USSSA 2023 Spring Magazine Ready Set Swim

IN THIS ISSUE

ASSOCIATION HEADQUARTERS 4815 E. Carefree Hwy., Suite 108-480 Cave Creek, AZ 85331 480.837.5525

usssa@usswimschools.org

usswimschools.org

Executive Director

Lisa M. Zarda, CAE, CNAP

Editor

Anne Swanson

ASSOCIATION OFFICERS

President

Tracy Koleber, Nitro Swimming

Vice President

Buffy Folise, Chicago Swim School

Treasurer

David Gorman, Swim-in Zone

ASSOCIATION DIRECTORS

Davina Lopez Davina’s Swim House

Debbie Sayers DolFUN SWIM Academy

Ann Marie Sunderhaus Hubbard Family Swim School

Melissa Taylor Small Fish Big Fish Swim School

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

We’ve all read plenty of articles and books about embracing the “process.” What exactly is the process?

I see more opportunities than I know what to do with once I truly understand the process and what it means for me...Let me explain first what the process isn’t:

The process isn’t focusing on the number of enrolled students we have each week/month/year.

The process isn’t fixating on revenues or the number of kids advancing into a new skill, etc.

The process instead is continuing to get better at winning the greeting. Winning the first 5 minutes of the lesson. Winning the half hour. Winning the recap and the goodbye. Winning the shift. Winning the day.

What can I do better to ensure a more positive experience for our families? Can I highlight individual improvements better? Can I share more of the little victories that occur within each class? Can I highlight and trumpet what my Instructors are doing right during every class? Can I check the parking lot and the walk up to our front doors that everything is in order, all garbage has been picked up, and we’re looking respectable? Can I make sure all changing areas and showers are clean and presentable?

What are those critical steps that HAVE to happen every lesson for you to win that lesson?

If you are delivering on EVERY lesson, checking whatever boxes YOU have determined are the items that need to happen, the rest will take care of itself. The number of enrolled students will increase. Your revenues will see an uptick. The number of kids advancing will continue to climb. Your Instructors will want to stay with you longer and recruit their friends to be a part of the positive environment you’ve created.

You see, there are a multitude of opportunities waiting for you to uncover and unleash! Have fun surfing those waves!

TRACY KOLEBER President US Swim School Association

Look around. No, really, look around. Look outside. Look inside.”

TRACY KOLEBER

FROM THE DESK OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

op·por·tu·ni·ty /ˌäpərˈto͞onədē/

noun – a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something An opportunity is a situation in which it is possible for you to do something that you want to do.

op·por·tu·ni·ty

cost

noun: ECONOMICS

The loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen

Opportunity cost is the potential forgone profit from a missed opportunity the result of choosing one alternative and forgoing another.

As I ponder these two definitions, I can’t help but think about the recently proposed Bylaws changes presented at our Town Hall meeting. In many ways it feels like both this industry and the association are at a bit of a crossroads. The secret is out that the learn to swim business is a great business opportunity for many reasons. And as happens with all industries, we are at a point in the industry life cycle that includes consolidation.

Your board of directors has established a 10 year target that by 2033, USSSA members are the schools of choice for swim lessons. I’m sure I join many of you in the frustration that can be felt when conversations around water safety and learn to swim focus in on the American Red Cross and the YMCA. In my years of working with USSSA, there is no doubt in my mind that you are all industry experts with years of experience and expertise that comes with running your own business with passion and purpose. The challenge we face is that the public and legislative community doesn’t know we exist and even within the learn to swim industry, there is a lack of awareness of the expertise and knowledge you all have gained through years of serving your communities. There was a time as a new industry where it made a lot of sense to come together as business owners to learn from one another and navigate this new industry together. And I want to emphasize here, the USSSA leadership still has a desire to honor that spirit that got us here by continuing to create opportunities for swim school owners to come together with one another around important topics.

Over these past few years I have worked to establish a name for the USSSA within the learn to swim community. Taking an active role in the Aquatics Coalition that sprung out of the pandemic. Making connections within the learn to swim community to get USSSA a seat at the table with the Water Safety USA roundtable, a seat only received by being accepted into joining by the others at the table. Working to get at least one individual from USSSA membership involved in the National Water Safety Action Plan in the review phase after being unsuccessful in getting included earlier on in the process.

In attending conferences such as the Safer California Conference and the Ultimate Pool Conference, as well as monitoring aquatic leadership Facebook groups, I see we still have a lot of work to do even within the learn to swim industry. We have kids safety discussions that focus more on car safety than water safety, we have aquatic builders that think swim schools are only franchises and we have swim instructors that have never taught babies, looking for any information they can find to start teaching babies. There is a hunger and a desire from people teaching swimming to find ways to teach better, to do better, and to be better. I would argue, who better to step into the spotlight and take the leadership role for the learn to swim industry than USSSA and its members?

And as we start to work with more and more lobbyists and legislators across the country in various states, it has become clear that we need leaders in learn to swim to help shape its future. If we don’t speak up and become that resource for all facets of the learn to swim industry, then

the legislators will continue to look to the American Red Cross and the YMCA. And I will add that in building relationships with leadership in both of those organizations, that they too have a desire to keep kids safe around water and I have found there are similarities that we all share. I am proud of the work we are able to do together as part of the Water Safety USA when we created the resource, what to look for in a good learn to swim program. It involved thoughtful discussion and meaningful compromise that resulted in a strong step together.

I hope as we move through the process to educate the members on the proposed bylaws changes and call for a vote in March, that you would thoughtfully consider, what do we want to be when we grow up? Is now the time we take this opportunity to expand our sphere of influence, while at the same time honoring where we came from? Or is there another solution you can share with association leadership to reach our 10 year target?

In the end the staff and I will honor and follow the decisions that come out of the bylaws vote. That is our job, and we will continue to serve all of you to the best of our ability for as long as it is sustainable.

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

YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE IS NOW!

Customized Class Policies

Branded Mobile App

Auto-Draft Payments

Staff & Parent Portals

Apparel Management

Skills Tracking

Absences & Makeups

Staff Time Clock & Payroll

EMPLOYEE RETENTION STRATEGIES THAT WORK: AN INTERVIEW WITH CLINT SMITH

We sat down with Clint Smith — Founder and CEO of CareerPlug and author of the upcoming book, How to Hire — to pick his brain about why retaining employees is more important than ever. We are excited to share his insight and 10 employee retention strategies that work.

BY DESIREE ECHEVARRIA CAREERPLUG

THE COST OF EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

The cost of employee turnover can be high, and not just financially. It’s true, the cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary. But other unseen costs include:

• Opportunity costs — How much could your business have grown if you kept your team together?

• Culture costs — How will the departure of good employees impact the rest of the team? When you lose employees who make positive contributions to your culture, what happens to your culture when they take those contributions elsewhere?

As a small business owner, any time you spend on recruiting, hiring, and onboarding is time you could have spent on running your business instead.

EMPLOYEE RETENTION STRATEGIES

Turnover is something that employers have the power to control. In our Toxic Work Environment Report, we found that 84% of employees that were planning to leave their jobs, would stay at their current jobs if their employers made positive changes to the workplace

So what changes can you make?

Here are Clint Smith’s top ten strategies for creating a workplace with high employee retention.

1. Hire the right people who share your core values. Take the time to develop a structured hiring process you can count on to produce the right hires every time. It’s time

(and money) you’ll save on the backend. Recruiting problems become retention problems.

Smith’s advice on how to accomplish this: “We developed specific interview questions for each core value and we devote a section of the interview to it. We also try to get peers involved in some of the interviews so that you, as a leader, have different perspectives.”

“The number one recruiting strategy is retention. Hire the right people and do everything you can to keep them,” says Smith.

At CareerPlug, the first step in our hiring process is to create an Ideal Candidate Profile. This serves as a guide for hiring managers to determine who the potential right person could be for the role.

2. Invest in enticing benefits. Smith says: “Benefits can be your secret weapon when it comes to a compelling compensation package. I think that every dollar you spend on benefits is worth $3 to $5 in compensation. Plus, offering your team benefits says more about your commitment to being a great place to work than a raise ever will. And they are an excellent retention tool: People will think twice before giving up their benefits. Think of benefits as an investment in your growth.”

Our own data backs this up. In our 2022 Compensation Expectations Report, we found that the majority of employees were willing to accept benefits over a pay increase – even those who were unsatisfied with their current pay. But what if your business is in a tight place financially?

Smith adds: “All benefits don’t have to be expensive like healthcare or 401k. For example, flexibility is something that a lot of people value right now. Or giving people a paid day off to volunteer at a charity.”

“A lot of times, there isn’t even one thing that keeps people at your company. But if you have enough small benefits, they end up being more than the sum of their parts they’re the signals to employees that they’re valued, they’re treated well, and the business has made a commitment to caring about its people.”

