“But what the opportunity is,” said Kody Graham, head swim coach at the Lima YMCA, “is we get a chance to teach young swimmers, young people in our community, how to be safe around water. We also get a chance to interact with their parents, to share the language we use and the process we go through — how to safely enter and exit a body of water, and how to protect themselves in challenging situations.”
The Lima YMCA also ushering summer in by offering low cost swim lessons for kids. The annual "SPLASH Program" is a five-day program teaching kids ages 3 up the basics of swimming and staying safe in water. New swimmers learn important things like how to float, kick their legs, and how to properly wear a life jacket. The kids won't be professionals by the end of the week, but they will be more prepared for the season, and any accidents that may happen.
The Lima YMCA still has spots available for their SPLASH program, which runs June 3rd through the 7th. The program introduces kids to water safety and swimming techniques. There are two different age groups, one for ages 3 to 5, and the other for ages 6 and older.
On average, 10 people die each day of unintentional drowning in the United States and of those, two will be children according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The YMCA is trying to lower that number by offering their summer Splash program. This week there are two introductory courses for children from 3 to 5 years of age and kids 6 and older. They will learn basic water skills and learn how to be safe around the water. Parents and grandparents feel this course is essential for the children.
