GENERATION IS DIVING BACK INTO THE POOL AND THE LOCAL COMMUNITY COULD BENEFIT FROM IT. SWIMMER TAKE YOUR MIKE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 30 YEARS, I WENT FOR. WOW. YEAH. AND FRESH FOOD FOR THE STUDENTS AT WESTERN HILLS HIGH SCHOOL ARE ONCE AGAIN ABLE TO TREAD IN THE DEEP END, EXPANDING THEIR LIFE SKILLS BEYOND THE CLASSROOM. SWIMMING IS A LIFE SKILL THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE, AND I COULD NOT SWIM IN. I’M 18 YEARS OLD, SO I WANTED TO LEARN HOW TO SWIM AND JOIN THIS CLUB. JUST LAST YEAR WAS THE CLUB. EMILY THE OB DIDN’T HAVE ACCESS TO. I BELIEVE IT WAS IN 1995. THAT WAS THE LAST TIME WESTERN HILLS HAD A SWIM TEAM OR PROGRAM AT ALL. I WOULD TALK ABOUT MY KIDS SWIMMING AND A LOT OF MY SON’S LIKE, OH, I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SWIM OR, YOU KNOW, WE DON’T SWIM. AND THAT KIND OF STUFF. SO I STARTED THINKING IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE TO START A SWIM TEAM. LAST YEAR, SPANISH TEACHER AND HEAD SWIM COACH AMANDA SNYDER WENT TO THE SCHOOL’S ATHLETIC DIRECTOR TO ASK ABOUT STARTING A SWIM TEAM. AND THE BALL GOT ROLLING. SO WE PRETTY MUCH MOST OF THEM START WITH THE BASICS. I’M LEARNING HOW TO BREATHE IN THE WATER, BLOW BUBBLES, HOW TO FLOAT, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO START WITH THOSE THINGS BEFORE YOU CAN ACTUALLY START TEACHING THE STROKES. SNYDER SAYS THEY’VE HAD ABOUT 10 TO 12 CONSISTENT SWIMMERS THIS SEASON. OF THOSE SWIMMERS, THREE REALLY KNEW HOW TO SWIM. NOW THESE TEENS ARE GOING FROM UNCHARTED WATERS. I CAME HERE TO LEARN TO SWIM, HAVE FUN WITH MY PEERS, AND JUST LEARN THAT LOVE SKILL TO WORKING TOWARDS A LIFE SKILL THAT COULD SAVE THEIR LIFE OR SOMEONE ELSE’S. HOPEFULLY AS THEY START GETTING STRONGER AND BUILDING THEIR SWIMMING ABILITIES, THEY CAN ACTUALLY TAKE IT AND BECOME LIFEGUARDS AND, YOU KNOW, ALSO SPREAD THE LOVE OF SWIMMING AND HELP THEIR THEIR FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES LEARN HOW TO SWIM AS WELL. WELL, THE TEAM IS WORKING ON GETTING THE BASICS OF SWIMMING DOWN RIGHT NOW. AND NEXT SEASON, THEY DO HOPE TO COMPETE AGAINST OTHER SWIMMERS AND FILL SOME OF THE
Western Hills High School's swim program revived after nearly 30 years
Updated: 8:06 AM EST Mar 10, 2023
For the first time in almost 30 years students at Western Hills High School are once again able tread in the deep end, expanding their life skills beyond the classroom. "Swimming is a life skill that everybody should have, and I could not swim, and now I'm 18 years old, so I wanted to learn how to swim and join this club," said senior Emilie Diob.Just last year, it was a club Diob didn't have access to.The mid-nineties was the last time Western Hills had a swim team or program at all. "I would talk about my kids swimming, and a lot of my students would be like, 'Oh I don't know how to swim, or we don't swim,' that kind of stuff, so I started thinking it would be really nice to start a swim team," said Spanish teacher and head swim coach Amanda Snyder.Last year, Snyder went to the school's athletic director to ask about starting a swim team, and the ball got rolling. "We pretty much, with most of them, started the basics of learning how to breathe in the water, blow bubbles, how to float, because you have to start with those things before you can actually start teaching strokes," said Snyder. Snyder says they've had about 10-12 consistent swimmers this season. Of those swimmers, three really knew how to swim. Now, these teens are going from uncharted waters to working towards a life skill that could save their life or someone else's."Hopefully, as they start getting stronger and building their swimming ability, they can actually take it and become lifeguards and also spread the love of swimming and help their friends and loved ones learn how to swim as well," said Snyder. The team is working on getting the basics of swimming down now. Next season they hope to compete against others swimmers and fill some of the vacant lifeguard spots at pools around the city.
CINCINNATI — For the first time in almost 30 years students at Western Hills High School are once again able tread in the deep end, expanding their life skills beyond the classroom.
"Swimming is a life skill that everybody should have, and I could not swim, and now I'm 18 years old, so I wanted to learn how to swim and join this club," said senior Emilie Diob.
Just last year, it was a club Diob didn't have access to.
The mid-nineties was the last time Western Hills had a swim team or program at all.
"I would talk about my kids swimming, and a lot of my students would be like, 'Oh I don't know how to swim, or we don't swim,' that kind of stuff, so I started thinking it would be really nice to start a swim team," said Spanish teacher and head swim coach Amanda Snyder.
Last year, Snyder went to the school's athletic director to ask about starting a swim team, and the ball got rolling.
"We pretty much, with most of them, started the basics of learning how to breathe in the water, blow bubbles, how to float, because you have to start with those things before you can actually start teaching strokes," said Snyder.
Snyder says they've had about 10-12 consistent swimmers this season. Of those swimmers, three really knew how to swim.
Now, these teens are going from uncharted waters to working towards a life skill that could save their life or someone else's.
"Hopefully, as they start getting stronger and building their swimming ability, they can actually take it and become lifeguards and also spread the love of swimming and help their friends and loved ones learn how to swim as well," said Snyder.
The team is working on getting the basics of swimming down now. Next season they hope to compete against others swimmers and fill some of the vacant lifeguard spots at pools around the city.
