Huron-Clinton Metroparks see huge demand for free kids and adult swim lessons

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (FOX 2) - Theresa Thackston didn't know it, but when 2024 began, a major milestone would be waiting for her. It happened when she walked into the water - and broke a cycle she says lasted for generations.

"I went in, saying to myself ‘I can do this, I can do this.’ And when I came home, I called my daughter and told her it was time to get my grandkids to get in some program and learn how to swim," she said.

It was Thackston's first-ever swimming lesson. A native of Royal Oak who grew up in Detroit, she'd gone her entire life not knowing how to swim. 

Thackston's parents never learned how to and so never thought about getting her lessons. The swimming class offered at school was just for a grade and there were no other opportunities available to learn how when she was growing up. 

And until this year, she was too scared of ever going that far in a pool.

"They (Thackston's parents) didn't know how so they didn't care," she said. "And it repeated with me. I'm 53 and my kids are adults. They never had lessons. I didn't want to - I should have broken that cycle. I did take them to pools, but they didn't learn how to swim."

Her kids never waded further than the shallow end.

Thackston made the decision to learn how to swim after encouragement from her friend Amanda Barone, a swim instructor who now runs the aquatics programs for YMCA metropolitan Detroit. And according to her, Thackston's experience is not an unusual one.

"When you see adults joining classes, they've lived life in absolute fear of that moment," she said. "When I'm teaching adults, something I've learned a lot while doing it is I always tell them ‘be kind to yourself. Give yourself grace. We’re not going to undo a lifelong fear of water in a couple weeks."

Fear of the water is one reason someone may not know how to swim. They could have a phobia of water or had a traumatic experience when they were young. A near-drowning can stick with someone and be enough of a barrier to keep them from the pool.

The generational gap is another reason someone never learns. So is access to a pool.  

One of the largest barriers to swim lessons, according to the Huron-Clinton Metroparks, which has studied the issue, is the cost. After that, it's the distance someone has to travel. The discoveries spurred a pilot program to offer free swim lessons to kids in 2020.

Barone was part of the first program that ran at an outdoor park at Lake St. Clair Metropark. They taught about 50 kids successfully before deciding to expand it.

"Once word got out, it filled up in an instant," Barone said. 

Danielle Mauter, the marketing and communications chief of the metroparks, says every time a new registration window for free swim classes opens, it fills up just as fast. Recognizing the need, the metroparks gradually expanded the program, partnering with more YMCAs and community centers by subsidizing the cost of lessons. Goggles and a bathing suit are included.

During the expansion, they recognized another need.

"We found over the work, a fair number of adults who are uncomfortable in the water were interested in swimming," she said, spurring the next initiative of offering swim classes to adults. They found a similar demand for classes.

The first ones started in January.

"A little bit to our surprise, even those registrations filled in a matter of hours. It demonstrated a real demand for those types of lessons," Mauter said.

How many people know how to swim?

It's hard to know how many people swim, partly because there's no good definition of what it means to swim.

Researchers have also found people vastly over-estimate how well they can swim. Survey data in 2014 from the Red Cross found 80% of Americans said they could swim, but only 56% of those same people could perform some of the basic skills vital to being safe in the water.

Safely jumping into the water and returning to the surface, turning all the way around, swimming 25 yards, and exiting the water are considered life-saving skills while swimming. They're also core tenants for having what researchers call 'water competency'.

Dr. Stephen Langendorfer, who coined the term for a book he wrote and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Council for the Red Cross, said whether someone is equipped with life-saving skills in the water is increasingly the focus when kids get in the water.

"What's been going on is there's a push for greater focus on drowning prevention and water safety and what we realized is there are some fundamental skills people have to have in the water before they really are ready to start working on stroke techniques," he said.

Part of the reason for the change is not all swimming happens in the pool and when environmental hazards like water temperature, the power of the current, and waves are in play, it's more valuable to know how to be safe than how to backstroke.

The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project tracks drownings and reports there have been 1,236 drownings in the Great Lakes since 2010. The issue is a complex one, one of the group's founders, Bob Pratt said, and reducing the number means emphasizing being safe in the water and knowing one's limitations.

"(Kids) don't have to do a butterfly kick, but we want them to be comfortable in the water so they can float on their back for a prolonged period of time," he said.

There doesn't need to be rough waters for someone to drown, however. Accidental drownings are the leading cause of death for kids aged 1 to 4, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, and the second-leading cause of death for kids aged 5-14. 

During GLSRP presentations, Pratt emphasizes having barriers around pools to keep kids from accidentally falling in. He also highlights the need for parental supervision when their kids are near the pool.

Barone teaches the same way and when starts with a new class, the first lesson happens before the kids get in the water. 

"Something we always reinforce is the need to ask an adult for permission. That's the first thing to teach these kids," she said. "Every week, they ask the instructor to enter."

The basic skills will follow.

‘A little harder to teach adults’

Thackston had seven people in her class, which took place at the South Oakland YMCA in Royal Oak. The curriculum included holding one's breath underwater, picking objects up from the bottom of the pool, and some flutter kicking. 

The skill level varied for those in the class and based on how comfortable someone was, the instructor catered their lessons accordingly. Feeling comfortable and being patient are two vital parts of coaching because, according to Thackston, adults "think too much."

"It's a little harder to teach adults since we know we can drown. Kids are just whatever," she said. "(My coach) didn't push us. I loved it."

Thackston isn't at the stage where she can get in the deep end of the pool. She said she's tall - about 5 foot 10 inches - and never would have let the water get to her neck. Now, she can go to six feet in depth without freaking out.

The pool noodles helped as well and her goal for the next round of lessons is to let go of them. Much to her surprise, people's reactions to her learning how to swim are ones of pride. 

"Everybody I tell, they say 'I'm so proud of you.' I'm thinking people were going to laugh at me, but everyone has told me they were proud of me," she said.

Thackston's story is one that the metroparks want to replicate. A large-scale study done by Counsilman-Hunsaker that the metroparks paid for found 79% of children in low-income households don't know how to swim. 

The same survey also found a strong interest from adults who want to learn how to swim. Along with having closer venues to swim, offering adult lessons were the two most-popular ways of increasing participation.

The metroparks has since announced their 5-year Everyone in the Pool initiative to expand on offering free swim classes in 2023. One of the first additions to the program are adult swim lessons being offered at the Wavemaker Swim School in Whitmore Lake. 

There are other adult swim lessons offered at YMCA locations in Macomb, Birmingham, Boll Family in Detroit, Downriver Family in Southgate, and Farmington. Many of those classes begin the first week of March. 

Registration for the summer classes opens in late April or May and the lessons will begin in June. Mauter says the metroparks will offer even more sessions during that next round. 

Learn more here.