Many judge my job as unambitious.
They view me and others around me as lazy, passive, and perhaps confused. I'll admit that they are not entirely wrong in these judgements. There is a saying that goes "98% of lifeguards give the other 2% a bad name", and like all stereotypes this one is based in some fact.
I took the lifeguard training course at 16. It was a natural transition from having been a competitive swimmer for as long as i could remember. I had no lofty ambitions to save anyones life or take on any otherwise daunting responsibility. Though once on the job, i realized rather quickly that this was EXACTLY what was being expected of me. If an emergency situation arose, i was not only expected, but legally obligated, to respond to it. And if i were to screw up, i would be legally held responsible for any negligence that followed. Interestingly, i gained most of this insight on my own, not in my lifeguard class.
I likely had the worst lifeguard training instructor EVER. He told me once, and he was dead serious, that even with his eyes closed he could tell me how many people were in "his" pool and what exactly they were doing. Whats more scary is that i actually believed him. What can i say? I was young... and naive. It was no big deal , i told myself. I am essentially getting paid to sit by a pool, get some sun and make some new friends. and these things did in fact happen. Inevitably, though, i made some saves that first summer and they quite literally scared the shit out of me. But i dont think it was the actual rescues or the pressure that actually did it. Competitive swimming is all about performing well under pressure, so this i was used to. It was more the dramatic change in perspective i got after these first saves. Jumping in and saving someone was the easy part really- mainly instinct, requiring little to no actual thought beyond the decision to help. That was easy. But what if i had actually listened to my instructor?
What if i wasn't paying attention? What if i failed to recognize a drowning before things got worse? How many saves would be missed on account of my instructor not having taken his job as seriously as he should have?
This was the contemplation which caused me to take the Lifeguard Training Instructors course myself.And though i fancy myself a great instructor, thats a story i will leave for my students to tell. What i plan to do here is explain WHAT it is that lifeguards actually do and how i go about teaching this to my students.
First and foremost lifeguards are readers of body language. Obviously, this requires some experience, though not as much as you might think. Aside from the obvious responsibility of stepping up and responding to emergency situations, a lifeguards primary responsibility is that they are expected to understand how and why these situations happen and how, if and when possible, they can prevent them. (which brings to mind another well know saying "a wet lifeguard is a bad lifeguard") The longer a lifeguard has been in the game, the better they are at it. And for the most part, by about the third year of guarding, a good guard can tell, with a high degree of certainty, your swimming ability simply by the way you look at the water. And this, believe it or not, is one of the most important skills a lifeguard develops.
To teach this i make a point of putting every one of my students in a real lifeguard stand at an open pool to assist an experienced guard on duty. This is not part of the course, nor is it possible to do at every facility. I am grateful i have had this resource available to me and my students. No one can put into words the feeling you get that very first time you are in the guard stand. Im not even sure that nerve racking quite covers the scope of anxiety that you feel. Its as if you are absolutely sure that someone will drown as if the universe is conspiring to challenge your inexperience. My purpose for doing this is to have this experience happen in a CONTROLLED environment where the potential guard, if nervous, feels safe.
In addition, i always set up at least two mock drownings during this time. because as I've said previously, that first real save you make, or witness for that matter, are formative experiences. By doing this, my guards are made aware of what is expected of them and are made intimately familiar with the stress involved in a rescue situation. This experience is invaluable. And i do not believe it is one that can be taught in the classroom. While its true i learned it on my own, i make sure my students learn it before they guard a pool on their own. And i believe it makes for a much more competent lifeguard as a result. I am sure of this because i have had the pleasure to work with several guards that i have taught and trained in the past.
The second most important thing i emphasize to my guards is the understanding of the drowning process. Thankfully this material has been formally added to the lifeguard course very recently, though for years it was another addition that i made myself. Many people do not realize that there is actually an instinctive drowning response that we all share (hence the importance of lifeguards learning to read body language...). And what i mean by this is that we all drown in the same way.
Your eyes widen in panic. Your face registers shock, horror even, if there is no semblance of help nearby. Your arms begin to rapidly push up and down in a dramatic effort to keep the face above the water. But as if it were an affront to the entire process, the legs paralyze, suppressing any real potential that this motion could actually work. And while its understood to be the body's survival instinct, it actually functions in quite the opposite way by quickly depleting energy reserves (if there are any) which practically ensures that the body will begin to sink in 20-60 seconds.
The interesting point about having spent significant time in the water is that you have most likely learned enough skill to prevent yourself from drowning yet you have also experienced that very panic that precedes the actual drowning process. The ability to recover from it is the most important thing that lifeguards look for. Because just as we all drown the same, WE ALL can drown. It is not simply a non swimmers issue. Medical emergencies, exhaustion and injuries all can and do happen at aquatics facilities and are the cause of many drownings.
So the bottom line is this- respect your lifeguards people. They are well trained first responders, and a lot of people forget this. They have learned (hopefully the correct way, but sometimes, like me, the hard way...) that they could potentially hold your life in their hands. And if you do happen to catch a lazy or distracted lifeguard on duty, by all means bring it to their attention. We are people too, we are not perfect at our job and neither are you. But we do truly care, or we wouldn't be here in the first place.
