Little Waves Family Swim School

Saving Lives With Water Safety

In the heat of the summer, swimming is an excellent way to cool off, reduce stress, relax with family and friends, and enjoy being outdoors. If you have children who enjoy being in or around water, do they know how to swim? Are they familiar with water safety? The team at Little Waves Family Swim School teaches children to be safe in the water, in a caring and fun environment.

Swimming lessons are important for children of all ages. In addition to learning how to swim, children learn water safety skills, which greatly reduces their risk of drowning. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the most common cause of death in children between the ages of one and four years and the second leading cause of unintentional death in children between the ages of five and 14. Swimming lessons also build confidence, create respect for water, and encourage a healthy lifestyle.

Omaha native Mike McKamy founded Little Waves Family Swim School in November of 2012. Mike has been involved in swimming for most of his life. He was a competitive swimmer in high school and college. He directed the Westside Swim Lesson program for six years and the UNO Swim Lesson program for four years. He offered swimming lessons to toddlers and children in his backyard swimming pool from 2009 to 2012 before he decided to enroll in the Entrepreneurship Program at Metropolitan Community College. (He highly recommends the program for those interested in opening their own business.) He raised capital, obtained an SBA loan, and opened his business.

Little Waves Family Swim School offers lessons for children starting at six months of age. They have classes for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, kids, and pre-competitive swimmers.

An essential part of baby, toddler, and preschooler swimming lessons is getting children comfortable in the water while safely having fun. Baby lessons are for children aged six to 15 months, and parents are in the water with their children. These lessons teach them to roll onto their back so they know what to do if they fall in the water.

Toddler lessons are for kids aged 16 to 36 months. Their parents are also in the water. These lessons focus on water safety. Preschooler swim lessons are for children ages three to five years old. These lessons focus on water safety and learning basic swimming strokes.

“Kidz” lessons are for children four years and older. These lessons focus on teaching independence in the water and good swimming techniques. Children are placed in one of four groups, depending upon their skill level. Classes include basic swim skills such as submersion, back floats, rollovers, and breathing. As children progress through vari- ous levels, they learn strokes like freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.

By Angella Arndt

The pre-competitive program is for children interested in exploring competitive swimming. This program focuses on the four competitive strokes, turns, and the basics of training. “The program is a bridge between lessons and year-round club swimming,” Mike notes. “We work on improving stroke skills so they are ready for club swimming.”

The school’s curriculum was self-developed over several years. “We have a simple but effective approach,” Mike states. “My diverse swim background of competitive swimming and water safety provided a foundation for me to develop lesson plans instead of relying on a canned curriculum.”

The school has a teaching pool that is four feet deep and was explicitly built for swimming lessons. The water is at a constant 90 degrees, making it comfortable for children, parents, and instructors. Mike emphasizes that their teachers are experienced adults who are passionate about teaching children how to swim.

Little Waves Family Swim School has small class sizes— no more than three to four kids per instructor. “Because we are locally owned and operated, we can change lesson plans to meet a child’s needs,” Mike points out. “We can also be much more flexible with scheduling and make-up lessons.” Many parents tell Mike they appreciate how the instructors are engaged with their children, and they are pleased with the growth their children show in the water. “Many parents are amazed when their children overcome their fear of water.”

His biggest reward, Mike says, is to see children grow in their swimming. “I love to see the smiles on their faces when they learn a new skill. Swimming is an important life skill that every child should possess. If you learn how to swim, it may save your life one day.” Little Waves Family Swim School is located at 17602 Wright Street, in Omaha. The school offers classes Monday through Saturday. Call 402-932-2030 for more information or find them online at littlewavesfamilyswimschool.com.