Benefits should also align with your company’s core values. For example, if your company’s careers page advertises volunteer opportunities and charitable donation matching as a benefit, that will resonate with job seekers who value those things. On the other hand, job seekers who don’t value those things may not be won over by the opportunity and that’s okay. They may be looking for a different environment than the one you’re offering.

3. Be generous with recognition and appreciation.

According to a Gallup study:

• Only 30% of employees say that they’ve received recognition or praise for doing good work within the past week.

• Employees who do not feel adequately recognized are twice as likely to say they’ll quit in the next year.

Smith cautions against a lack of verbalized, concrete recognition in the workplace. “One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is when they take current employees for granted, especially their top performers. You need to show them that you care about them.”

Smith also says, “Gratitude and appreciation are so important, but so is being open with your team about what you are thinking even if you don’t have all of the answers. And you need to do it more often.”

Upgrading to formal employee recognition programs can also be an effective way to keep employees engaged and performing at a high level.

4. Give employees a sense of purpose in their work.

The Gallup study we mentioned earlier also found that when employees have a sense of purpose in their work, their engagement skyrockets. Workers who said they can link their individual goals to the organization’s goals were 3.5 times more likely to be engaged in their performance

The downside is that only 44% of those workers polled said that they can actually see these connections. You can put your business at a significant advantage in terms of retention if you’re able to connect people’s work with a greater purpose.

Smith likes to lead with empathy by imagining and answering the kinds of questions his people have about purpose. “Is this going to be challenging work? Is this a team I’m going to like to work with? Do I like my boss? Do I feel good about the impact that we’re making, both for our clients and for the community? That’s what people are asking themselves,” Smith says.

Smith believes the message he sends his employees at CareerPlug is clear: “For us, as a company, our purpose is to help people hire better, but we’re also able to help job seekers find the right jobs for them. Every role at the company exists to contribute to our greater purpose in some way.”

Smith advises spending time figuring out how to give each role on each team the three things that drive intrinsic motivation:

• Purpose: Articulate a clear basis for how their work contributes to the company’s purpose.

• Autonomy: Give them their own space to perform and innovate without micromanaging. What parts of the process do they have ownership of?

• Mastery: Ensure they feel like they’re honing their craft and growing. When people are intrinsically motivated to perform, they’re more engaged in their work and will think twice before leaving your company for the uncertainty of another organization.

5. Provide frequent feedback to help employees improve and grow. Smith admits that as a manager, he used to be terrible at providing critical feedback to employees. “Part of it had to do with being a naturally conflict-averse person. The other part is that I would blame myself for their performance issues. I did not set them up for success at least, that was the story that I told myself,” he says.

“Then one day, I got called out by one of my leaders. He told me that I owed him feedback, and that getting honest feedback was the only way he was going to improve. He was totally right.”

“Feedback got easier for me after I read Radical Candor by Kim Scott. She uses a quadrant to teach the Radical Candor concept. To get into the Radical Candor quadrant, you have to 1) Challenge Directly and 2) Care Personally. I had the Care Personally part covered, but I was failing at Challenge Directly. That put me in a quadrant called Ruinous Empathy, which sounded terrible to me.”

Smith says this change in thinking allowed him to deliver feedback that challenged his employees to improve and grow. Now, the culture at CareerPlug is one that fosters frequent open communication at every level of the organization.

“I usually give my feedback during our weekly one-on-one meetings or directly after an event that created new feedback. If it’s positive feedback, I will praise people in front of their peers. If it is negative, then I will pull them aside and address it as soon as possible,” he says.

But his most important piece of advice: “Don’t wait until formal performance reviews to deliver feedback. We do them twice a year, and I put a lot of energy into them. But most of this is feedback positive or negative that I’ve already shared with my employees. My goal is for there to be no surprises when I give performance reviews,” he says.

6. Find out people’s big dreams and motivations and help them achieve what they want.

This retention strategy starts with the job interview. When Smith thinks about the

hiring process, only three things matter when evaluating a candidate:

• Can they do it? (Ability)

• Will they do it? (Motivation)

• Will others do it with them?

(Culture fit)

All too often, hiring managers overlook the “motivation” component when hiring, maybe because they think it’s not relevant, or they need to hire someone quickly… even if that means cutting corners.

We think this is a mistake. If an employee’s motivations are unknown to you during the hiring process, how do you know what they want out of a role at your company? How will you be able to give them what they want? Which begs the question: How will you retain them in the long term?

Just like your work is not 100% of your life (we hope!), your employees have a life and goals outside of the workplace. “When you connect with your employees’ motivations and give them opportunities to advance toward those goals, they’ll work hard for you (and themselves),” says Smith.

Smith says: “The best way to evaluate a candidate’s motivation is to look at where they have been and where they are headed. You can learn a lot by listening to someone’s life story and then asking them about their goals. With high performers, the motivation usually comes through loud and clear. If it doesn’t, then you need to think twice before making the hire.”

7. Develop growth plans or career tracks.

Growth plans and professional development are so important to CareerPlug that Smith makes sure to include a discussion of professional development opportunities when making the initial job offer to a candidate.

Smith says, “The best candidates are going to want to see how this position will help them grow professionally. They will often turn down a job that pays more if they see a path to growth at your company. Show them what they will learn by working with you and what a potential growth path could look like for them. This is what gets the top performers really excited.”

One important thing to note: make sure not to confuse employee training and employee development. Employee training is focused on the short-term instruction that enables a person to perform the logistics of their job.

Employee development, on the other hand, focuses on long-term growth. These are skills that employees will be able to carry with them throughout their careers and personal lives, such as leadership skills and soft skills. A growing body of research suggests that this kind of whole-person development is crucial to maintaining high employee engagement and long-term retention.

This is where a growth plan can be helpful. Using a growth plan, employees can take a little time to think about the skills they have and the ones they’d like to develop. They can think about both personal and professional dreams that they have and find more clarity on how they can reach them. This has been a great tool for supporting employee development that we use at CareerPlug.

8. Find ways to nurture social relationships between employees. Research shows that employees who say they have a “best friend at work” are seven times as likely to be engaged in their jobs. Those with besties are also rated as having higher levels of productivity, retention, and job satisfaction than those who do not.

Smith agrees: “People want to like who they work with. They want to have friends at work. That might be another reason for them not to leave.”

At the beginning of team meetings, Smith encourages the team to “share something good.” People take turns sharing a good thing that’s happened in their lives, either personally or professionally, that week. It’s a great way for people to continue to get to know one another and build empathy and camaraderie.

“We try our best to create what we call culture moments, or little things that add up collectively to become what our culture is. For example, we have an all-team meeting Friday afternoons where people can give their peers shoutouts for things they did during the week. We also make a big deal about people’s work anniversaries (or ‘workiversaries’) with us. Our HR leader, Natalie, came up with the idea of a workiversary prize wheel people can spin on their special day.”

9. Create transparent and equitable policies around hiring, pay, promotions, and terminations. HR shouldn’t be a mysterious, secretive entity. Employees should be ableto trust that leadership is being forthcoming with information at all times.

Smith explains: “At CareerPlug, that starts at the very beginning of our relationship with all our employees in our hiring process. We take an open and straightforward approach with compensation. We start by listing compensation on every job posting. Then we share the exact compensation with every candidate on the phone screen and confirm that this works for them, as we don’t negotiate.”

“This helps us be more equitable and ensures that there are no surprises when we get to the offer stage. The candidate knows exactly what they’ll see on the offer letter. Candidates really appreciate it, and it helps us convert almost every offer we make into a hire,” he added.

10. Communicate openly, even during tough times.

Transparency shouldn’t end with compensation policies.

Take for example, the COVID-19 crisis. Smith took an approach in which he was completely open and honest with his staff about what his plans were for weathering the storm that was coming.

“I really just tried to put myself in their shoes and consider the kinds of anxieties they were facing. When you go into a crisis, there’s a lot of uncertainty. I think that’s what makes people more anxious than anything,” he says.

Smith decided to share his plans with the entire team. He showed them financial models he created to predict the worst case scenarios for the business. His philosophy: When there’s a plan in place, people can be free to feel safe.

“It’s hard to get anything done if you’re full of uncertainty and anxiety, and we needed everyone to double down and work hard to get through this,” he says.

Reprinted from CareerPlug with Permssion.

HOW TO MAXIMIZE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

To maximize your business opportunities, you must first identify and correct any typical mistakes you have made in the past and then expand on those methods.

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you must always seek new opportunities and innovations to expand your start-up. How can you maximize your business opportunities, spurring growth and elevating your company to new growth and market levels? The answers to this question are the things to keep an eye out for which are listed below in this article.