They view me and others around me as lazy, passive, and perhaps confused. I'll admit that they are not entirely wrong in these judgements. There is a saying that goes "98% of lifeguards give the other 2% a bad name", and like all stereotypes this one is based in some fact.
I took the lifeguard training course at 16. It was a natural transition from having been a competitive swimmer for as long as i could remember. I had no lofty ambitions to save anyones life or take on any otherwise daunting responsibility. Though once on the job, i realized rather quickly that this was EXACTLY what was being expected of me. If an emergency situation arose, i was not only expected, but legally obligated, to respond to it. And if i were to screw up, i would be legally held responsible for any negligence that followed. Interestingly, i gained most of this insight on my own, not in my lifeguard class.
I likely had the worst lifeguard training instructor EVER. He told me once, and he was dead serious, that even with his eyes closed he could tell me how many people were in "his" pool and what exactly they were doing. Whats more scary is that i actually believed him. What can i say? I was young... and naive. It was no big deal , i told myself. I am essentially getting paid to sit by a pool, get some sun and make some new friends. and these things did in fact happen. Inevitably, though, i made some saves that first summer and they quite literally scared the shit out of me. But i dont think it was the actual rescues or the pressure that actually did it. Competitive swimming is all about performing well under pressure, so this i was used to. It was more the dramatic change in perspective i got after these first saves. Jumping in and saving someone was the easy part really- mainly instinct, requiring little to no actual thought beyond the decision to help. That was easy. But what if i had actually listened to my instructor?
What if i wasn't paying attention? What if i failed to recognize a drowning before things got worse? How many saves would be missed on account of my instructor not having taken his job as seriously as he should have?
This was the contemplation which caused me to take the Lifeguard Training Instructors course myself.And though i fancy myself a great instructor, thats a story i will leave for my students to tell. What i plan to do here is explain WHAT it is that lifeguards actually do and how i go about teaching this to my students.
First and foremost lifeguards are readers of body language. Obviously, this requires some experience, though not as much as you might think. Aside from the obvious responsibility of stepping up and responding to emergency situations, a lifeguards primary responsibility is that they are expected to understand how and why these situations happen and how, if and when possible, they can prevent them. (which brings to mind another well know saying "a wet lifeguard is a bad lifeguard") The longer a lifeguard has been in the game, the better they are at it. And for the most part, by about the third year of guarding, a good guard can tell, with a high degree of certainty, your swimming ability simply by the way you look at the water. And this, believe it or not, is one of the most important skills a lifeguard develops.
To teach this i make a point of putting every one of my students in a real lifeguard stand at an open pool to assist an experienced guard on duty. This is not part of the course, nor is it possible to do at every facility. I am grateful i have had this resource available to me and my students. No one can put into words the feeling you get that very first time you are in the guard stand. Im not even sure that nerve racking quite covers the scope of anxiety that you feel. Its as if you are absolutely sure that someone will drown as if the universe is conspiring to challenge your inexperience. My purpose for doing this is to have this experience happen in a CONTROLLED environment where the potential guard, if nervous, feels safe.
In addition, i always set up at least two mock drownings during this time. because as I've said previously, that first real save you make, or witness for that matter, are formative experiences. By doing this, my guards are made aware of what is expected of them and are made intimately familiar with the stress involved in a rescue situation. This experience is invaluable. And i do not believe it is one that can be taught in the classroom. While its true i learned it on my own, i make sure my students learn it before they guard a pool on their own. And i believe it makes for a much more competent lifeguard as a result. I am sure of this because i have had the pleasure to work with several guards that i have taught and trained in the past.
The second most important thing i emphasize to my guards is the understanding of the drowning process. Thankfully this material has been formally added to the lifeguard course very recently, though for years it was another addition that i made myself. Many people do not realize that there is actually an instinctive drowning response that we all share (hence the importance of lifeguards learning to read body language...). And what i mean by this is that we all drown in the same way.
Your eyes widen in panic. Your face registers shock, horror even, if there is no semblance of help nearby. Your arms begin to rapidly push up and down in a dramatic effort to keep the face above the water. But as if it were an affront to the entire process, the legs paralyze, suppressing any real potential that this motion could actually work. And while its understood to be the body's survival instinct, it actually functions in quite the opposite way by quickly depleting energy reserves (if there are any) which practically ensures that the body will begin to sink in 20-60 seconds.
The interesting point about having spent significant time in the water is that you have most likely learned enough skill to prevent yourself from drowning yet you have also experienced that very panic that precedes the actual drowning process. The ability to recover from it is the most important thing that lifeguards look for. Because just as we all drown the same, WE ALL can drown. It is not simply a non swimmers issue. Medical emergencies, exhaustion and injuries all can and do happen at aquatics facilities and are the cause of many drownings.
So the bottom line is this- respect your lifeguards people. They are well trained first responders, and a lot of people forget this. They have learned (hopefully the correct way, but sometimes, like me, the hard way...) that they could potentially hold your life in their hands. And if you do happen to catch a lazy or distracted lifeguard on duty, by all means bring it to their attention. We are people too, we are not perfect at our job and neither are you. But we do truly care, or we wouldn't be here in the first place.
