ASHLAND —
A row of tiny mermaids perched at the edge of the shallow end of the Dawson Park pool, their arms over their heads and their tails — ahem, their feet — in the water.
In front of them in the pool a teenaged swim coach demonstrated how to position their bodies for diving and paddling.
A few of them bravely hopped in the cool blue and splashed out a few strokes; others lingered anxiously by the wall. By the end of their 45-minute class Tuesday even they were happily sloshing about.
In the midst of it all was Parker Touchton, the Paul Blazer High School senior who organized the series of free swim classes. Touchton, a member of his school’s swim team, thinks kids should swim for fun and safety.
“Drownings are the number one cause of accidental deaths in the United States,” Touchton said. “A lot of kids need lessons but they might not get them.”
Touchton signed up 25 kids ranging in age from 5 to 11 for the lessons and recruited eight assistants, all of them either lifeguards or fellow swim team members, to help him.
The lessons fulfill Touchton’s obligation to perform 100 volunteer hours in a year for the Kentucky Youth Council on Volunteerism and Service, said Bill Burch, director of the council.
The council recruits teens in the Ashland, Fairview and Boyd County districts to find and address needs in the county, Burch said. Teens in the council also spread the spirit of volunteerism by getting their peers involved, he said.
Touchton said he has been swimming competitively for four years but has been in and out of pools since he was a preschooler. It was watching the Olympics got him interested in competition.
He wants the children to learn basic lifesaving skills and some freestyle swimming techniques.
The goal “is to drown-proof the kids,” Burch interjected, and perhaps to prepare them to help their own friends and siblings around the water.
“This is wonderful. It’s free, it’s a wonderful park, and they are so good and patient with the kids,” said Sharon Conley, who brought her granddaughter Savanna to the lesson. “Savanna was scared yesterday but today she could not wait to get here.”
Swim lessons for very young children are invaluable, said Conley, who regrets she never took them or learned to swim.
High-school students in the Ashland, Boyd County and Fairview districts or who attend Rose Hill Christian School may get involved with the council by calling him at 928-7114, Burch said.
Volunteer accomplishments pay off not just in helping the community but in enhancing college scholarship applications, he said.
The council currently has about 30 students and they meet regularly at the Ashland YMCA.
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2652.
Local News
Related Photos
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England Huizar,7, pulls herself up out of the pool water during swimming lessons at Dawson Pool in Ashland, Ky. Tuesday, July 31, 2012. Kevin Goldy / The Independent
Discussion
Splish-splashing at the pool
Youngsters bravely jump in the water for free swimming lessons
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