LOOK MORE CLEARLY AT YOUR RIVALS

Knowing what your competitors are doing and the typical business errors they are making is just as important as taking the time to review and improve your business procedures. The former assists you in deciding whether you need to include some of those methods into your operational procedures to draw in additional clients. For instance, if you are a business owner in the online casino industry, you need to know what bonuses and incentives other casinos are using to attract customers.

A quick glance at maximum casinos should be an inspiration to everything you need. Being aware of what they are not doing can help you concentrate on elements that could increase your reach, sales, and conversions. This is the ideal technique to identify your weaknesses and implement the required adjustments to the way your business operates.

ORGANIZE YOUR CLIENTELE

Make smaller categories of your entire consumer base depending on factors like region, age, gender, buying preferences or lifestyle, attitude, etc. This will assist you in determining the level of demand for your goods or services so that you may tailor promotions and deals to appeal to each of the target demographics.

CONCENTRATE ON INDUSTRY TRENDS AND INSIGHTS

Participate in pertinent forums, go to industry conferences, and buy publications related to your subject. Additionally, it’s a good idea to set up Google alerts for all the important industry terms and follow industry influencers and experts on social media. You can network with peers and stay up to date on different industry trends, maximizing business opportunities.

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS AND PREVIOUS LEADS

When addressing potential clients, spend some time learning about their requirements, problems, and difficulties with your business. Find out if they have previously utilized comparable services and goods, as well as what they liked and didn’t like about your offers. Finding opportunities to provide specialized services and goods using this method is the best option. With the use of this knowledge, you can narrow down your target market. Also, you will determine what the common problems are and how to solve them.

EXAMINE EVERY PURCHASE SITUATION

Review your payment procedures, distribution routes, and other elements related to current buying habits. As a

result, you’ll gain a better understanding of how people purchase your goods or services. Once you have this knowledge, you adjust or offer substitutes that will help you draw in more clients.

CONCLUSION

Starting up a business or maintaining one can be very exhausting. Especially with all the diverse customers you will get and with that comes understanding their needs. If the above steps are followed properly, you will maximize your business opportunities, getting the best possible outcome for your business.

Reprinted with permission from homebusinessmag.com

4 BENEFITS OF EARNING A CERTIFICATION IN YOUR FIELD OF EXPERTISE

Stand out from the competition with a professional certification.

BY CHRIS PORTEOUS CEO, SEARCHEYE

Whatever your profession, working toward a professional certification or designation takes a significant amount of time and effort. As with every business decision, you’ll need to weigh out the pros and cons. If your field has mandatory requirements, then you really have no choice but to move ahead with certification. Plus, it’s worth considering the wider benefits that it will bring.

To find satisfaction and success in your work, it’s useful to pursue excellence and knowledge. Business practices, the industry, and your customers will change over time. This means it’s beneficial for you to grow and develop with them. One way to do that is through training courses and certification.

Your first step will be choosing the right form of recognition for your industry. Once you’re on your way to achieving it, it’s time to think about how you can communicate and capitalize on this advantage. Here are four benefits that can motivate you and help you make the most of your certification.

1. TRUST AND CREDIBILITY

When customers approach you for the first time with a business inquiry, they don’t know you or how you operate. One of the most effective ways to attract them, reassure them and win their trust is through certification. If the certification comes from a well-known awarding body, then the customer will feel like they know what to expect, which will make them more comfortable.

Continued on next page...

Knowing that your practices meet industry standards is an excellent boost to your credibility. It also demonstrates your commitment to the profession, which will impress other companies that you partner with or collaborate with, as well as your customers.

Certification can open doors to job opportunities. For example, you might be changing careers to become a personal trainer. If you choose the right personal trainer certification course, you can gain experience in your desired work environment.

2. STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD

If your field doesn’t require certification, then you can use it to your advantage to stand out from the competition.

When there are many other practitioners offering similar services, it can be challenging to compete for that same customer pool.

While you may want to channel some of your budget into marketing, there are other routes to consider. Professional development, and in particular, certification, can differentiate you from other companies and give you an edge. Your certification will act as a badge of excellence. It will also demonstrate that you keep up with industry trends and use the latest tools and software to offer a service that can help your customers.

3. IMPROVE THE WAY YOU WORK

Achieving certification is about more than just saying what you’ve done. Any tests you complete or courses that you attend will have their own benefits. Understanding what the best practices in your industry are will give you a new appreciation for your profession, and how you can support your customers.

It’s likely that you will learn new techniques and skills -- not only those associated with your field but also transferable skills. These could include discipline and communication. It’s likely that by being successful in your work towards certification, your confidence in your abilities will grow.

Throughout the process, you might find other opportunities to enhance your standing in your industry. You’ll come into contact with others in your industry,

including experts in your field. Make the most of these occasions to network and seek ways to support and gain assistance from your peers.

4. INCREASE YOUR EARNINGS

It’s crucial to consider the possibility that certification might promote your business to a new level. You’ll be attracting new customers and applying advanced techniques, which means you should also be looking at your pricing structure. Expertise has value, and certification is an achievement that warrants revising what you have to offer. If your standards are now beyond the normal industry level, then you might want to consider a different rate for the advanced services that you offer.

Clients are willing to pay for quality, and you have found a way to guarantee them the service that they want. Even if the cost of your service does not go up dramatically, certification is likely to increase your earnings through the additional business that you will receive.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If there’s a reputable organization that can give you recognition in your field, then it’s worth investigating certification. It can help you improve your reputation and draw attention to your business.

Continued professional development is an ideal way to gain a greater understanding of your industry, and to enhance your knowledge and skills. It also offers excellent chances to network. All these benefits should lead to more clients and potentially more money for your services. This will increase your earnings and push you forward on your career path.

Chris Porteous is CEO of SearchEye, which offers unbundled digital marketing projects for clients and agencies across the globe. Reprinted with Permission.

WE’RE AS PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR SUCCESS AS YOU ARE

You didn’t get into business to fail. You got into it to turn your passion into success. The Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®) helps you solve the issues that keep your organization from reaching its full potential — not at the surface, but at the root.

If you want more clarity and traction in your business, then it’s time to explore the same EOS Tools used by over 100,000 companies around the world. They’ll help you lay a strong foundation for your organization, make the most of every challenge and opportunity you face, and translate your passion into the results you deserve.

WHY EOS?

EOS was designed for busy, success-driven entrepreneurs like you. It gives businesses of 10-250 employees the tools they need to finally gain traction in their business, build a strong team culture, and achieve their most passionate goals.

YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM WILL GET A GRIP ON THREE THINGS: VISION

Getting everyone in your organization 100% on the same page with where you’re going and how you plan to get there.

TRACTION®

Instilling disciple and accountability throughout the company so that everyone executes on that vision — every day.

HEALTHY

Helping your leaders become a more cohesive, functional, healthy leadership team.

EOS CAN HELP YOU ELIMINATE COMMON BUSINESS FRUSTRATIONS:

• People (not all on the same page)

• Control (lack thereof)

• Profit (not enough)

• Hitting the ceiling

• Nothing is working

LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS Schedule a FREE 90 Minute Meeting with me to get started.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

FOR MORE DETAILS, VISIT: USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG/EVENTS

THANK YOU ANNUAL SPONSORS

MARCH 4, 2023

INFANT TODDLER EDUCATION WORKSHOP

VIRTUAL

MARCH 15, 2023

USSSA WEBINAR: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE POOL AND OPEN WATER VIRTUAL

MARCH 16, 2023

SPECIAL ABILITIES EDUCATION WORKSHOP

VIRTUAL

APRIL 3, 2023

SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATORS

VIRTUAL

APRIL 6, 2023

USSSA SMALL SCHOOLS VIRTUAL BRUNCH VIRTUAL

MAY 4-5, 2023

CERTIFIED POOL AND SPA OPERATOR (CPO) COURSE

VIRTUAL

OCTOBER 2-4, 2023

USSSA NATIONAL CONFERENCE

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

CES CINTAS

CONSTANT CONTACT

COUNCILMAN HUNSAKER

GREEN SPROUTS

HINGE EARLY EDUCATION

IPLAY

LEGALSHIELD/IDSHIELD

MERCHANT COST CONSULTING

NEPTUNE-BENSON EVOQUA

NORDPASS

ONETEAM360

PROVEN PROMOTIONS

SPORTS ENGINE

TAKE COMMAND HEALTH

TALENT LMS

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A CIRCLE OF TRUST: BUILDING A “BONDING BRIDGE” WITH THE PARENT AND CHILD RELATIONSHIP IN THE EARLY YEARS.

It is an incredible honor to be an Aquatic Educator, a coach, a partner, that guides, teaches and supports the parent and child through their water journey during the early years.

It takes trust and communication to build the bonding bridge of a relationship. We are creating a circle of trust between us - the teacher, the parent, the child and the water. Building mutual trust among all four elements is essential. We can provide an intentional space for the parent that is as nurturing as they are with their baby.

