate your brand into your presence in a consistent way so that people know what you are all about and what makes you different.

In addition, planning for the next generation of customers can’t be understated because people are using the internet and devices in much different ways than their predecessors.

Making sure your site is modern, attractive and FAST are all ways to ensure you are remaining competitive with your online presence. Integrating tools like Google Analytics tracking and online advertising like Google AdWords are another step in digital marketing that are becoming less optional for businesses looking to stay competitive. Last but not least, as a business owner, take the time to understand how search engines, like Google, work and what determines where you show up. Organic search results highlighting your company are VASTLY more valuable than any Google AdWords budget.

“The information that was generated helped us to make some important changes.”

USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 7

NOT IN BUT ON THE BUSINESS

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH JACKRABBIT The theme of USSSA’s spring magazine issue is “grow” and in keeping with this theme, we are sharing a candid look behindthe-scenes with our sponsor and partner, Mark Mahoney, at Jackrabbit Swim. Mark shares his hard-won wisdom on being an entrepreneur, navigating your small business growth and making the transition to a leadership role. We hope you are inspired by Mark’s personal journey from “In the Business” to “On the Business”. Enjoy!

One of my goals in my role at Jackrabbit Technologies is to devote more time to working “on the business” to ensure that it gets better, rather than working on projects directly related to daily operations “in the business.” This shift in focus is the way that seems clear to me to accomplish a successful, scalable business.

Let me share.

In Jackrabbit’s early days, I worked “in the business.” I did a lot of the stuff that kept the company going. Good stuff to be sure – and for years I continued to do this because I’m the typical small business owner/entrepreneur just like most of you.

8 | USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG

BY MARK MAHONEY JACKRABBIT SWIM

Bare your soul with me for a second and answer these questions and you’ll likely see that you are deep into your “in the business” self. The answers shown are the ones typically given by the small business/entrepreneur (like you and me).

Q. Do you jump in to solve the problem because you can’t help yourself — or because you believe your employees can’t do the task?

A. Both.

Q. Do any of your key managers occasionally come up with big thoughts or ideas?

A. No. Q. If you believe that employees come to you with simple problems to be solved, did you give these employees training on options to solve those kinds of problems?

A. No. Q. Do you see yourself wired as more of an entrepreneur or more of a manager?

A. Everyone always chooses entrepreneur – even though they won’t relinquish the day-to-day manager role.

It was time for me to examine the facts.

I took a good, hard look at the way I was running the business and realized that I was more like the guy in the circus spinning plates. I was running between sticks just keeping all of the plates going. I imagined as I was looking up at those plates, why wasn’t I seeing the break through growth I was waiting for?

Don’t get me wrong. Jackrabbit has had phenomenal growth for more than a decade. But we’re at a crucial juncture. We can’t be the biggest fish in the small pond anymore. We can no longer behave like a small start-up.

We’re entering into a medium-sized business world. There will be different expectations for us and some will have a different perspective of us.

We’ve grown up. Now we must step up.

To take that step, my focus must change to “on the business” stuff like:

• Researching new markets • Seeking out new opportunities • Analyzing strategic and market challenges and competitors • Maintaining and nurturing culture • Uncovering missed revenue opportunities Get out of my comfort zone.

I will admit that it was easy to work “in the business” because that is what I know. Now I must be active in working “on the business” so that it’s possible for Jackrabbit to take the next step to a new level in our business growth. Working “on the business” instead “in the business” is hard – so hard that it takes 100% of my focus. But this is how I will help to make Jackrabbit better.

Did you know that when you get distracted and revert back to working “in the business,” you aren’t helping your business? In fact, when you do this, you’re not being an effective leader at all.

Working “in the business” is also easier than working “on the business” because it’s easy to micromanage everything. As an entrepreneur you believe that you do things better than anyone else. After all, who knows the business better? But that’s just not true.

See value in initiating change.

And please don’t consider that the work you do “on the business” when you’re at a business conference is sufficient to accomplish what your business needs for you to do. It may produce good ideas. But then you get back to your weekly grind and you’re back “in the business” without time to put those ideas into action. What is amazing is that when I finally implemented my “on the business” ideas, I finally began to see the value to the company that I could bring by initiating change.

“Back in the day” is gone.

When your business was a start up, you were the best that you had at doing things. But you were also all you had.

You didn’t have the luxury of hiring specifically skilled people for all of the tasks you needed to have done.

As Jackrabbit grew, we were able to hire more people who were much better at many tasks than me. For example, we

have an amazing customer support team that is much better at customer support than I was back in the day. We now have the revenue to support that staff. It’s a luxury that came with our growth.

I had to learn to trust.

One of the difficulties in growth for the serial entrepreneur is giving a task over to someone else’s control.

It seems simple: • Trust your judgment • Hire good people • Trust the good people But it’s not that simple because you must relinquish your direct control over tasks and allow someone else to control it. And – oh my gosh – what if they don’t do it like you did it?

