Tag: Minnesota

By Jon and Susan Foss, co-founders, Foss Swim School As we celebrate our 30 years leading Foss Swim School and helping hundreds of thousands of kids become better swimmers, we find ourselves remembering some of the moments that stood out. Some of those moments are sweet, some are stressful, some ...

Kayla Whittrock Shift Coordinator St. Louis Park, MN How long have you worked for FOSS? 5 years! What is your favorite part of working for FOSS?   Teaching a lifelong skill to kids and having fun while doing it. Can you tell us your favorite FOSS Story? When we had one ...

We hear from families that what sets Foss Swim School apart, and the reason they keep coming back, is the people. We couldn’t agree more – hiring the right kinds of people and training them well is a huge part of what FOSS does. We hire people who love working ...

Alexa Ihrke Head Receptionist Blaine, MN How long have you worked for FOSS? Almost two years! What is your favorite part about working for FOSS? I love that I am teaching kiddos a life-saving skill while showing them how to have fun at the same time. What is your favorite ...

At Foss Swim School, we truly believe that every child can learn to swim. When it comes to swimming classes for special needs kids, we encourage parents to reach out to us before registering, so we can develop a plan together that offers the best chance of success and progress ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Why is it so hot in the pool area? It’s one of the questions we hear often from parents and others sitting alongside our pools. The answer is somewhat more complicated than most people would expect, but the short answer is that the heat is necessary for us to deliver ...

Our success teaching hundreds of thousands of kids to swim over the past 25 years has earned our weekly swim classes many devoted families, but did you know that there are more ways to swim with FOSS that go beyond classes? Our progress-builder camps, skill clinics, family swims, and fun ...

When Patricia decided to set a goal of finishing a sprint triathlon (half mile swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer run), she had one overriding question: “Do I really know how to swim?” By no means a newcomer to the water—the Minnesota native had grown up playing in lakes, had taken basic ...

At Foss Swim School, we like to think of goggles as a milestone for children who have developed a comfort with water and mastered the first few skills of water acclimation. Here’s what we look for before recommending goggles for a child. If you’re not sure, ask us—our instructors can ...

“One swallow does not a summer make,” Aristotle said, reminding people that seeing one migrating bird isn’t evidence that the seasons have changed. At Foss Swim School, we take a similar view—you can’t really show mastery of any of our swim skills just by doing it once. Parents sometimes ask ...

D’Ar Zirbes Site Director St. Paul, MN How long have you worked for FOSS? Since March of 2012! How do you approach teaching kids to swim? Building trust in general with my swimmers is so important. I look forward to finding out the things they enjoy outside of swimming and ...