First, parents must trust us. Only then can they trust the water and be able to offer their baby a regulated, calm, content and stimulating experience. The parent looks to us as the educator and authority. A strong Circle of Trust is also built when you communicate with the parents the reasons why you are teaching them what you are

BY DEBBIE SAYERS FOUNDER DOLFUN SWIM ACADEMY USSSA INFANT TODDLER COMMITTEE USSSA BOARD OF DIRECTOR

teaching. For instance, a special way you lightly support the child in the water gives the maximum potential available that the water has to offer. Such as a soft touch that allows the child to feel the flow and nurturing elements of the water, to feel the buoyancy-the lift of the water. This allows the elements of water to do much of the work and completes the communication between the child and the water thus completing the full Circle of Trust.

We create the safe and nurturing environment from which the parent can learn to swim with their baby. We are there to guide them to let go and let the baby lead the way. We can teach the parent to be proactive, respectful and responsive. When this is achieved, the baby learns to trust, explore, be curious and experience the full joy that the water journey provides.

The water allows for micro-dynamics to be experienced. They are the honest exchange, the communication that transcends between you the educator, the parent, and the baby. Trust is built as the parent goes through challenging moments, such as, teething, fevers, being tired, needing diapers changed, being hungry, and boredom. You will also go through the dance of learning as you go through challenging times together at the pool and will find solutions together. There are many attributes to being in the water. Being in the water can create an inner calmness, peaceful space, explorative environment, concern of the unknown, all while having FUN.

How a parent responds matters. We need to teach parents how to offer the method of giving their baby choices between this and that or saying “first this-then that” instead of them asking their child yes or no questions. For instance. “Johnny, first, we are going to pick up the balls and then put them in the basket”, in place of “Johnny do you want to put the balls in the basket”. Give parents the positive language skills that will cultivate the results you are desiring. Again, this will build a bonding and trusting relationship. This allows room for the baby to develop emotional intelligence which then builds long term self-esteem, a strong inner compass, and the ability to have the life-skills necessary to navigate life.

Tuning in and strengthening the family dynamic is imperative. Teach the parent to “tune-in” to their baby’s early communication skills when language may not be the first mode of communication. Learn how to read the body language of your baby. Are you honoring when the baby pulls back or turns away? Take your time to approach to child. Offer the child toys for sensory engagement and songs as you build trust between you. This can be transformative and foster a healthy and happy relationship that instills a sense of security between

all of you. Babies deserve our respect. To keep integrity intact within the relationship, you and the parent will want to tune-in respectfully with understanding that baby is an equal partner in this experience and they are to be valued.

“Teach your children they’re unique. That way, they won’t feel pressured to be like everybody else.”

Cindy Cashman

Keep the baby’s wellbeing first and foremost in your mind. It is not a time in life to be making a checklist of what they can and cannot do as compared to charts or other children. It is not a time to be racing for achievements. While there are milestones that may guide you in what activities you are offering on a developmental level, the child does not need to be measured against them in classes. When babies’ emotional intelligence and well-being are discarded, rushing or pushing them through a class, you can damage and even reverse the trust circle.

They are precious little human-beings, building a Circle of Trust can set the stage for trusting relationships for a lifetime. Partnering with the parent and child through their water journey can become the catalyst to deeper and much higher life learning skills.

To elevate your Infant Toddler learning further, stay tune for the following:

Online Infant Toddler Instructor Education Course

(a required prerequisite for the following courses).

Classroom Infant Toddler Instructor Education Course

(often offered In-Person at conference)

Live Virtual Infant Toddler Instructor Education Course

A workshop style course with identical information that is taught in the Classroom Course. Available directly to each and every one of your existing or future Infant Toddler Instructors.

To register for these course

See https://www.usswimschools.org/usssaevents/

USSSA INFANT TODDLER INSTRUCTOR EDUCATION COURSES

US SWIM SCHOOL ASSOCIATION MEMBERS: YOU CAN SAVE BIG ON MERCHANT SERVICE FEES WITHOUT CHANGING CREDIT CARD PROCESSING COMPANIES OR SOFTWARE

ATTENTION Members: We are NOT a credit card processing company. Without switching your current credit card processing company or integrated management software, Merchant Cost Consulting helps USSSA members reduce their credit card merchant fees expenses, audit their merchant statements, and share within the savings we are successful in negotiating for your business.

Members save more with Merchant Cost Consulting’s new strategic partnership with the USSSA! If you pay over $2,000 per month in merchant service fees, this may be something to look into. If MCC does not identify and/or find savings for your business you pay nothing AND keep your peace of mind that your business’s merchant fees are as low as they can be.

IT STARTS WITH A FREE ANALYSIS.

Send us the last three to six statements from your processor. We will find any hidden junk fees or exorbitant rates and estimate how much they can save you per month. If we can’t find savings, we will let you know. If we do, they can offer savings in three important categories.

1

2

MCC can go back in time and get your fees and overcharges refunded. Typically, we can go back one to three months. This, alone, can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars in your pocket.

MCC will negotiate away any junk fees and overcharges with your processor to get your processing fees to where they should be. This can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars every month, depending on your volume and existing fees.

3

MCC will monitor your credit card statements as they come in over the future. The credit card companies are known to slowly creep back up their junk fees and processing rates and even add new ones. This is the area that often surprises people. Even those who have renegotiated rates with their processors often find savings. That’s why MCC monitors your account. When your processor raises rates, we call them to refund the rates and keep your costs rock bottom.

CHANGE A LIFE AND YOU MAY END UP CHANGING YOURS

Think about a person who’s had a tremendous impact on your life.

It may be your Mom or Dad who believed in you, the coach who inspired you, the teacher who guided you in the right direction, the boss who gave you your first big opportunity, or the friend who’s always been by your side. I’m sure when you think of that person, it brings a huge smile to your face as it should.

You may say that some of these folks were just doing their job. True. But even though you’ve had several good teachers, coaches, and bosses over the years, I’m sure a few of them really stand out from the crowd. You remember their passion, dedication, kindness, and, of course, their generosity. After all, they changed your life! That obviously begs the question…are you leaving a lasting impact on others? It only takes one person to change a life and that one person may as well be you.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Whether you’re aware of it or not, you’re touching the lives of people every day. What can you do to step up your game?

BE AN EXEMPLARY ROLE MODEL.

Lead by example. Demonstrate that character is the DNA of success and happiness.

BE AN AWESOME PARENT.

Having kids is not the same as being a parent. Raise your kids to be kind, productive, and self-reliant; to make good choices and to be personally responsible for their actions; to pursue their purpose with gusto; and to live their life with honor and dignity.

BY JOHN SPENCE

BE A HUMBLE LEADER. Share your success. As you climb the ladder of success, reach down and pull others up with you.

BE A DEDICATED MENTOR.

Take someone under your wing and show them the ropes. Give the kind of advice that they won’t hear anywhere else.

BE A COMPASSIONATE BOSS. Show your employees that work isn’t all business. Build trusting relationships. Make yourself available and supportive in times of need.

BE A SHREWD BUSINESSPERSON. Develop win-win rather than winner-takeall relationships. Prove that there’s more to go around when you grow a large pie, together, than when you squabble to divide a smaller one.

BE A REAL FRIEND.

Demonstrate loyalty when someone’s chips are down and no one else has their back.

BE AN INSPIRATION.

Set high expectations and push people beyond their capabilities. Show confidence in them when they’re having a weak moment.

BE PERCEPTIVE.

Give someone the big break they need in life. See someone’s potential even when others are blind to their promise.

BE TOUGH, BUT FAIR.

Make people accountable for their actions. They’ll thank you one day.

BE AVAILABLE.

Give the gift of time. Lend a shoulder to cry on when someone needs a friendly ear or support during tough times.

BE THE BETTER PERSON.

Be the first to give, the first to forgive, the first to compromise, and the first to say “I’m sorry.”

BE EVEN-HANDED.

Stand up for injustice, speak up for the less fortunate, and don’t give up on fairness and tolerance.

BE A LOVING SPOUSE.

Put your heart into your marriage. Share your hopes and your fears, your laughter and your tears, your joy and your sorrow.

CHANGE A LIFE FOREVER

Think of your greatest accomplishments. Where would changing someone’s life rank on your list? Consider: If they hadn’t crossed paths with you, they wouldn’t be the person they are, they wouldn’t have the opportunities they have, and they wouldn’t be positioned to achieve their hopes and dreams. Bravo! You made a difference! As an added bonus, change someone’s life and you may end up changing yours.

Why complain about the ills of the world when you could be a world of difference to someone you know? You may not be able to change the world, but you can change the world around you. Change a life and create a ripple that cascades forever.

Say Goodbye to Chlorine Odor, Bather Irritation, and Toxic Pool Water!