And when they do the task differently than you would do it, don’t get angry.

Anger can be very detrimental to your business.

First of all, anger is a waste of energy.

Showing your anger will only lower the morale in your office and make it undesirable for your employees to make decisions.

Secondly, anger directed at employees usually signals one of three underlying issues that need to be addressed.

If you’re often angry, it could be that: • You haven’t trained people properly.

• You have people doing the wrong tasks.

• You still think that everyone should think like you.

Lead with empowerment and watch employees thrive.

And even though you think you know how to do everything the best, “leading by example” not only soaks up more than 60 hours a week, it is actually not a good example to set for employees.

You’re simply showing them how to get overworked and burnout. And burnout can cause degradation of culture and employee attrition. It’s simply a trap that you don’t want to show them. Let your example be delegation, empowerment, and trust.

If you empower employees with decision making freedoms and get rid of your expectations that they will mimic you in their roles, then they will thrive.

USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 9

Swim School Software

simplified Jackrabbit Swim simplifies your business so that you can recapture the passion that inspires you.

• Streamline daily tasks • Boost productivity • Work with confidence • Track results • Connect with customers

JackrabbitSwim.com

“ We’re thrilled that our

instructors can login to the Staff Portal to update students’ skills and quickly email parents their student’s progress. This is a huge time saver and the parents love it!”

— Jeff Gershe, Just Swim Inc.

You will likely see that they do that old task of yours better than you did.

Delegating isn’t a sign of laziness.

When I first began to do it, I felt as though I was pawning off work to others when I could do it. But this is a necessity to your ability to work on the business.

It might surprise you that your staff will probably be happy to help you get things off of your plate.

Being connected gives you control.

Create ways to stay connected using documentation (something small companies usually fail to create), monitoring, and reporting processes to track job performance. Don’t rely on faith – even though you trust your employees – or you will not know when your staff does need your help. Monitor, don’t micromanage. Micromanaging good people suffocates them.

Don’t revert back to your old “in the business” self.

As noted above, if you’re the owner and you find yourself bogged down in simple details that your employees could be handling, you are not being an effective leader. But there is also another detrimental result: if you’ve reverted back to your old ways, then the “on the business” leader is absent so no one is spotting problems and delegating solutions, setting goals and planning for the future. Yikes!

The only person who will be genuinely motivated to grow your company is you.

Motivation and passion are not things you can delegate. Every minute that you spend working on tasks that can be delegated is a minute that you are not spending building the best business possible.

You are in charge of the big picture.

When you see areas that need improvement, delegate the work, so you can continue to be the troubleshooter and visionary that you need to be. Don’t go off and try to do it yourself.

I’m finding that it takes some practice.

I was accustomed to being very handson in the business. But my employees appreciate the trust and responsibility I’ve given them. They will see that I can do the job of leading our business that no one else can do – and they are very willing and able to handle the details.

You are the biggest obstacle.

You are the one who can get in the way of your business’s progress. You have to get out from under the day-today, learn new things, and unlearn some old ones.

•

You must hire wisely. If you don’t, you will still be spinning plates in five years. If you do, you can simply get out of the way and watch your employees thrive.

•

You must exemplify standards.

Reputation and customer satisfaction depends on what your business expects of itself. This will define your business.

•

You must train. People are not mind readers. You are wasting valuable time (and therefore money) by allowing them to try to figure things out on their own. Help them to get it right from the beginning.

• You must establish systems and procedures. It’s the only way to avoid costly inconsistencies and mistakes, disagreements and disputes.

•

You must be able to identify and eliminate the wrong people. A bad hire or the wrong fit will not serve your business well. It’s best to act on these discoveries quickly.

• You must delegate. When the occasion occurs that something isn’t done as well as you could have done it, remember that you can afford to fix occasional mistakes more easily than you can afford to do everything yourself.

•

You must pay for quality. Your business can’t thrive if you are constantly replacing good people.

Good employees want good pay, respect, and a stress-free environment for work.

• You must listen. Ask for the truth and be willing to listen to it and act on it.

It’s not an entertaining transformation.

You are the boss. Sometimes the top can be a lonely place, but there is no greater feeling than having your team’s support on a common cause without having to read their minds to know it.

Transformation of my “in the business”

self is frustrating, sometimes stressful, and as I noted earlier, difficult. It is not entertaining as the circus plate spinner usually is.

But when I see what is ahead, I’m even more resolved to focus my attention “on the business” so that Jackrabbit continues to grow to meet your needs and our expectations as the future unfolds before us.

The future is bright.

We’ve talked about working ON and not IN the business as a concept and made plans to do it. But now we’re executing on our plan and I want you to know how we’re doing that.

We have a new team member who is a critical part of our plan: a Chief Operating Officer. Adding a management level that is responsible for Jackrabbit’s day-to-day operations clears the way for me and co-owner and co-founder Mike Carper to take on the strategic roles we’ve talked about, dreamed about, and even planned for. Look for him to be instrumental in making sure everything is firing on all cylinders.

