BROOKINGS – Grilling, fireworks and swimming pools are all some of the best parts of the summer months, and two friends have made a summer job for themselves in the latter category by becoming private swim instructors.
From a young age, Kenzie Young and Cassie Hendricks took to the water. Hendricks was 8 when she really began getting into swimming; Young was 6.
Young recalled that she would watch her sister during her swim practices and her mother took notice of her daughter’s interest.
“My mom was like, ‘Why are you just sitting here? You should be in the water, too,’” Young said.
“I started because my dad wanted us to get into it. Me and my two older sisters started at the same time,” Hendricks said. “We were always at the pool anyway, so my dad thought we could join something. We tried it out and never quit.”
Both got their starts taking Red Cross swim lessons and they eventually joined a swim team. That’s actually how they met and befriended each other back in the first grade.
They continue to swim for their respective colleges. Young is studying dietetics at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., while Hendricks is working toward an exercise science degree at South Dakota State University.
Having worked as lifeguards for three years in Brookings as well as through partnerships with the swim team, Young and Hendricks are used to giving swim lessons by now.
As lifeguards, they were also encouraged to set up private lessons outside of work time, but demand had been so much, they didn’t have time for it outside of their jobs. Also, in those roles, they had to keep the lessons on what those organizations wanted to teach.
All these are reasons why they wanted to spend this summer teaching their own lessons.
So, this year they started Piece of Cake Swim Lessons, with classes beginning May 30 and continuing until Aug. 11. They teach at a family friend’s pool, which has been invaluable to their vision. This allows them to teach in a distraction-free environment and they don’t have to be restricted to a regular pool’s hours.
“They’re supportive of our business and said that we could teach lessons at their house. In return, we’re teaching their kids how to swim,” Young said.
The hardest part of teaching swim lessons is simply working around fear of the water and getting students to put their heads under the water.
“The hardest kids to teach are probably the ones that don’t want to put their heads in the water. But then we help them get comfortable with it,” at least to the point where they can put their faces in the water and hold their breath, Hendricks said.
“I also think it’s kind of difficult when they get to be a certain age – like 6 or 7 – and they’ve never had a lesson, so they’re not comfortable in the water. Once you get to that age, it’s kind of harder to teach them if they don’t have experience and are scared of the water,” Young said.
Still, it’s rewarding and potentially life saving work. They especially enjoy when students are excited with their progress, whether it’s learning to float on their backs or how to do a backstroke.
They keep class sizes down to two learners to maintain a one-on-one approach. For the most part, those taking classes are 3-8 years old, but there is an adult who has signed up, too.
“We actually do have an adult swimmer who wants to improve on swimming laps and her techniques with her strokes,” Young said.
Hendricks added, “We’re willing to teach any age. We’ve talked with a lady who maybe wants us to teach her 18-month-old son.”
They are still accepting more appointments through their Facebook page, Piece of Cake Swim School.
The name “Piece of Cake” is a reference to their own names, with “cake” containing the first two letters of each of their names, Cassie and Kenzie.
So far, they’ve enjoyed managing their own jobs, but they aren’t sure what will happen with the classes next year. That’s because they might be too busy with internships necessary for their college majors to do classes. Still, in the meantime, it’s proved to be a fun way to help others and earn some money.
Classes are held Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. There are 22 appointments available each day at a rate of $20 for a 30-minute lesson.
Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.