PROGRAM FROM STUDENT, TO APPRENTICE, TO INSTRUCTOR

JENNIFER

We started it a few years ago recognizing a need in our community to develop a new positive place for youth who were aging out of our swim program, this worked out to benefit our program as well. While we are still short staffed, this is a great way to continually reap what you sow by developing current swimmers into our future teachers.

When we first started this idea, we wanted a way to keep our swimmers in our program. Before starting the apprenticeship program, once a swimmer completed all our levels, they would just fall off. Some would move on to swim teams and others to other sports, others didn’t find a new activity to take the place of swimming. So we knew who we wanted to target, we just needed to develop the program for them.

We ran reports of our target swimmers to find the age group that we would be targeting. The average age of swimmers completing the program is 12 years old. We set out to target those swimmers in our database and lead file and found that our target age range for this new program are 12-15 year olds. Upon realizing this, we also knew that they fit into an age group that is underserved for activities in the community. They are too old for most summer camps, they’ve aged out of daycare, and they are in an age group that could use more supervision during the summer when parents are at home and they are left alone. That alone time can lead to trouble, we believed we could help provide a path away from becoming troubled teens.

Wanting to provide a safe space for young adolescents, we also realized we could have a longer retention rate if we developed our program to lead to an apprenticeship after completion of all levels. This would be great service to our community by helping our youth gain leadership and communications skills, develop more work ethics, and work on their compassion for those around them. During the apprenticeship, they have access to our instructor training program, and they get partnered with one of our instructors to learn how to teach. Our offer to their parents was that we would give them someplace safe to be during the summer with character building work, and once the apprentices reach the age of 16 they will be able to move into a paid instructor position. This created a win-win-win situation, the youth had a place to be that was safe, they gained valuable life skills and experience, and we had a set of instructors that we have been working with for years. All of this with the bonus that our swimmers get more water time in classes with an apprentice. We hire instructors at 16 because of their longevity as employees. They will stay with us through high school and stay with us through college, if they attend a local college. With the apprenticeship, our instructors can begin teaching immediately if they have completed their training prior to their birthday.

We have seen many of our apprentices rise to the challenge of leadership in the water and excel in ways that we didn’t anticipate. We have had some apprentices come in that could

Continued on next page...

HILL OWNER. THE SWIM CENTER MCDONOUGH, GA

As we all struggle through the staffing shortages today, we wanted to share our apprenticeship program.

not differentiate between play time and actual structured teaching. It has created a great learning experience for these young people. Through their successes we have gained better knowledge of what our youth are needing so that we can continue to develop the program. One of our recent successes was when we were able to recognize an apprentice who was excelling in their work. This lead us to convert them into a paid teaching position for two classes a week despite her young age. We would never have used a 14 year old in this capacity before, but after watching her in our apprentice program for 18 months we knew we could push forward

with this option. She is one of the few apprentices who have stayed in our program during the school year as well as in the summer. She was ecstatic for the opportunity. Seeing her success has given hope for other apprentices that they too might be able to prove themselves earlier than 16; this extra motivation is needed with some of the apprentices who are struggling to stay in the program. We will continue to monitor her to decide if we can extend more classes to her or any other apprentices in the future. One benefit to this program we did not anticipate has been the reaction of the swimmers and parents of the classes.

When they see someone that looks like their “peer” in a leadership position in their class, it makes them ask. Our answer is always, “once you finish all of the levels, then we can invite you into our apprenticeship program, too!” It has definitely increased our retention rates and graduate completion numbers. It is not a perfect program, and like all our programs, a continuous work in progress.

If you would like more information or to brainstorm more ideas about this concept, feel free to tag me in a post on the Facebook Owners Group!

NEW MEMBER LIST

AQUA SMILES

Amy Bucca

Madison, NJ

INCLUSION SPORTS PERFORMANCE TRAINING

Shannon Schafer

Ewing, NJ

LOWCOUNTRY SWIM SCHOOL

Wendy Cox

Mount Pleasant, SC

PRIDE OF ILLINOIS

Tarra Morris

Troy, IL

SOUTH LOUISIANA SWIM TEAM

Kier Braendel

New Orleans, LA

STEWIE THE DUCK SWIM SCHOOL

Sarah Caro Norwalk, CT

SWIMSATION SWIM SCHOOL

Lude Auguste West Palm Beach, FL

TATSUKI SWIMMING SCHOOL

Robert Tinker

Frisco, TX

THE AQUA LIFE SWIM ACADEMY

Corina Oaches

Candiac, QC

LIST OF ADVERTISERS

CSFI | p17

Charlie Banana | p20

Cintas | p25

CouncilmanHunsaker | p35

Cressi | p6

FINIS | Inside Front Cover

Green Sprouts | p24

iClass Pro | p9

Jackrabbit Swim | p2

Neptune-Benson | p31

Risk Management | p13

Splash About | p4

TeamUnify | p25

Tri Swim | p20

parents to have very high expectations. They were just happy to find a program for their child. In the state of California, about 13% of the public-school students have an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) and are considered special education students. Our goal is to keep our Special Abilities enrollment at 10% of our overall enrollment.

GIVE IT A TRY!

Seventeen years ago, my 3-year-old daughter, Morgan, was diagnosed with global developmental delays. Every measurable developmental marker was delayed. As a parent, it was a devastating blow, and we began the exhausting journey of being a special needs family. We felt the best way to help our daughter was to start full time schooling, along with therapies and other services. We also knew that we needed to find programs that would be fun and provide important socialization opportunities that were not available through traditional therapy.

One of the programs we found and truly enjoyed the most was a performing arts group called Angels on Stage. This group is committed to providing high quality plays and musical events, all performed by children with special abilities. It was amazing to watch the kids grow and thrive in that program. It was led by highly motivated parents whose children participated in the performances. I was able to watch Angels on Stage grow into a highly successful program. One of the founders, DeAnna Pursai, later created the College of Adaptive Arts, which is a college for students who have “aged out” of the school systems. She was

recently spotlighted by CNN as a CNN Hero. I was so inspired by watching the growth and success of both programs, that I decided to “Give It a Try” and develop a swim program for children with special abilities.

The primary focus of AnT Swim School is on being a safe and comfortable place for special needs kids and their families. We have developed a two-part process to help facilitate the goal of providing quality swimming lessons for special abilities students. First, we identified Ant Swim School staff members who have an interest in working with special abilities students and have them attend the USSSA Special Abilities course. Second, we reached out to existing special needs programs to see if we could assist them in any way. This opened the floodgates, and our office staff were immediately swamped with emails and phone calls with requests for lessons. We did not do any other advertising and relied on word-of-mouth referrals. Every parent that called was told that we are very new to working with the special needs community, but we are a group of compassionate instructors, and we want to “Give It a Try” to the best of our ability. We made no claims on creating Olympic swimmers, and parents were not too concerned about that. The limited number of options in our area made it difficult for

We reached out to existing groups to see if our experimental program could assist them with their vision. Again, this was very easy and successful. No advertising, just a few phone calls and emails. We reached out to the local Bay Area Autism group, which is organized by motivated parents and provides activities for families with children with autism. For the last two summers, the group has rented our pool every Sunday and families can relax poolside, while their kids are free to be themselves without any explanations, under the observation of our lifeguards. We averaged 50 participants for each party. For 2 years we have booked our summer parties with very little effort. We also reached out to the Special Olympics. They were thrilled to find another location for their swim team workouts. They were able to use our facility one weekday, after we closed for our regular classes, and Sunday mornings. We were able to host 30-40 athletes for each workout. Besides being able to provide a pool, we have been able to add to our staff. One local high school student volunteered to take our lifeguarding class and lifeguard the Special Olympics practices and then we hired him for the summer. A new teacher applied after hearing about our experimental program after having just retired from working with children with Cerebral Palsy. Just like that, we had another Special Abilities instructor.

If you are considering jumping into the special abilities pool, I cannot encourage you enough. Please “Give It a Try”! The communities are out there waiting for you. I promise you; it is a life changing experience.

https://www.angelsonstage.org/

https://www.collegeofadaptivearts.org/ https://www.cnn.com/videos/ tv/2022/04/28/california-special-needs-college-adults-cnnheroes.cnn

TERENCE O’MALLEY ANT SWIM SCHOOL SAN JOSE, CA

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR BOD

As you reflect on your swim school career to date, what is one opportunity you took that had the biggest impact on your business?

Tracy Koleber, Nitro Swimming: The biggest impact was selecting a software platform to manage our swim school way back in 2009, second was moving from sessions to perpetual lesson enrollment, and third was knowing when to listen to opinions of others and when to listen to our own gut.