Mike and I will be active in doing the things that will keep Jackrabbit growing, adapting, and innovating so that we continue to provide you with the best possible software and services for your businesses.

We obviously have more experience than anyone working in the business of Jackrabbit, but we are new to working on the business. However, we know that we are the best people to lay the groundwork for Jackrabbit’s future so that is where we will be refocusing our time. We will still be here working hard with your best interests, and the company’s best interests at heart.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mark Mahoney has more than 25 years of experience in information technology and has sold over 20 million dollars in software and services. Mark applied his passion of solving business problems with technology to his interest in youth organized sports by developing Class Master, a class management system, in the 80’s and sold it. Due to many requests, Mark developed another class management system (launched in 2004) that is web-based (today’s Jackrabbit Technologies - a prospering SaaS company). Mark serves on the MIS Advisory Board for the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business from which he earned a Bachelors in Business Administration.

USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 11

INTENSIVE SWIMMING

PROMOTES SUCCESS If you are operating your own swim school, you will understand how much thought and planning goes into programming and running a successful learn-to-swim program.

Making sure you are providing your customers with a great, effective service is top priority. Parents or caregivers are paying good money for you to teach their children to swim and you want to make sure you deliver the goods.

One of the best ways to ensure you deliver is to stress the importance of commitment and consistency when learning to swim. Ask your customers to think about what they did when their child was learning to walk. Did they help them once or twice per week for 30 minutes? I bet the answer is, “No, I helped my child every day (more than once) until they could walk.”

The reality with swimming lessons is that most children will only attend one (maybe two) 30-minute lessons per week when they are learning to swim and parents wonder why it can sometimes be a slow process. Work it out. If your center is closed for 4 weeks out of 52 in the year, and your swimmers attend EVERY lesson without missing, that is 24-hours of swimming per year. That’s one day out of 365 each year.

That’s nothing! That doesn’t consider public holidays, student illnesses, taking the winter months off or that they might want to attend a birthday party instead of their lesson one week. When you look at it like that, is it any wonder learning to swim can take some time?

Knowing this and knowing how much practice is required to learn to swim and be good at it, it is important to offer programs and advice that will help boost your success when teaching children swimming and water safety. Try incorporating the following ideas into your swim school program to assist with success rates and speeding up the learn-to-swim process for your clients.

Laurie speaking at the 2017 Orlando National Conference

BY LAURIE LAWRENCE WORLD WIDE SWIM SCHOOL, FORMER AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC SWIM COACH & 2017 NATIONAL CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEAKER

USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 13

1. Encourage customers to attend at least two swimming lessons per week. The more opportunities children are given to practice the faster they will learn. If time, clashing activities or money is an issue, suggest that parents get in the water to play and explore with their children as often as they can or when they have spare time. Encourage them to swim in home pools, visit friends or neighbors who have a pool for a splash around or head down to your local community pool to give young learners the opportunity to practice.

2. Encourage winter swimming lessons. Not everyone has the commitment and motivation to swim year-round. Often as the weather starts to cool down numbers will drop and

customers will say, “see you in summer!”

However, winter can be the best time to attend swimming lessons. Class sizes are often smaller giving children more individual time with instructors. There are also fewer opportunities to practice outside of lessons in winter as home pools may not be heated to the toasty temperatures of a learn-to-swim pool.

Communicate the benefits of winter swimming to your customers and the importance of consistent swimming to maintain and improve on the current swimming and water safety skills their children have achieved. It can be disheartening to start from square one when summer rolls around, but this is a real prospect if swimmers take a break over the winter months.

3. Offer intensive swimming programs. School holidays are the perfect opportunity to offer intensive programs to fast track improvement.

Swimmers can attend lessons every day for a week or two to boost their progress. Swimming every day for a week is the equivalent of a months’ worth of lessons if a child is used to swimming once per week. You may not have to wait for school holidays to run intensive swimming programs. If you have available staff and pool space, why not run intensive programs in conjunction with regular lessons? This could be a great add-on for swimmers in your program who are struggling and may need a boost to advance them to the next level.

Communicate the benefits of winter swimming to your customers.

The World Wide Swim School is the leading online swimming resource for parents, teachers and swim schools, developed by Olympic Gold Medal and World Champion Swim coach, and former Australian Rugby Union Representative, Laurie Lawrence.

Known for being Australia’s water safety guru, Laurie developed the World Wide Swim School in order to educate children, parents and the swimming industry about safe water practices and to improve swimming standards on an international scale. Visit online at worldwideswimschool.com

ANNOUNCING OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Stop Drowning Now is thrilled to welcome Jaclyn Fielder as Operations Director effective January 1. Jackie has extensive executive experience in non-profits, having served as Chief Executive Officer of the Riverside CA YMCA. She began her career serving others at Independent Options, an organization supporting profoundly disabled adults. Well versed in leadership, non-profit operations and management, Jackie is the superstar SDN needs to help us end drowning in our lifetime.

