My name is Ms. Lindsey. I love teaching, and I love all of my students, but one of my favorite parts of my job is talking to the parents. I will often talk to them after each class. The connections I make with parents help me to teach their children more effectively.
I remember talking to my student Luciano's mom after one class in regards to his progress. I was aware of a near drowning experience he had encountered, but I was not aware of how severe the incident was.
I asked his mom if she would e-mail the details, and let me tell y'all…I was in complete shock.
This boy was a survivor and I had the honor of teaching him how to save himself after he had overcome such a tragedy.
Hearing the story through his mom's eyes put a whole new perspective on how important our job truly is here at Houston Swim Club Swim School.
If that initial phone call from our office was mundane, we may not have been the swim school Luciano's mom chose. But because of our outstanding customer service and passion for the essential work we do, HSC was able to save yet another life.
This is Luciano’s story as told by his Mom…
"Our story starts with the typical if anyone had told us we'd be where we are today, we would not have believed them.
It was Easter weekend of 2019 and our child, Luciano, who at the time was 2 years and 10 months old, experienced trauma involving a swimming pool and was taken by ambulance and admitted to the ICU.
We are blessed. A miracle. He's made a full recovery.
The healing journey began for him and our family as we navigated through the next month. We were strong enough to begin to tell our story and to look for a swim school.
We were recommended by someone we know, to come to the Houston Swim Club Sugar Land location. She enrolled two of her kids when they were much younger (both are now teens competing on their high school teams). Their coaches note there is a difference in their skill set versus the other kids on the team, and it's because of the fundamentals they have mastered.
I'm not sure who picked up that initial phone call to take my questions and concerns, but because of her professionalism and the belief that she had in the teachers, lifeguards, and the entire organization; I knew I had found the right swim school for Luciano.
To date, everything I was led to believe, I have witnessed by observing all the teachers work with my child and so many others.
We've had the pleasure to have Luciano swim with quite a few of the teachers here, but were assigned Ms. Lindsey and Ms. Iliana and they were a winning combo for him. I see things in a different light now. I’m much more nervous, and because of this, I ended up with a concern. When I raised it to management, she understood it from my perspective and addressed it quickly. This shows they are listening and do care.
The swimming teachers here are your advocates before you even realize it and they want your child to learn as quickly as you do. You're worried (rightfully so) when your child first begins, but I've learned to trust that their professionalism is from a teacher's perspective, as well as a loving parent. What makes the difference is not just learning to swim, but that mastery/expertise in all skills is learned. There are benefits for how Luciano learns in each of the student to teacher ratios he's experienced (2:1, 3:1, 4:1 or 1:1); like visually watching other kids and hearing commands at the same time versus on his own.
It is bittersweet. There are really no words to describe the feelings being unearthed when you first see your son learning and continuing to learn each next step.
When I see him going underneath the water, I think, is he having flashbacks of that trauma? Because I am at those moments each time.
Week after week, as he's learning to master each technique, I know that he's ok because of the fundamentals they've been teaching: breathing techniques, how to walk safely on the sides of the pool, using his strength, etc. I am not a swimmer, but through watching him, I am understanding that he is ok and the teachers are skilled/trained to know if there is an issue. They know when to push him, and what he needs to learn more of, or not. It is true – every child learns at their own pace, but I've always been a firm believer of learning the fundamentals, because it makes a world of difference.
We continue to feel safe here with the teachers and finally have a level of peace that if he'd ever fall in again, he's been properly trained. Each scenario that could possibly happen is taught here. And for whatever scenario that may happen in real life, he has the fundamentals down and his instincts kick in. It appears second nature to him – the knowledge to swim, float, turn around and kick. When I first heard he was on his way to the Float Test, I relived the journey that he's taken. The journey we've all taken to see him get to this point.
THANK YOU. Because of you, Luciano loves to swim and continually asks to go to his swimming classes. Thank you to all the teachers and lifeguards, with tears in my eyes, as I am writing this. We hope this helps someone else to enroll their child in a swim school. Thank you to the teachers and lifeguards who choose this profession - whether it is for one season or for a lifetime – for being teachers and watchers."
Thank you, Phuong, for making the choice to enroll Luciano in lessons after dealing with such an imaginable tragedy. Thank you for choosing us as a swim school, for trusting us with him, and for believing in #theHSCdifference. We are so proud of all that he has overcome and are honored to be part of his journey.
Written by Lindsey King, Office Manager, Houston Swim Club Sugar Land & Phuong P., Luciano's Mom
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