The Conference is Over

Ah! Beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. This is the view off of my balcony. The palm trees swaying in the slight breeze, an average temperature of 80 degrees F, the mountains in the background, and the ... parking lot. Well, if you ignored the cars, it was nice. The rooms on the other side of the hotel faced the pool and the golf course. But... I wasn't there for the hotel room; so on to the good stuff:

This was your typical conference in a hotel: speakers, round table discussions, vendors, networking, and partying in the evenings. But it was a milestone for the USSSA because they had their largest ever attendance of (about)275 conference go-ers. It was exciting to see a lot of familiar faces and to meet some new people. I also got lots of great ideas for the swim school. I can't spill all of my trade secrets :-) but I can share the event topics that I most enjoyed. On Wednesday morning I was invited to the New Member Breakfast (yea!) where I met other owners who just joined the conference. Many of them have been in opperation for a while, but are just joining. Actually, I didn't meet anyone else who was just in the start-up phase. The next thing on the agedna that is of note was the owners forum that afternoon. The topic of discussion was ethics and morals and the struggles of swim school owners in those regards. It was quite interesting, but I probably shouldn't share. :-) Other interesting topics throughout the convention included the panel talk on leased facilities, The Austrailian Swimland swimschool business model, the Swimkids USA speach by Lana Whitehead and Bryan Crane on movement and brain development (I will post a separate blog on that later, it's very interesting), Olympic Gold Medalist Debbie Meyer's talk on strokes and techniques, and my personal favorite, the Round Table discussions on Home Swim Schools.

I also learned a lot through talking to the people I met during the socialization hours. Every night the Embassy Suites had a manager's cocktail reception (read: FREE drinks) on the outside patio which was a popular gathering spot for conference attendees. I had a chance to speak with swim school owners and operators from all over the country each of which had different ways of doing things which gave me a lot to come home and think about. Although this was the most fun part of the convention, the most interesting part was still to come.

On Saturday morning, everyone who signed up for the swimschool tour dragged ourselves down to the busses (the awards banquet had been the night before and celebration went into the wee hours.) There were four stops on the tour: Swimkids USA, Aquatots, Gold Medal Swim School, and Hubbard Family Swim School.

Swimkids is Lana Whitehead's school. With modest signage in the front, one might wonder how much exposure the school gets. However, their position as a leader in motor development secures a top spot in the swim industry for this professional program. They have a definite emphasis on brain development in their curriculum as evidenced by the dance and gymnastics programs included in their school to complement their swimming lessons. The literature available at this school explains the correlation between movement and academic achievement as well as outlining the ways that swimming enhances cognitive, emotional, and motor development is toddlers. A playground area in the middle of the facility further enforces their devotion to keeping kids in motion. Another theme that is carried throughout the facility is the dedication to Blake's Miracle (http://www.blakesmiracle.org/) a foundation established in the name of Blake Whitehead to benefit children suffering from terminal diseases through the research and use of alternative pain therapy.

Swimkids has two teaching pools and an available practice pool. The two teaching pools are in separate enclosures.

Other notable features of the facility are the gym, the podium for students who progress to the next level (there is a medal ceremony for these students), and the retail center.

One last shot of the facility on the way out:

Next we have Aqua-Tots, a mighty swim school franchise. Many of these franchises include a scuba shop in conjuction with the swim school. Scuba divers also use the pool while swim lessons take place. Aqua-Tots, located in the corner unit of a strip center, is very open and bright.

They have one teaching pool divided into stations for each swim or scuba class.


The parent viewing area looks quite cozy with oversized arm chairs and cafe tables. This is an idea I will definitely use when I open my own facility. Another idea I would like to implement is a kids play area. In my new home, I will have space for this in our upstairs waiting room.

The scuba retail portion of the facility was rather large but it was partitioned off from the swim lesson side by a large fish tank.

Although this swim school felt very kid-friendly, I had this strange feeling like I was in a McDonalds. I think I prefer the idea of personalized swim schools that haven't outgrown their britches. For some reason I have attached a stigma to the concept of a franchise. I do realize that there is more money in it for the business owner, but something gets lost in translation to the client. Gold Medal Swim School was my favorite on the tour. It was founded in 1995 by Michael Troy, a double Olympic gold medalist and a former Navy Seal. He later teamed up with Mike Walker, a two time Olympic swim coach, in 2006 to open Gold Medal Swim School in its new location. When you walk into the facility you can see Michael Troy's Gold medals displayed on the wall (VERY cool!) The viewing room is set up for parents to be able to watch lessons while behind a glass wall (typical of most swim schools.) But the cool extra feature that they added is a couple of closed circuit TVs that have information for the week displayed. Anyone who has ever worked in a children's facility knows that there is information that needs to go out to parents(tuition is due next week, closed for holidays, new programs being added, etc) but people have a bad habit of not looking at signs. Because our society has been programmed to watch tv, this may just be a better (and neater) way to grab people's attention. Also, I am not sure if GMSS does this, but I would flash student's pictures on the TVs as well giving the parents even more incentive to watch the TVs.

