Tag: foss swim school

As we head into midsummer, kids across the country are heading to summer camps, Scout camps and community center pools and beaches. And that means swim tests—for many kids, an anxious and stressful event, but one that helps ensure better safety for campers. With a little forethought, parents can help ...

Teaching swimming classes for special needs kids can be uniquely rewarding. Just ask D’Ar Zirbes, a Site Director at Foss Swim School who has instructed numerous kids with a range of developmental and physical challenges. D’Ar said the most important thing a parent of a special needs child can do ...

Hillary Rieveley Site DirectorLakeview, IL How long have you worked for FOSS? 2 years. What is your favorite part about working for FOSS? Getting to watch the children grow and improve from one session to the next.  Especially when you skip a session with a student and you get them ...

There are countless ways to have fun and love water, and being a confident swimmer makes all of them safer and more enjoyable. The Foss Swim School program is built to teach swimmers mastery of four primary strokes, but of course those aren’t the only ways to swim. Why do ...

In the more than quarter century since Jon Foss started teaching swim classes, we have been continuously refining and improving our curriculum, but always following the same approach to teaching and the same concept of mastery through progression through the program. The FOSS Swim Path™️ is the latest evolution of ...

Rachael Skoog Site Director Chanhassen, MN How long have you worked for FOSS? For 14 years! Since 2004. What is your favorite part about working for FOSS? Getting to know so many incredible swimmers and families over the years. And I can’t forget the phenomenal group of instructors that I’ve had the pleasure of ...

Hundreds of families come through our doors each week at FOSS. And though many of our students are accompanied by their parents, we also see grandparents hanging out poolside and becoming actively involved in their swimmer’s journey, which we absolutely love! Foss Swim School has been teaching swimmers to swim ...

Summer is almost here! Are your kids ready for the water? It’s a scenario that parents don’t even want to contemplate—a child unexpectedly falling into water over their head. Yet it happens, despite setting clear rules for kids, the kids themselves having no intention of going in the water, and ...

By Jon Foss, co-founder and lead instructor, Foss Swim School If you are old enough to have kids, there’s a chance you were taught to tread water as a water safety skill. Parents who send their kids to Foss Swim School sometimes look at our curriculum and ask why treading ...

While you’re celebrating all of the teachers in your life this week, we want to also celebrate the amazing teachers who work here at Foss Swim School. Teaching kids to swim is about more than skills and technique – it’s about building relationships and trust and the art of making ...

The toddler years are full of rapid physical and emotional changes—and also a prime time for learning to swim. Starting swim classes early gives kids a boost in safety, has been shown to help kids reach developmental milestones sooner, and gives parents the confidence to enjoy a whole range of ...

Jacob Vaas Shift Coordinator South Barrington, IL How long have you worked for FOSS? I started in January 2018 – a little over a year now! What is your favorite FOSS story? I was teaching a Little 2 who was swimming really well, and I liked to tell her she ...

Just to be clear—we love swimming. We would swim every day if we could, and can point to plenty of evidence that—like any skill—the more frequently and consistently a student practices, the faster a student typically learns and masters that skill. Since swimming is a physical activity as well, kids ...

Allison Ryks Shift Coordinator Woodbury, MN How long have you worked for FOSS? Almost 3 years! What is your favorite part of working for FOSS? All of the joy! Laughter truly comes first in everything we do! What is your favorite level to teach and why? I don’t really have ...

When Rachel Garcia was about 4 years old, she had a near-drowning experience. “I was at a beach with my mom and her friends, and there was a dog that was running, and it pushed me into the water, and nobody noticed it happen,” she recalls. “I remember being under ...