Buffy Folise, Chicago Swim School: When Rob and I were growing out of the apartment complex pool due to high enrollment, we sent an email out to all our customers asking if they knew anyone that would be able to help us out. Surprisingly, one of our customers happened to be building a strip mall down the street from our pool where we would fit. Taking a risk and asking for help from our customers opened the opportunity for us to build one swim school and then open a second location down the road!

David Gorman, Swim-in Zone: Definitely developing people and taking chances on them has impacted our business the most. People are far more irreplaceable than pools. Since so few wake up and say “I want to work in a swim school” or “I want to teach swimming” we have to create our own. To bridge knowledge, work values, selfawareness, good judgment and critical thinking is more than just leading; it is creating better human beings. There is also the fact that every human comes with problems. Sometimes we decided to help someone with serious issues like addiction or give a second chance to someone who stole very modestly from us. Sometimes they grew from it and a lot of times they did not. Still, we made

the right choice and simply grew wiser to help the next person. We also helped ourselves because we learned that not everything works and we have to play the long game for the team and the business’ benefit. While it is indeed our business, it is far from being just about us as owners.

Davina Lopez, Davina’s Swim House: At the beginning of my career making the leap from backyard to building my first pool to make it an all year round venture. I never looked back and this move created the foundation to keep moving the business forward. As my business grew, learning from others and the associations that the right person in the right seat also makes an incredible impact on your business and from letting go of myself running the whole business to hiring proper management and letting go has also allowed for much more growth, development and further expansion.

Debbie Sayers, DolFUN SWIM Academy: I came away from one of our association conferences with the challenge for us to look at our organization, and ask: Do we have a gorilla in the organization? Do we need to free up their future? Asking these hard questions and acting on them created the greatest opportunity. Allowing this to come to be, gave our team members the space to step up and into fulfilling many of the responsibilities that were needed which also gave them more room to learn and grow. This was a turning point and had a great impact on our business. One of these individuals was a part-time teacher who

moved into becoming our new Lead Aquatic Educator and now our company Director. With her leadership, we put the right people in the right seat on the bus. Five years later, our business has now doubled with the number of children we serve in one of our pools with the same number of employees on the team. This reinforces, once again, to face any fear of the unknown and move forward against what may appear to be all odds.

Ann Marie Sunderhaus, Hubbard Family Swim School: Recently, hiring an EOS consultant. It has been great for our business structure. We have grown from one location to 4 locations and are a family run business with four family members on the executive team. The EOS system and coach has helped us continue to grow our business and align our staff meetings. It has been a great addition to our already existing structure.

Melissa Taylor, Small Fish Big Fish Swim School: The biggest and most impactful thing I did was taking the leap and building my own facility straight from me driving to teach lessons in peoples backyard pools. Being able to hire a team and not doing it all myself. Having control of the surroundings and the water for children’s optimal learning. Creating a state of the art year round swim school changed everything. I would have never had that idea if it wasn’t for attending my first USSSA conference in San Diego in 2009 and getting to know all of you.

USSSA ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PRESCHOOL LEARN TO SWIM COURSE

The United States Swim School Association Education Committee has been diligently working on and refining a Learn to Swim course for instructors that teach preschool children, ages 3-5.

The Vision for this course has been to create a WORLD CLASS Learn to Swim Course. That vision included the mission statement: We want everyone to learn from this course, whether they have never taught a lesson before or have been teaching for decades. We also had the goal of not just teaching instructors what to do, but to educate them on how to be a REMARKABLE swim instructor.

Included in this course are: What makes an exceptional instructor? Understanding buoyancy and balance. Reading Social Cues. The Frightened Child. Play with Purpose. Toys, Games, and Instructional Aids. How to be Creative with Equipment, Circuits & Teaching Stations. If you want your teachers to be REMARKABLE, watch for upcoming sign-up opportunities!

We know this course is beyond basic. We see it as a living, breathing, educational tool that will continue to evolve, to keep it World Class, remain the forerunner, and continue to push that limit.

Florida has led the states in mandates that all swim instructors be certified. Will your state be next? The US Swim School Association is once again leading the way to help our industry stay in front of these coming challenges so you can be prepared. USSSA has recently established minimum standards and has launched a new National Certified Fundamental Swim Instructor course. .

We are an association of professionals. Our values include Safety, first and always, Life Long Learners, and Professionalism. Certification is evidence of this. This new preschool course is a valuable addition to the catalogue of Association resources.

BY LISA ZARDA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR US SWIM SCHOOL ASSOCIATION

SPRING WORKSHOP 2023

The USSSA 2023 Spring Workshop kicked off with a great presentation by Garry Ridge, former CEO of WD-40.

In his talk, It’s All About the People - Don’t Be a Soul Sucking CEO or Leader he shared insight on how to create a team culture that moves your company forward. He also shared the WD-40 company’s “Maniac Pledge” that demonstrates the level of personal responsibility they instill in all levels of the company. “I am responsible for taking action, asking questions, getting answers, and making decisions. I won’t wait for someone to tell me. If I need to know, I am responsible for asking. I have no right to be offended that I didn’t ‘get this sooner.’ If I am doing something others should know about, I am responsible for telling them.”.

The first day also included an optional workshop on becoming a better speaker as well as an in water session. The day ended with an engaging power networking session hosted by our membership connections committee that quickly became one of the highlights of the workshop.

Day two kicked off with a powerful presentation by Deborah Deras on the Power of Mindset to Optimize Your Workplace. She shared tips on how to reframe your mindset to get you the results you want both in work and in life. She also shared interview questions that can help you understand if the candidate is mindful with questions such as, “Tell me about a time you failed and how did you respond? and Do you believe people are born with talent or can it be developed?”

Day two continued with a variety of breakouts from Thinking Outside the Box When it Comes to Getting Water, to Finding the Right Person to Move into Management and How to Do It. Our Owner and Instructor Ask the Expert panels were also full of insightful questions and recommendations. We ended our time together with a session on team building with Scott Rathke, a Navy Seal officer.

We would like to take a moment to thank our Spring Workshop Committee and USSSA staff for planning and executing another successful event. We also want to thank all of our speakers for sharing their expertise and knowledge with us, as well as offer a shout out to our moderators that helped keep us on track and in the right place at the right time. We hope you will join us at our next event, our National Conference taking place October 2-4th at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, FL.

WD-40 CEO GARRY RIDGE ON WHY HIS COMPANY HAS NO MANAGERS, NO MISTAKES, & AMAZING RESULT

BY JACOB MORGAN MEDIUM.COM

It’s a simple sentiment, but it’s powerful. It sums up WD-40 CEO Garry Ridge’s approach to leadership and it is one of the reasons he is such as well-respected leader. Random fun fact, we are both Australian! Aside from overseeing nearly 500 employees around the world with an astounding 93% employee engagement, Garry also leads The Learning Moment to share his coaching mentality and has collaborated on multiple leadership books.

As part of the research for my new book, The Future Leader, I interviewed more than 140 CEOs around the world.

You can learn more and get a copy of the book, “The Future Leader: 9 Skills and Mindsets to Succeed in the Next Decade,” with all of the insights and research on Amazon. I knew from the beginning that I had to interview Garry to get his insights into coaching, mentoring, and development as a servant-leader. My interview with Garry exceeded my expectations, and I was amazed by the examples and insights he shared.

Here are some of the ways Garry trains future leaders and what he’s doing within WD-40 to develop as an

empathetic servant-leader and help others do the same.

Jacob: What trends do you think will impact the future of leadership?

Garry: I think a trend of being able to be informed will impact leadership. And making sure that we don’t get distracted, so I think focus is going to become even more important.

Jacob: What mindsets do you think are crucial for leaders of the future?

Garry: Collaboration. Global. Inclusivity. A learning mode. Being purpose-driven.

“Leadership is about taking care of who is in your charge.”

Jacob: What skills should leaders have the coming years?

Garry: The first thing that comes to mind is understanding empathy. Know how to be emotionally intelligent. Know how to continue to learn. Know how to be open. Learn to be more adaptive. It’s no longer, do as I say; it’s really, how do we find the best solution together?

We have to empower, engage, and be accountable ourselves as leaders and hold people accountable. Leadership is not about being in charge; leadership is about taking care of people in your charge.

You can learn competencies around certain things, but it’s really the human side. 66% of people don’t really get engaged in their work. And if you can unleash that … how do you do that? That’s the human side.

Jacob: What differences would you see between a leader of today and a future leader?

Garry: Future leaders will be servantleaders instead of autocratic leaders. They understand the importance of emotional intelligence. They are always learners. They value the gift of feedback. They are always looking to move forward and are open to change.

Jacob: What will a typical day be like for a future leader?

Garry: They’ll spend more time learning and absorbing. They’ll spend more time generating thinking and diverse conversations.

Jacob: What do you think some of the greatest challenges will be for leaders of the future?

