Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Hansen.
Hi Emily, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have been a swim coach and instructor since 1996. I’ve had many titles and jobs in aquatics from instructor and summer league head, to USA Swimming assistant coach, to lifeguard, lifeguard instructor, certified pool operator, Aquatics coordinator and Aquatics Department Head (manager). In 2017 I left a management position and decided to try teaching in backyard pools and within one month, thanks to word of mouth and social media referrals I had over 200 children on my waitlist. Two years later, in November of 2019, I was blessed to open my first brick and mortar location with 4 employees.
My passion for water safety was drastically increased when in June of 2009 when I pulled my youngest daughter Olivia from the water unresponsive and lifeless after a passive drowning accident at her sister Ellee’s 6th birthday party. Olivia had a reflex called a laryngospasm and once her airway was forced open, she had spontaneous breathing and became responsive again. Olivia is a miracle and the passion and purpose behind my work and the effort I spend training my staff.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has definitely not been an easy road. Just 4 months after we opened and invested in our new facility we were shut down due to covid. We were the first school to re-open in our area after the shutdown and we had over 500 swimmers a week almost immediately and we were not prepared for all of our growth. I became ill due to exhaustion and other underlying medical issues and spent the next year in emergency rooms and specialist offices and much time on medical leave. On our first anniversary in our new location, I announced publicly on our social media that we would be closing our doors permanently on December 1, 2020.
I had several offers from investors and other swim schools and nothing felt right. Then a client made a fair offer stating that they wanted to help because they didn’t want their child to lose the best lessons in town and we formed a brief partnership to help me through the final stages of my medical leave. 9 months later I was generously gifted my full percentage of ownership back and we have been going strong ever since.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
All Things Swim in Humble offers a variety of swim lessons and swim coaching:
Survival swim skills
Beginner freestyle and backstroke
Water safety and decision making
Mechanics of all four competitive strokes
Stroke development and legality
Swim team prep
Technical lessons for competitive athletes
Adult swim lessons
Special needs lessons
Emily started All Things Swim for many reasons. The biggest reason is the impact she can make on creating a safer community. She cherishes the relationships that she is able to form with her swimmers and their families.
Swim lessons teach children life skills.
In addition to specific swimming skills, swim lessons teach children to have confidence, discipline, work ethic, and decision-making skills. Learning these life skills in the water carries over to other areas of swimmers’ lives.
All Things Swim teaches swimming at the child’s level. All Things Swim believes everyone should know how to swim and that every child should be taught respect for the water and appropriate behaviors for staying safe around the water.
Our program is progressive and developmental. Instructors teach by instinct and follow the swimmer’s lead by pushing when it is time to push through new, difficult, or frightening skills or stepping back when needed. We are adaptive to each child at every lesson.
Our hope is to create a life-long love for the water. We teach with firmness, patience, and nurture. We believe in hugs, praise, giving options and choices, natural consequences to unsafe behavior or actions, and discipline if needed.
Skills are introduced at all ages but are taught in developmental stages based on each child’s age, size, maturity level, attention span, and levels of fear (or the lack of) in the water.
There will be times at swim lessons when a child will be afraid. As lessons progress, the work becomes fun and confidence builds.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Amenities:
– Heated indoor pool safe from the elements
– Complimentary towel service
– Free W-Fi
– 2 restrooms
– 1 shower
– A changing table
– Complimentary hygiene and toiletry products
– A coffee bar
– Cold bottled water and Capri Sun
– A family lounge with books, Disney+ and more
Pricing:
- Private lessons start at $45/class
- There is a $150 Registration fee per family, per calendar year, due at enrollment
- Lessons are 30 minutes long.
- All of our lessons are private with a 1;1 Instructor to Swimmer ratio
Contact Info:
- Website: www.allthingsswimhumble.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swimwithEm