Jackie says “I am so excited to join Stop Drowning Now. The SDN curriculum and other services can transform communities’ awareness of drowning risk and help drowning become a distant 14 | USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG

memory. This is a unique and remarkable opportunity.”

SDN’s Curriculum Gateway continues development under Jim Spiers and Mary Reilly-Magee’s leadership. A thorough, thoughtful and effective technological platform, the Gateway will help deliver SDN’s “dry” classroom curriculum to schools that have no drowning prevention education whatsoever (which is basically all of them).

SDN will again pilot the Gateway with Tampa, Austin and eastern Long Island schools this spring. We need to add more. If your educator and administrator relationships care about drowning and drowning prevention, please get in touch with Sara, Jackie, Jim or Mary.

We need them and they need the SDN Curriculum Gateway.

Stop Drowning Now’s members are drowning prevention’s True Believer Army. You help kids help themselves. If you are a member, donor or supporter (or all three) the kids you impact thank you. You save lives.

SDN invites you to upgrade your membership or make a special donation.

The USSSA community has been wonderfully supportive of the SDN Curriculum Gateway’s development and will make it a reality. Please consider joining them.

Thank you again from the SDN team.

2018 will be another remarkable year.

We can only do it together.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 2-6, 2018

NATIONAL DROWNING PREVENTION ALLIANCE EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE TAMPA, FLORIDA ndpa.org

JULY 24-27, 2018

SWIM AUSTRALIA INTERNATIONAL SWIM SCHOOLS CONFERENCE HAMILTON ISLAND, GREAT BARRIER REEF swimaustralia.org.au

JULY 30-AUGUST 1, 2018

AUSTRALIAN SWIM SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL SPECTACULAR AUSTRALIA’S GOLD COAST australianswimschools.org.au

SEPTEMBER 23-25, 2018

USSSA NATIONAL CONFERENCE LAS VEGAS, NEVADA usswimschools.org

16 | USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG

THANK YOU ANNUAL SPONSORS

SO YOU WANT YOUR TEENAGER TO GET A JOB…

JEFF GRIFFITH-JONES GENERAL MANAGER, OPERATIONS AVAC SWIM SCHOOL

to barriers to entry into the workforce, especially in Silicon Valley. Furthermore, we all have immense appreciation for young adults who are seasoned with basic job skills: timeliness, appearance, hustle, attitude, communication and confrontation, etc.

The leaders at Team AVAC are passionate about being part of young adults’ professional education. If you’d like to be part of that education as well, here are some top tips that we think may help…

• Don’t ask for a job application for your teenager, if they want a job, have them do it.

Eye contact, handshakes, greetings, manners, and grooming - these all mean something and they’re easy to learn.

At the Almaden Valley Athletic Club (AVAC), AVAC Swim School, our Leadership Team prides itself on our leadership of future professionals. Most of us are parents, most of us have risen in the ranks at AVAC, and most of us began our careers pounding the pavement, filling out applications and interviewing until we found a minimum wage job. We empathize with teenagers when it comes

If you want to coach them, or check out the place they might be working at, consider coming through the door separately, observing your teenager’s interactions from afar, and coaching them on how they did.

• Eye contact, handshakes, greetings, manners, grooming—these all mean something and they’re easy to learn.

• Summer job applications are due by spring break—at the latest.

•

We want workers, not vacationers.

If your teenager has a packed schedule full of club sports, vacations, concerts, or summer school—they most likely won’t be working. Summer is a fantastic time for all of the above, but for those of use in the service industry, we need a team who will show up.

•

Once your teenager does get the job, teach them to hustle, to work harder than the next person, and to therefore make themselves invaluable immediately. Hard work is not a talent—anyone can do it.

•

Teenagers, especially in Silicon Valley, are extremely smart. Being able to use their intelligence on the job is immensely valuable for us employers, but only if it comes with humility and accountability. Teenagers who know how to admit mistakes, say sorry, understand that they’re in a position to learn, and that they are not “doing us a favor by working here,” will go far.

•

Lousy employers are definitely out there, and your role is undeniably to be their advocate, but do your best to let your child do the legwork if they have a grievance. Encourage them to speak up, and how to do so professionally and without causing workplace drama.

•

Similar to the above, don’t contact your teenagers employer unless she or he is incapacitated. Let them be the one to call in sick, request a change in schedule, talk about a concern, etc.

I hope you found this useful— together we can improve our future professionals!

USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 17

HOW YOUR SWIM SCHOOL CAN USE MARKETING TO

PERPETUALLY WIN OVER CUSTOMERS

When it comes to customer engagements and sales, swim schools are in a unique position. You don’t have the luxury of closing a deal once and then can sit back as the customer sends you a recurring check every month, as is the case with some subscription or tech-based businesses. You also don’t get to bank on the fact that, once a customer enrolls their child in swim classes, they will stay with you until the child ages out of your program. This simply isn’t the case a lot of the time and during a recent meeting with Matt Young from Hubbard we discussed that swim schools need to continue to sell and stay top of mind.

Most swim schools charge families on a month-to-month basis and, as such, are consistently having to win them over repeatedly in order to keep them. And if you didn’t already know, it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one, which means it’s in everybody’s best interest to make sure your customer retention is strong.

BY JAY FEITLINGER FOUNDER AND CEO OF STRINGCAN INTERACTIVE

USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 19

So then the question becomes: where does this leave you? And how can marketing support your sales team in wooing over your customers and making sure they choose you - time and time again? Keep reading for some answers to common questions we heard from our swim school clients on this topic, to help guide you in this area.

Q: Why should marketing help win over customers?

Isn’t that our sales team’s job?

A: Yes, and no (don’t you love answers like that?). Let me explain. Yes, the person(s) responsible for sales, is absolutely responsible for lead generation, nurturing and customer onboarding.

And a good sales approach will include checking in with families once they’ve signed on with your school to see how they’re doing and to potentially upsell them, if you have an additional offering to tell them about. But your marketing team is actually far better suited to increase your customers’ contentment in your program on a regular basis. After all, marketers are typically the ones who have access to the richest customer data and insights (at least, they should).

For example, your marketing folks should be conducting surveys or interviews regularly with the parents who have enrolled in your school to gather specific feedback regarding what they like and dislike about your program.

Then they should be using that information (and any other data they gather through your website analytics and other digital tools) in order to better meet these customers’ needs. If parents overwhelmingly responded in a survey that they felt confused about how or when their child will progress to the next swimming level, for instance, your marketing team can put together an infographic that clearly shows what your instructors need to see in a student at each level before they move up - and then share that with parents through email (and maybe post it somewhere on-site as well).

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Q: How do I communicate the value of swim lessons when the students are too young to really show marked progress?

A: This is one of the toughest obstacles that swim schools overcome. When children are older, it can be easy to see that they’re mastering new skills and improving consistently. But if kids are in a baby-and-parent type of class or even the next level up where they’re without the parent (but still very young), parents might quickly begin to doubt whether the investment in lessons is paying off.

One way to make sure the families at your school don’t abandon ship prematurely is to clearly outline what’s expected at each stage. It’s okay (and even encouraged) to address the elephant in the room and tell parents right off the bat that they are unlikely to notice visible skill mastery until kids are four or five but emphasize that the early classes still really matter. Make it clear on your website (and in your paper collateral) that seemingly simple steps like blowing bubbles or willingly dunking their heads underwater are actually big indicators of progress at a young age. Then parents will have a better understanding of the swimming journey, and be able to celebrate the small progressions.

And, of course, keep beating the consistency drum in all your family-facing messages. The more your audience absorbs that swim skills are best learned (and reinforced) repeatedly over time, starting at a young age, the more likely they’ll be willing to stay enrolled for the long haul.

Q: What types of marketing initiatives are most effective when trying to reach parents and families?

A: Parents can be a difficult audience to reach at times, because they’re so busy (and often even overwhelmed) by caring for their children and everything else they have to manage. Remember this

in your marketing materials, and try to make everything bite-sized and easy to digest, with clear takeaways that can be read in minutes.

At my agency, StringCan Interactive, we’ve found that case studies of successful swimmers are great, but case study “snapshots” can work even better.

Ask the family you have in mind for permission and then put together a brief overview of their swimmer’s journey in your program, making sure to call out the benefits they received from being part of your school. Get this designed, so it’s attractive to look at and easy to read, and then post it to your website and share via email and social media.

You can never have too many of these.

And while on the topic, social media channels can work well with parents too. Aim to make your Facebook or Instagram page active and filled with fun snaps and videos of swimmers, instructors and families that paint your school in a very positive light (and of course, you’ll need to get permission from parents before posting their child’s image). This can help reinforce to parents all the fun experiences and valuable skills that their little ones are getting from being in your program.

The nature of a swim school’s engagements means that you need to consistently and repeatedly earn the trust of your existing customers in order to keep them with you. If they’re not already, get your marketing team on board with tactical ways (like those outlined above) in which they can support your sales team and meet customer needs daily.

Do you have any other questions about winning over the customers you have? I’d love to hear from you. Send me an email jay@stringcaninteractive. com with any insights.

ASK AL

BY ALVARO G. MENDOZA COMMERCIAL ENERGY SPECIALISTS, INC.

A local pool guru stated that Alkalinity is the most important pool variable.

What is the big fuss?

COULD YOU PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION OF HOW WE SHOULD WORK WITH IT, AND WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT?