Garry: I’m not sure that the challenges will be much different than they are today, but the way we handle them will be. Today, we live in an uncertain, complex world, and I don’t think it’s been any different than that in 30 years. It just has gotten a lot faster, and I think you’ve just got to be aware of that. Leadership is a contact sport. We’re always in contact with people. People change and environment changes, and we have to be adaptable. So, you know, he who leads by the crystal ball learns to eat glass, so I can’t see the future.

Jacob: Are you guys thinking about the future of leadership at WD-40 or preparing for it in any way?

Garry: We see ourselves as a learning leadership laboratory. We call ourselves a tribe, not a team. We have coaches, not managers. The reason we call ourselves a tribe is because we believe that tribes have attributes that are very important to long-term enduring businesses. For example, the tribal leader, the responsibility is learning and teaching.

Tribes have values. People want to belong to things. You know, one of the biggest motivators we have as human beings is we don’t feel like we belong. So in a tribe you can create belonging. Tribes are future-focused, because if they’re not, the examples are that they end up not existing any longer.

Tribes understand the power of specialized skills. Although together we’re one, we have specialized skills within the organization that are important. Tribes are warriors. We fight for our place, but we protect each other. We’ve been building this tribal behavior based on people, purpose, and values.

So, we’ve been building this tribal behavior based on people, purpose, values. The other thing that’s really big in our company is we don’t make mistakes; we have learning moments. And a learning moment is a positive or negative outcome of any situation that needs to be openly and freely shared to the benefit of all. And the reason that we call them learning moments is, people don’t like to admit they made a mistake. But they are very comfortable when you translate that into learning. And I think 99% of people who work for our company globally say they love to work at the company. And we have 93% employee engagement, and our goal is 95. And we’ve been working on this for 21 years, to get to this. Now, interestingly enough, along the same period of time, being a public company, we’ve had a compounded annual growth rate of total shareholder return over that period of time of about 14% compounded year on year. And what we do is sell oil, really. But if you ask us why we exist, we exit to create

positive, lasting memories in everything we do. We solve problems, we make things work smoothly, and we create opportunities. So we say we’re in the memories business, because if you can create memories, they’re one of the things that will last a long time past all of us.

Jacob: Have you thought about skills that you yourself will need as a leader in the future?

Garry: I just need to continue to learn. I was fortunate enough back in 2000, I went back to school and got a master’s in leadership. I’m not sure what skills I’ll have to learn, but I’m on the lookout for them.

Jacob: How do you define leadership?

Garry: Leadership is not about being in charge, it’s about taking care of people in your charge.

Jacob: Are there any leadership hacks that you’ve used over the course of your career that you think help make you a more effective leader?

Garry: Every morning, wherever I am in the world, I send a daily inspirational quote out to the tribe. It helps keep me connecting. I do it seven days a week at about 4 a.m. every morning. It’s my way of reaching out a little bit.

I do other stuff like I make sure that I recognize people for sincere work; I write personal notes. I get in really early in the morning because by the time the tribe is here, wherever I am, at any office in the world, I want to spend time with them.

So that’s something that I try to really work on. I also goof off. I really do intentionally show my vulnerability. The three most powerful words I’ve ever learned in my life are “I don’t know.” And I’ve been really happy being the dumb guy. And then most of the time I am; I often say I’m consciously incompetent. And I think that does help people feel comfortable.

Reprinted from Medium.com with permission.

ASK AL

BY ALVARO G. MENDOZA COMMERCIAL ENERGY SPECIALISTS, INC.

WE HAVE A GROWING SWIM SCHOOL BUSINESS AND WE’RE READY ADD NEW FACILITIES. WE’RE EVALUATING WHETHER RENOVATING AN EXISTING POOL OR BUILDING FROM SCRATCH IS THE BEST WAY TO GO. THERE ARE SEVERAL DEFUNCT POOLS IN OUR AREA THAT WE COULD POSSIBLY GET A GOOD DEAL ON. WHAT SHOULD WE LOOK FOR?

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.

There are many positive and negatives to each strategy, and there have been many successful examples of each – but equally as many disaster stories of how “not to do it”. The concepts here are pertinent for either a new facility or a makeover.

TARGET NUMBER OF WEEKLY LESSONS IS THE KEY!

The number 1 parameter is by far the weekly lesson count. Not only when you open, but when you reach your target growth goals. Why? All pool systems have a finite capacity to process swimmers, depending on pool volume (gallons), turnover rate, pipe size, etc.

If your goal is 500 lessons a week, there will be a much broader range of facilities you could build or move into, including some defunct health clubs, etc. (See more below) But, if your goal is 1,500-2,000 lessons a week, this will require a much more specialized facility with piping and mechanical systems not found in many existing pools.

TURNOVER RATE IS #1

Over the past 30 years of working with swim schools, we have seen a pattern between how many lessons you can (effectively) process and the turnover rate. The turnover rate, or the hours needed to filter & treat the complete volume of the pool one time is a key factor in how many lessons per week you can adequately process. You merely calculate pool volume (gallons) / GPM (gallons per minute) of filter flow and come up with a number normally between 6-hr and 2-hr. So a 6-hr turnover rate (360-minutes) on a 25,000 gallon pool is achieved if your filter flow rate is 69 GPM.

If you are going to offer 300-500 lessons a week, we have found that a 4-hour turnover rate is a good minimum target. However if you are going to offer 1,500-2,000 lessons a week, a 2-hour turnover rate has shown a much higher success rate. Some of the leading swim schools prefer 1.5-hour (90 minute). The problem lies if you set up your pool for 300-500 lessons, and suddenly get more successful, then you might find that your pool will no longer “keep up” with your desired water quality.

EXISTING PIPE SIZE LIMITING FACTOR

Next, in both new and retrofit applications you will need to assure that the pipes in the ground will support the flow rate, and the target number of lessons per week. Why? As soon as

you start having to bust up concrete to replace pipes, a “good deal on a long term pool lease” doesn’t look so good anymore. Pipes have a finite capacity to carry water depending on the size, and DOH codes also prohibit moving water too quickly. It turns out a 2-inch suction pipe has a maximum flow rate of about 55 GPM in most codes, so using a system with this size pipe to give 500 lessons a week would be a borderline no-go (69 GPM target). But, taking over the same facility and wanting to schedule 1,500-2,000 lessons a week (277 GPM) to achieve your business target is completely impossible.

DON’T PLAN ON REUSING TOO MUCH OF ANY EXISTING EQUIPMENT

Regardless of what type of pool you are planning, Swim Schools are very specialized applications, and are considered “critical water” in some national codes. So, you will need special equipment. A cartridge filter that works just great for a defunct health club or little-used hotel pool often becomes a maintenance nightmare for a heavily used swim school pool. Also minute-byminute control of chemistry and upsized chemical feeders are a real must. Indoor pools should seriously plan on using a NSF-approved UV system, and heating is much more critical to a swim school so you may want to take a good look at when heating system that are about to inherit, and see if it will meet your needs.

In any event, the typical swim school pioneer is normally not versed enough in these types of things, so the moral of the story is to partner up with someone who can help navigate the landmines.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Whether you are renovating or building a new facility, additional equipment means more space, so you will also want to look at the equipment room (or area) to see if it is adequate, or if there is room for expansion.

If the pool is indoors, you will also want to closely review the dehumidification (or ventilation) system to see if it will help you process the heat and humidity from the more demanding swim school application.

CONCLUSION:

So, if the perfect facility becomes available at the right price and is “mechanically desirable” per above then you’ll probably live longer by not building a bunch of new facilities. But, one really needs to be careful when taking over a defunct swim facility, hoping to turn it into a top flight swim school… as the systems may not be well aligned with your goals.

These same variables above (lessons/ week, pipe sizing, equipment selection, etc) also pertain to building a new swim school as well. The new facility construction process is a long and sometimes very painful one. The most successful swim school operations that we have been involved with have set up good teams of folks (architect, engineer, consultant, supplier, contractor, etc.) and put together enough time and resources up front to make sure they end up with the facility THEY want, not the one that was convenient for pool builder or contractor. Sometimes it meant that the swim school owner had to stand their ground on an issue, and that can be tough…. but operating a swim school is tough too and gets much tougher if your pool isn’t up to your customers’ standards.

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

Best Regards,

Alvaro G. Mendoza

HOW TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK (OR YOUR BACK) AND WHAT IT WILL DO FOR YOU IN RETURN.

When I was little, I used to beg my parents not to cut down trees. My parents weren’t regular tree cutters but if the tree was dead and needed to be removed, I would protest. I would do this in my neighbor’s yards, too.

The importance of trees was never overly preached in our household, so my parents really didn’t know where my need to be the protector of trees was coming from, except from somewhere deep within my soul. We all have that in us.