The structures in the facility (changing room stalls, benches, cubbies, etc.) were made out of styrofoam(!) and then coated with a special substance to make them look like stone. Styrofoam, it seems, has a unique ability to avoid molding, mildewing, and smelling, which makes it a better building material than wood or sheetrock. The coating that was used makes the structures incredibly sturdy and VERY heavy. And on top of all that, I really liked the way they looked. This will serve as my note to self to check with GMSS on their building supplies. They also used colorful shells placed into the styrofoam to create a textured, more inviting look. Even as I look at the pictures I can't believe that's styrofoam!

Inside the pool room, Gold Medal had installed sound baffles cut in the shape of dolphins to keep the noise level down. They purchased these from a music recording supplier and had the shapes cut before shipping. It makes for an asthetic look while serving a purpose. The pool is a standard competition length, 5 lane pool, which in my opinion is a great size for a swim school facility. Anything smaller restricts growth for students capabilities as well as for the facility as a whole. I am also including a picture of the showers. They have an entire wall of showers along one side of the pool deck. I especially loved the color combination of the tiles. (The yellow in the pictures is really more of a lime green - I don't know why it's showing up that way.) My last photo from this location is of the platforms they used. I used platforms at two of my former swim schools and loved them. I am hoping that I can build or find someone to build one or two of these for me.

The last stop on our tour was at the future site of Hubbard Family Swim School. It is currently under construction in a family oriented center. Hubbard's is at the end of a long walk of shops that leads into the movie theatre. It looks like it may be a great location. Other than the outside area pictures, the rest of the facility is pretty much just a hole in the ground right now.

The USSSA Conference was a lot of fun, very informative, and a great way for me to meet other professionals in the same industry. I had a great time and can't wait to return!

USSSA Conference

In a few hours I will be heading to Phoenix, Arizona for the annual United States Swim School Association Conference. Every year these conferences serve as great tools for learning about new swim lesson techniques and buisness ideas. I come away from each one re-invigorated about my profession and ready to hop right in the pool and try out the new things I have learned. I also look forward to meeting with other professionals in my industry and sharing stories and ideas. These relationships prove to be invaluable when I hit a road block and need advice as well as being a great way to meet new people who are interested in the same things as I am: teaching swimming to kids!

My flight leaves at 3:00 this afternoon and I just can't wait to get there. Once I get back, I'll update my blog to let everyone in on some of the trade secrets I have learned. (But not all of them!) You can view the USSSA web site here: http://www.usswimschools.org/

Why Swim Lessons?

If you would have told me 15 years ago that I'd grow up to be a swim instructor, I wouldn't have believed you. I was going to play basketball for the WNBA. I didn't even swim on my high school team. Swim team was during basketball season, and I wasn't going to quit basketball!! But one thing you learn as you grow up, is that things don't always happen the way you thought they would. I was lucky to have the opportunity to work for a swim school right after college as I looked for a REAL job. What I found was that I am a great teacher. I have the ability to find out what learning method works best for each child and build on that in each lesson. Part of what enables that is my ability to gain trust from children easily and by making swim lessons fun while still challenging I am able to get the most out of each student while they learn.

I spent time coaching basketball and water polo after a few years of teaching swim lessons and learned even more about learning styles and found an even greater passion for sports education. I found that older students can comprehend sports and technique and theory in a way that young ones can't. I loved the heart that the girls put into the game and I loved that they were learning about more than just a sport during each season. But I felt like something was missing.

When I returned to teaching swim lessons to younger students, the mother of Kacy,one of my three year old students, came to speak to me after the lesson. She told me that the previous weekend Kacy had fallen into the pool at a friend's house while she was playing outside. The friend's mother had left the girls outside to go answer the phone and hadn't seen Kacy fall into the pool, but Kacy was able to get herself back to the edge and cry out for help. When the mother came running outside Kacy told her that she "got back to the side, just like in swim lessons!" As her mother was telling me the story, her eyes filled with tears. I could tell she was greatful for the avoided accident and for the skills Kacy had gained in swim lessons. That moment was when I realized that what I was doing was more than splashing in the water and teaching breathing techniques. What I was doing was giving a life saving skill to each child that came into my lessons.