Welcome back to our “Ask the Expert” feature, designed to assist you with issues related to swimming pool water, mechanical equipment, space conditioning and code compliance.

Ask a question, and we will try to answer to the best of our ability.

Alkalinity may not be “the” most important, but it is one of the Top 4 and one of the most misunderstood/ignored variables out there. A large percentage of the residential pool service companies and commercial operators don’t seem to understand it, nor the importance.

22 | USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG

WHAT IS ALKALINITY? Total Alkalinity is described as “an index of the water’s resistance to pH change”.

It’s the overlooked “green” test on your test kit, and most health departments do not review it. But, it can affect your daily operations in many ways, and should be maintained not corrected.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Alkalinity levels that are too low lead to unstable and rapidly changing pH. How can this affect you? If you want to reduce pH and your alkalinity is in the correct range, you (or preferably your automated chemistry control system) would add a small amount of acid, and the pH would go down to your desired range of 7.3 - 7.6. However, if the alkalinity is too low (thus having low resistance to pH change), the same amount of acid – or even a couple of squirts from the automated chemical feeder could force the pH down to 6.8 - 6.9 or lower. This would make your pool non-compliant; negatively affecting your water balance and very possibly being a major cause of patron (or instructor) irritation.

QUICK TIP #1: If your pH overshoots on your controller – check the alkalinity.

Alkalinity that is too high, on the other hand, leads to over-steady or stubborn pH. How can this condition affect you?

Add typical amounts of acid to high alkalinity water - with high resistance to pH change, and your pH barely moves at all. You add more, and it still doesn’t move. So, it normally takes exponentially more acid to move pH with high alkalinity than with normal alkalinity. Also, on high alkalinity pools and spas, the pH seems to always want to drift upward, thus making the problem even worse, again making your pool non-compliant and affecting your water balance, but probably not contributing to irritation as much as the low alkalinity scenario.

STARTING POINT: Where does your original alkalinity come from? Answer - your source water.

It’s a great idea to test your “fill water” so that you know what you have to deal with. Some city water supplies are “softened” and are low in alkalinity,

while some well or rural systems have extremely high alkalinity.

ROLE IN WATER BALANCE: Alkalinity is a major contributor to proper water balance – and can play a big role in whether you destroy your heater and screw up your expensive pool finish, or if you have cloudy water and end up with ugly scale or deposits on your tile and finish. Alkalinity, Calcium, pH, Temperature, and even TDS/ Salt play a role in your water “balance” and whether the water is “hungry” and eroding metals and cement-based surfaces, or “overstuffed” and wanting to release scale and deposits.

WHAT IS THE CORRECT RANGE? While there is NO absolute correct number, there is a good range for different chemistry strategies. The AFO or CPO classes profess a range from 80-120 PPM, but we can expand to 60-150 PPM. Below 60 PPM, you tend to overshoot pH, above 150 PPM, the pH is a bear to move. With respects to water balance, if your calcium in higher, you would maintain a lower alkalinity to stay balanced, but if your calcium is low, a higher alkalinity would be preferred.

HOW DO YOU RAISE OR LOWER? Raise: You raise alkalinity by adding sodium bicarbonate. The test kit manuals, dosing charts, or apps tell you how much. Also, certain chemicals, such as Pulsar briquettes also have a mild alkalinity increaser built-in to their formulation – a popular feature.

Lower: Alkalinity is lowered when a “piece” of water is lowered to 4.5 to 5.5 pH. One way is by adding muriatic acid directly into the pool (turn pump off – and pour in deep end) and this will form a column of low pH - zero alkalinity water that, once remixed with the rest of the pool water, will lower the overall alkalinity. Another is when your chemical feeder injects acid into the pipe, or water goes through a low pH tablet feeder (Bromine or Trichlor). That drops the pH in a stretch of the pipe below the magic number and reduces the alkalinity, thus requiring you to raise the alkalinity with bicarb. The stronger the acid, the more feet of pipe is affected.

QUICK TIP #2: If you want to reduce pH but not affect alkalinity, run a weaker acid mixture in the chemical tank. You will reduce a smaller “piece” of water below the magic number, and will reduce the rate at which the alkalinity is reduced.

CONCLUSION: Alkalinity is easy if you know the game!

The best strategy is to maintain it in a good range, making small corrections, instead of letting it go and making a big recovery. You can use a smart phone app – we like the Next Generation Water Science App – to help you keep your water balance neutral - near zero (0.0 to +0.2). This strategy will keep your pH steady, your acid consumption low, and your heaters and plaster where they should be – and not as a stain on your pool walls. On the horizon… automatic control of Alkalinity is coming, stay tuned.

Hope that helps! Please feel free to forward your questions and comments through the Association office, or directly to me, via email at amendoza@ ceswaterquality.com.

