Cassville students learn water safety principles
July 1, 2020
Shown, above, YMCA Director, Rick Ragsdale, left, and Xain Gray, right, instruct part of the students.
Sheila Harris
According to statistics, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages one to four, and the second leading cause of death for ages five to 14.
Research has shown that participation in formal swimming instruction and water-safety classes can prevent drowning.
According to the YMCA’s website, the organization has over 2,600 locations, 19,000 staff members and 600,000 volunteers in 10,000 communities across the United States, who provide crucial water-safety training to approximately one million children annually.
According to Cassville YMCA director, Rick Ragsdale, if it weren’t for these classes, many children would not otherwise have the opportunity to learn to swim.
“Thanks to funding by the Barry County Soroptimist Club and the Cassville Community Foundation, the Cassville YMCA is able to teach Safety Around Water classes to Cassville Elementary first grade summer school students,” Ragsdale said. “This was the third year we’ve offered the classes.''
“The Safety Around Water (SAW) classes are not intended to be swimming lessons,” Ragsdale said, “although swimming lessons are available at other scheduled times. The SAW classes are primarily to teach safety techniques - what to do if you accidentally fall into the water.
“Our main goal is to prevent drowning,” Ragsdage continued.
According to Ragsdale, since 2018, 236 children have been taught water-safety knowledge.
“We start out with an assessment of each child’s ability and confidence in the water,” he said. “The abilities of first graders vary widely. Some of the kids are afraid of water; others can swim like fish.
“We divided the kids up, based on their ability, put an instructor with each group, then teach them safety principles,” he continued.
“One of the fundamental principles we teach kids is to always ask permission from an adult, so someone knows where they’re at before they get into the water,” Ragsdale said.
The program then begins to build on individual skills with two core water-safety skill-sequences. The first sequence is called “Swim, float, swim,” and teaches children to swim a short distance on their front, flip to their back and float, then turn to their front to continue swimming.
The second technique is called “Jump, push, turn, grab.” In this sequence, a child jumps into the water, pushes off the bottom, turns around to face the wall, grabs the wall, then safely exits the pool.
For more information about YMCA swimming lessons and “Safety Around Water” classes, contact the Cassville YMCA at 417-846-1535, or the Monett YMCA at 417-235-8213.
According to statistics, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages one to four, and the second leading cause of death for ages five to 14.
Research has shown that participation in formal swimming instruction and water-safety classes can prevent drowning.
According to the YMCA’s website, the organization has over 2,600 locations, 19,000 staff members and 600,000 volunteers in 10,000 communities across the United States, who provide crucial water-safety training to approximately one million children annually.
According to Cassville YMCA director, Rick Ragsdale, if it weren’t for these classes, many children would not otherwise have the opportunity to learn to swim.
“Thanks to funding by the Barry County Soroptimist Club and the Cassville Community Foundation, the Cassville YMCA is able to teach Safety Around Water classes to Cassville Elementary first grade summer school students,” Ragsdale said. “This was the third year we’ve offered the classes.''
“The Safety Around Water (SAW) classes are not intended to be swimming lessons,” Ragsdale said, “although swimming lessons are available at other scheduled times. The SAW classes are primarily to teach safety techniques - what to do if you accidentally fall into the water.
“Our main goal is to prevent drowning,” Ragsdage continued.
According to Ragsdale, since 2018, 236 children have been taught water-safety knowledge.
“We start out with an assessment of each child’s ability and confidence in the water,” he said. “The abilities of first graders vary widely. Some of the kids are afraid of water; others can swim like fish.
“We divided the kids up, based on their ability, put an instructor with each group, then teach them safety principles,” he continued.
“One of the fundamental principles we teach kids is to always ask permission from an adult, so someone knows where they’re at before they get into the water,” Ragsdale said.
The program then begins to build on individual skills with two core water-safety skill-sequences. The first sequence is called “Swim, float, swim,” and teaches children to swim a short distance on their front, flip to their back and float, then turn to their front to continue swimming.
The second technique is called “Jump, push, turn, grab.” In this sequence, a child jumps into the water, pushes off the bottom, turns around to face the wall, grabs the wall, then safely exits the pool.
For more information about YMCA swimming lessons and “Safety Around Water” classes, contact the Cassville YMCA at 417-846-1535, or the Monett YMCA at 417-235-8213.
