Out of Comfort Zones, Into The Pool

YMCA Instructor Emily "Gil" Gilmore teaches Wilderness Kids students in our Learn-to-Swim Cohort.

For the past 7 weeks, Wilderness Kids has been running a program of which we are particularly proud. Our “Learn-to-Swim” Cohort represents some of the best of what Wilderness Kids is all about:

• Teaching Life-Changing Skills: The ability to swim is both a fundamental life-skill that improves a person’s safety whenever they are around water; and a life-enhancing skill that enables a person to enjoy so much more of what nature has to offer — from swimming at the beach, in a lake, or in a river; to enjoying waterfalls, rope-swings, and perhaps even surfing (spoiler alert: a new Wilderness Kids activity in summer 2025!) Nearly half of Wilderness Kids students do not have adequate swim skills to be safe in water above their waist. The Learn-to-Swim Cohort this spring has offered ten of these students the chance to move from wherever they are in their water skills to a new, more comfortable, more skilled, and safer place. Whether that means progressing from doggie paddle to a full front crawl stroke, or growing out of a fear-based reluctance to even enter the shallow end of a pool to feeling comfortable calmly floating on their back with a supportive friend standing nearby, our students have earned amazing levels of growth these past several weeks.

• Fostering Partnerships: Partnerships are so critical to what we do at Wilderness Kids and the swim cohort is exemplary of this. The Alexandria YMCA has offered us time in their pool and teaching from their incredible staff, led by Emily “Gil” Gilmore. We could not do this without the kind support of the whole Y Team.

• Engaging Enthusiastic Volunteers: The Learn to Swim Cohort has been wonderfully supported by dedicated Wilderness Kids volunteers. We want to give a special shout out to Deborah, Steve, Chris and Tara, who hop in the pool on a Sunday afternoon to support our students, working alongside the lead instructor from the YMCA. They provide both words of encouragement and literal hands and arms of support as students take their first tentative steps to letting go of the pool wall and floating free.

• Making Nature More Accessible: Wilderness Kids is mostly about getting kids into Wilderness (as our name implies!) but sometimes it helps to do something indoors to better prepare ourselves for experiences outdoors. In swimming, climbing, and paddling, we utilize indoor environments, where variables are fewer, to prep our students for the greater challenges of activities outdoors.

Wilderness Kids students and volunteer Tara after a recent swim lesson!

Most of all, the Learn to Swim Cohort is a testament to our students and their willingness to expand their comfort zones. On a Sunday afternoon, where it might be easier to simply stay home, these young people choose the challenge of learning and growing. And, as the past weeks have shown, each and every time, they rise so incredibly well to that challenge!