Best Regards, Alvaro G. Mendoza

USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 23

SMALL SCHOOL PROGRESSION /

MOVING FROM A BACKYARD TO A RENTAL MARGEE CHARRON BUBBLES TO BUTTERFLY SWIM SCHOOL & JENNIFER HILL THE SWIM CENTER

For every swim school, each has its own story. The story of Connecticut based Bubbles to Butterfly Swim School started prior to teaching lessons in the backyard.

For three summers owner Margee Charron traveled to other people’s pools to teach their children swimming. The logistics of travel after just a few years became challenging.

After the third summer, she decided that customers would just have to come to her newly built home pool for swim lessons.

Another swim school started in a small subdivision in Georgia. Jennifer Hill taught swim lessons out of her father’s backyard pool for 11 years before she bought a 19 acre property and built her own backyard pool to run her swim school business, The Swim Center. You may have heard stories about swim schools being shut down and some of you may have experienced this as well. Both of these swim schools were shut down.

In Georgia, The Swim Center was cited for too many customers and employees on property. At the time, the ruling allowed two customers and zero employees at a home-based business. After the county did an extensive nationwide search to find precedence about operating this type of ‘unorthodox’ business and five appearances

24 | USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG

before the board of commissioners, it was determined that The Swim Center could continue to operate as a homebased business.

After five years of operating as a summer backyard swim school, Bubbles to Butterfly was issued a cease and desist order from the State of Connecticut.

Although Margee went through the local planning and zoning board to gain approval for backyard use as well as a permit for road signage, it was the State that found that the pool construction did not meet commercial code.

Currently both swim schools operate out of rental locations. The Swim Center continues seasonal use of the backyard pool and also leases the pool in four hotel locations. In the past 20 years, Bubbles to Butterfly has rented space in four different hotels as well as a summer campground for the past 15 years.

Swim school owners have shared so much valuable information over the years and have been tremendously generous with their insight and guidance about running a small swim school: • Manage growth of your programs • Ensure staff positive-ness • Customer relations – open door policy • Training staff – hardest thing, but very important • Goal meetings weekly with key staff (goals, vision, growth & future plans) • Job descriptions & Policy manual for all staff • Keep good records of everything!

Some pointers in securing a rental location:

• Include any additional skills or benefits that your business will bring: supervision in the pool area, certified pool operator, certification in CPR / Lifeguard Training • Have commercial liability insurance There are many different ways to determine how much to pay for the pool. Swim school owners have successfully used each of the following options: • Percentage: the facility would get a pre-determined amount per student • Hourly: pay per hour of pool rental • Flat fee: a set amount for the duration (days/time) of rental

• Upside of Renting: You don’t have to buy it or build it and you don’t have to maintain it • Downside of Renting: Pool maintenance (or lack of), change of management, non-renewal of lease, little or no equipment storage/space, sharing with other guests or members and the list goes on …

To approach a hotel, apartment or potential pool space to rent or lease, some important things to consider are: • They would receive income by your business using the facility during their ‘off peak’ hours. Mention other businesses that co-exist under one roof (gas station & coffee shop).

They are already paying for the pool, your business would subsidize their costs.

• Your usage will enhance visibility of their facility as well as marketing for them

USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 25

TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS

BY JOHNNY JOHNSON BLUE BUOY SWIM SCHOOL

Johnny & Cindy Johnson are co-owners of Blue Buoy Swim School

The US Swim School Association is celebrating 30 years of success! In honor of this milestone, we are featuring this article, written by Johnny Johnson, as an eloquent reminder of the developmental approach to baby swimming which represents USSSA’s philosophy. Enjoy!

There are many different philosophies concerning how a child can and should be taught to swim. I ascribe to what can be called the developmental approach.

In this type of program, each of the child’s developmental characteristics is considered. Two key areas of concern are physical and emotional readiness. Too often only the child’s physical readiness is considered. Physically, a child may be capable of developing the arm and leg movements and balance control necessary to propel them through the water by two years of age. The ability to recover breath by lifting the face forward out of the water or rolling onto the back can also be attained at this age.

However, the key factor in evaluating a child’s ability in the water is emotional readiness. This will determine if a skill is developed under voluntary control or if it is the result of a response based on negative reinforcement. For example, can a 26 | USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG

child enter the water comfortably, and with voluntary control decide what course of action will be taken? Is the child able to dive under, swim to any area in the pool and take a breath at will? Or, is the act of swimming a response to entering the water, whereupon a child either rolls to her back in an act of self-preservation or scrambles for the side of the pool? It is the level of emotional control, internal trust, and understanding that the child possesses that concerns me.

Unfortunately, in many programs, the ends justify the means. But in many of these cases the child only understands “mean”. Forcing a child to perform a task for which he is not emotionally ready can cause lasting psychological damage. The writings of Dr. T. Barry Brazelton reflect this concern. Dr. Brazelton has written numerous books and articles about early infant/child development. His approach to learning and development incorporates

attachment issues, brain development and how environmental stresses influence a child’s ability to feel safe and secure.