I believe that where your talents and the needs of the world intersect, that is where you are always meant to be. My love of trees and math led me to get a degree in Sustainable Architecture and I use that degree in my self titled role of an “Environmental Mathematician”. I joke that I am Mother Earth’s accountant. I now run the environmental nonprofit We Are Neutral. We Are Neutral has 15 years of experience helping businesses and individuals understand, track, reduce, and offset their comprehensive carbon footprints, giving them the opportunity to take responsibility for their environmental impact to achieve carbon neutrality and/or Net Zero. And we are starting to work with a number of swim schools. This industry takes its people and its planet very seriously, and those are my kind of people.

With 15 years under our belt, we feel like it’s time we share our thoughts on what we can all be doing to restore balance to our planet.

UNDERSTAND YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

We believe you can only improve what you can measure, so when a business

approaches us with the desire to take responsibility for their environmental impact, we begin the partnership with a thorough assessment of their energy use, water consumption, traveling habits, supply chain, waste disposal, and more to understand the amount of pollution associated with their operations. That gives us an impact figure to work with, to start from, and to reduce.

To ensure we’re all on the same page, I can also share our definitions behind these terms.

Carbon Footprint: (noun) A representation of the total greenhouse gasses caused by a person, event, organization, product, or activity. We measure carbon footprints in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2e).

Carbon Neutrality: When carbon emissions / greenhouse gasses / pollution have been balanced by an equivalent amount of carbon savings. Achieving carbon neutrality is a way to take responsibility for your impact by supporting positive environmental work.

REDUCE

IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

We then work with our partners to reduce their carbon footprint as much as possible. This is a case by case roadmap, but some tips for the swim industry are as follows:

• Use pool covers when the pool is not in use to retain heat and prevent evaporation.

BY ANNA SAMPSON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WE ARE NEUTRAL

• Look into more energy efficient pool pumps, keep the pumps clean, and reduce filtration time if possible.

• Lower your pool’s temperature if possible.

• Invest in electric or solar pool heaters if possible.

• Maintain the pool’s filter/cleaning system.

• Upgrade to energy efficient lighting such as LED bulbs or outdoor solar lights.

You can find some ways to reduce your personal carbon footprint on the next page.

SHARE WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED WITH YOUR PEERS.

The USSSA is an incredible family of like minded businesses. As more and more swim schools take responsibility for their carbon footprint, more information can be shared amongst peers thus lightening the load to carbon neutrality for everyone.

OFFSET THE REST

There’s no way to be carbon neutral without the use of “carbon offsets”. A carbon offset is a credit that is created to “offset” your environmental impact. Think: You have your lights on, so trees are planted to balance out or “offset” the pollution generated by those lights be-

ing on. The goal is to lower your carbon footprint as much as possible, and bridge the gap between a small carbon footprint and carbon neutrality with the use of high quality carbon and/or plastic offsets. Not all carbon offsets are created equally. And the same can be said about carbon offset providers. When looking to work with a group to help with your carbon neutrality goals, make sure they:

1) Don’t see offsetting as a one-time transaction and provide year-round environmental consulting services to their offsetting partners.

2) Work with you to calculate your comprehensive carbon footprint so you know it’s accurate. Online calculators have their place, but often have limited fields, and are trusting the user to identify their top contributing factors.

3) Showcase your brand as an environmental leader. They should do everything they possibly can to make being carbon neutral a smart business move.

4) Have carbon offsets and reductions that are legit. It should be easy to prove the carbon offsets are verified, additional, and permanent, as local to the offsetter as possible, participatory, and visible. Ultimately, make sure the carbon or plastic offsets are actually helping people and the planet.

5) Support carbon reduction projects, whether or not those projects are ever turned into actual carbon offset credits. This includes smaller scale localized efforts, like restoring ecological habitats or composting that have a high emphasis on environmental education.

CASH IN ON THE ROI

Turns out doing right by people and the planet helps your bottom line. Making these bold moves in the name of a healthier planet drives positive PR, acquires top talent, and is proven to increase profits.

We know the pressure to help in the fight against climate change can feel heavy. It’s big, it’s us, we know it, but we can fix it, together.

Reach out to keep the conversation going by emailing me at anna@weareneutral.com

Tips and Tricks to Restore Balance to Our Planet Want to Reduce Your Impact?

For Yourself:

• Be kind to yourself and others.

• You’re not alone. We work together and heal together.

• Get inspired.

• Watch documentaries and educate yourself.

• Follow environmental groups on social media.

• Get passionate and form opinions.

For Your Community:

• Talk to your community about climate change.

• Don’t let your friends buy plastic water bottles.

• Suggest environmental initiatives in the workplace.

• Donate to organizations doing the work.

When Voting:

• Your voice matters. Use your vote to support climate action.

• Sign petitions.

• Vote with your dollars and do your research on corporate practices.

When Shopping:

• Support local businesses.

• Avoid single use plastics.

• Buy less, buy used, buy locally, and responsibly, in that order.

• Boycott big brands.

• Avoid flying when possible.

• Avoid stops or layovers.

• Use public transportation.

• Walk when possible.

When Traveling: When Driving:

• Carpool.

• Perform routine car maintenance.

• Take the most direct route.

• Avoid stops (starting the car uses the most fuel).

• Turn off the lights.

• Turn off the heat/AC.

• Unplug devices.

• Compost.

When Eating:

• Support local businesses.

• Eat less (or no) meat.

CO 2 -

• Choose seasonal fruits and vegetables.

• Compost food scraps.

• Help restore balance to the planet by offsetting your own carbon footprint. (We can help with that!)

www.weareneutral.com

THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING SWIM AROUNDS

BY LAURIE LAWRENCE OLYMPIC SWIM COACH AND WATER SAFETY ADVOCATE

Swim arounds are an important part of the Learn to Swim process. Swimmers who are confident in their swim around abilities will have a great foundation in their swimming abilities in the water.

What exactly is the Swim Around skill?? Great question. Let us explain.

• Swim arounds start in a safe place in the water (a ledge, on the side of the pool or somewhere where the swimmer can touch the bottom).

• A teacher/parent is standing in the water near the swimmer.

• The swimmer then ventures out into the deeper water turns around and returns to safety.

• In effect they “swim around” an object/person or in the water and return to that safe place from which they started.

Tip 1 - It’s important to note that swim arounds and turns are 2 different skills.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SWIM AROUND’S AND TURNING

Turning is done in the vertical plane where swimmers rotate on an axis that is straight up and down. Their head is at the top of the water and there feet are pointed to the bottom of the pool. They can jump or fall in the water spin (or turn) around and return to safety.

Swim Arounds are done in the horizontal plane So a swimmer is laying flat in the water and kicking and paddling

out and around to return to safety. Their head and feet are usually both at the top of the water and they use their propulsive skills to kick and paddle around to safety.

WHY TEACH SWIM AROUNDS?

• Educates swimmers the different between deep and shallow water

• Gives swimmers the opportunity to change direction in the water

• Allows swimmers to feel safe in one element while getting the courage to explore deeper areas and return to safety

• As swimmers become more confident with swimming outside of lessons, they may encounter objects within larger bodies of water (creeks/dams/ocean). They may need to swim around these objects to get to safety.

• If swimmers fall into the pool away from the wall they may float/glide so far away from the wall that they will need the skills to move through the water in different directions to return to the wall/ledge safe spot for climbing out.

• Some home pools have higher walls/ rock gardens on the side. If swimmers are unable to hold on/grab these walls they will need to swim to a different area. Swim arounds prepare them for this situation.

Tip 2 – Always skill build. Build the skill slowly so the swimmer feels comfortable.

TIPS ON TEACHING SWIM AROUNDS

When teaching swim arounds in your classes remember to start slow. Build the skill slowly so that swimmers can feel comfortable every step of the way. Start with very short distances. Once swimmers are comfortable increase the distance for more difficult learning opportunities.

Use toys for very young swimmers. The toy can show the young swimmer the path to swim and then they can try (with our without parent assistance). Remember to use toys with a swimming purpose. Give the swimmer a chance to be rewarded with the toy as they finish their swim but try not to get too distracted by the use of toys in your lesson.

Good luck teaching swim arounds as a water safety and propulsive skill to swimmers of all ages!

Get more tips and hints from Laurie

Access our free eBook’s and read more articles by Laurie here https://worldwideswimschool.com/swim-schools/ usssa/

C E R T I F I E D

F U N D A M E N T A L S W I M I N S T R U C T O R

Pathway #1 = newly hired, with little to no previous experience

Pathway #2 = experienced instructors

Pathway #3 = 15 year old swim instructors

Pathway #4 = those with previous teaching experience and certifications

1 Select a Pathway to the exam & pay registration

2 Visit USSSA Portal for assigned pre-requisite courses.

3. Complete all the pre-requisites, use pre-requisite form to upload required documents.

4. After USSSA staff review and approval, you will receive instructions via email to schedule your online exam.