Although I get great joy from the fun I have with each student in my classes, knowing that what I am teaching can save lives is what drives me to continue the work that I do. Since that story from Kacy's mother, I have heard many more like it from other parents of my students. Knowing that drowning is the #1 preventable cause of death in children under 6 in Texas, makes me want to continue working to teach life saving techniques to my clients. The added bonuses I get are when I get to watch my student perform in his very first swim meet, or when a student draws a picture of the two of us in the water that I get to put on my fridge. Not everyone in this world gets to do something every day that they love and that they are good at. I am thankful that I have found both of those things in my chosen profession.

Finding HOME

I've been in Austin about a month and a half now and we think we've settled on the perfect location to set up our home and my business. I am quite sure that we have driven our poor realtor absolutely crazy in the search for a home with a pool, enough room to park, easy to get to from major intersections, a fenced-in back yard, a side entrance to the back yard, enough room for all of our stuff(!), and it has to feel like home. She has run all over town for us, and for that, we appreciate you VERY much, Alex Leach!

Our applications and deposit are in, and we are just waiting for the final word before we can move into our new home. It is located in Northwest Hills - West of Mopac, East of 360, South of Spicewood Springs, and North of 2222. I don't want to post the address yet, because it's not final, but the street name even has the word "water" in it! How perfect is that?

Of course, not everything has been perfect. First we had a scare about the neighborhood association not allowing people to run businesses from their homes in the neighborhood, but some quick research on the internet and a few well written emails cleared up that problem. The association members even told me that they were excited to welcome me to the neighborhood and that my services would be a great addition for the residents. But they also informed me that I would have to go through the zoning department of the city. I spent another day researching on the internet and contacting a few of my friendly city officials (one even got my phone number for swim lessons for her grandson!) and I was approved under the Home Occupation provision.

So now that all the hoops have been cleared, it's time to get approved for the lease and move in. The house has an above ground pool with very sturdy decking around the pool. It also has a hot tub directly outside of the master bedroom sliding glass doors - it may not get used at all for swim lessons, but I'm sure I can use it to wind down at the end of a long day! The front of the house does have a side entrance to the backyard which is great for clients to let themselves in if I am still in the water with another student. There is even an upstairs deck where parents can watch the lessons and stay out of sight of the children. (I'll explain why this is a good tactic in another installment.) From the deck, parents can enter the upstairs office to avoid the heat, us the restroom, use the shower for the kiddos after lessons, or serve themselves a cold beverage from the mini-fridge. I will also be adding a television with disney movies on loop to keep siblings entertained while brother or sister swims. I can't wait to decorate it and make it kid-friendly!

The neighborhood we chose is seconds from an elementary school and a middle school. It is also in close proximity to a tutoring facility and a place for music lessons. I think the location is going to be great! Once we get our approval, TKO Swim will have its first home!!

Who Am I?

That's a valid question. Well, I'm Christy Tanner, the owner of TKO Swim in Austin, TX. I have been working in the sports education business since 1999 when I got my first job as a swim instructor at a premiere swim school in the Houston area. After gaining some experience there, I was asked to coach basketball and water polo at my alma mater, St. Agnes Academy, a private high school in Houston. I spent two years coaching there before I began working for another swim school in the River Oaks area of Houston. My four years at that swim school gave me the experience I needed to run a swim school, which I did when I moved into the Aquatics Director position at Sea Star Swimschool (http://www.seastarswimming.com/) The three years I spent running Sea Star prepared me for my next venture, starting my own swim lesson business. I moved to Austin to be with my fiancé and have now started the process of building my company.


Another valid question is "What is TKO Swim?" It is the name of my swim lesson business that I am starting in Austin. My last name is Tanner and my fiancé’s last name is Kargbo-Okorogie hence the T. K. O. I will be offering water adjustment classes and swim lessons to Austin area clientele in my backyard or theirs (I travel!) My classes start for children as young as 6 months and I train up through competition level swimmers who are looking for stroke correction and time reduction. However, my forte is with young children (2.5 - 5 years) who need to learn basic water safety skills and swimming techniques. I teach the roll-over or swim-float-swim method (I'll go into greater detail on this method in a later blog). I will be offering primarily private lessons (as I feel students learn best in a one-on-one environment) but will also offer group lessons to those clients who are interested.

I am excited to begin this blog to keep track of the growing process for TKO, but also as an outlet for safety tips, fun pool ideas, general thoughts on child-rearing and teaching, and anything that I think could be helpful to potential clients. I would love any comments you may have. Thanks for reading!!

TKO Swim is registered with the United States Swim School Association (USSSA)

http://www.usswimschools.org/

Shout out to Kristin Shoffner (soon to be Kristin Tanner) who is working on creating a logo for TKO. The above TKO graphic is from the business cards she is printing for me. Thanks, K!