He concludes that highly traumatic or chronically minor traumatic experiences greatly affect the emotional well being of a child, and can lead to a disruption in the development of self-esteem.

According to the Carnegie Task Force on Meeting the Needs of Young Children (1994): • Brain development before age one is more rapid and extensive than was pre viously realized. Although cell formation is virtually complete before birth, brain maturation continues after birth.

• Brain development is much more vulnerable to environmental influence than was suspected. There is consid erable evidence showing that infants exposed to good nutrition, toys and playmates had measurably better brain function at twelve years of age than those raised in a less stimulating environment.

• Environment affects not only the number of brain cells and the number of connections among them but also the way these connections are “wired”.

The process of eliminating excess neurons and synapses from the dense, immature brain, which continues well into adolescence, is most dramatic in the early years of life, and it is guided to a large extent by the child’s sensory experience of the outside world.

• Early stress can affect brain function, learning and memory adversely and permanently. New research provides a scientific basis for the long-recognized fact that children who experience extreme stress in their earliest years are at greater risk for developing a variety of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional difficulties later in life.

I have taught and observed thousands of children learning to swim in a fun, effective and lasting way with laughter and squeals of joy. Try a little tenderness!

Johnny is a charter member and past president of USSSA and co-author of its Infant-Toddler course.

Johnny is also a past president of NDPA and past president of Stop Drowning Now, formerly Safer 3 Water Safety Foundation. In 2013, Aquatics International magazine selected Johnny as one of the 25 most influential people in aquatics over the past 25 years. In 2010 Johnny and Cindy (co-owners of Blue Buoy Swim School) were presented with the USSSA Humanitarian Award for their efforts in drowning prevention. Johnny was awarded the Association’s Guiding Light Award in 1996 and honored with induction the Hall of Fame in 2004.

MAKING INDUSTRY WAVES

SWIM SCHOOL MARKETING TOOLKIT A quarterly Marketing Toolkit is now available to all USSSA Members for FREE! Simply add your swim school logo and contact information for professional marketing pieces that are easy to use. To access the full file of marketing materials please visit usswimschools.com/sign-in.

SPREAD THE WORD! We’ve received tremendous feedback from members about the online education! Help us spread the love-oflearning. If you’ve enjoyed the online courses, please spread the word and encourage others to check it out!

IS IT TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP? A friendly reminder that it may be time to renew! We value your support and want to make sure you continue to receive every benefit. Keep your membership active and continue to be part of our swim biz community! Renew online at usswimschools.com/sign-in

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM LPB There is a very timely and important video presentation available to you by La Petite Baleen! Please take the time to learn more about how to protect your swim school and your students. You’ll be glad you did! Video available for up to 1 year of viewing after purchase.

View message online at vimeo.com/ ondemand/usssa2017.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE Remember! Select session recordings are available online. If you were not able to make the fall National Conference in Orlando, you have the opportunity to purchase the professional recordings either individually or as a bundle.

These are terrific for training your staff, as well! Available online at vimeo.com/ ondemand/usssa2017 28 | USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG

MEMBER PUBLISHED NEW BOOK Pete Kennedy, Ph.D. (Kennedy Swim School) recently authored and published a book titled, Kiphuth of Yale: A Swimming Dynasty. Available in paperback.

Read more about it and purchase it on Amazon.com!

MEMBERS HELPING MEMBERS UPDATE We are excited to share with you that over $1,500.00 was donated by Association Members online at the Members Helping Members page. BIG THANKS to all who gave so generously to help those in need of hurricane relief.

YOU make this Association GREAT! #GivePositive

USSSA IS CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF SUCCESS Join us for a year of celebration in 2018!

NEW MEMBER LIST

INDEX OF

ADVERTISERS Finis | Inside Front Cover

CHUGIAK AQUATICS CLUB Patrick Garrity Eagle River, AK

SWIM-IN ZONE Penny Pantano Center Valley, PA

CLUB DE AMIGOS Patricia Giordani Buenos Aires, Argentina

VISTA SWIM ACADEMY Shiloh Hurst San Antonio, TX

HYDRO-TOTS SWIM SCHOOL Greg Galustian Plainview, NY

YUNZ SWIM ACADEMY Wenhai Xu Beijing, China

KFSS CHARLESTON Brian Cubbage Mount Pleasant, SC

ZWEMMEN Luis Armondo Mexico City, Mexico

Risk Management Services | p2 Dolfin | p4 Jackrabbit Swim | p10 Aquam | p10

USA Swimming Foundation | p12 A3 Performance | p12 Tri Swim | p15

RCPS Really Cool Pool Stuff | p15 StringCan Interactive | p18 Snyder Insurance Services | p21 Cressi Swim | p27

CES | p29

USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 29

UNITED STATES SWIM SCHOOL ASSOCIATION 7100 E. Cave Creek Rd., Suite 109 Cave Creek, AZ 85331