POTTSVILLE, Pa. — Have fun, get a tan, and save lives; that's Jill Freeman's pitch when she asks people to dive into lifeguarding.
This is just part of a day in her lifeguard training here at the JFK Memorial Pool in Pottsville.
And while some of the swimmers are new to being lifeguards, they are not strangers to Jill.
“Jill taught me from I don't even know what levels, but look, I know I passed,” said Hunter Chescavage, JFK Pool Lifeguard
“I met Jill before I started working here because she instructed me at my swim lessons. And I could tell I was going to have fun, she made class fun, learning how to be a lifeguard fun,” added Ella Selinko, JFK Pool lifeguard and swim instructor
Jill says she grew up at this pool and has been spending her summers as a lifeguard here since she was 16 years old.
“Some of the kids that were here today for our in-service, I actually taught them swim lessons. Some of them from some of their beginning lessons from level one and two. There's also some kids on our staff that I've met through swim lessons and also was their lifeguard instructor,” she explained.
“She was definitely the best role model I had when it came to water safety and all of that stuff because Jill always implemented having fun while learning new stuff,” Chescavage mentioned.
Helping other workers at the pool realize they had what it takes to be a lifeguard.
“I never wanted to be a lifeguard, I was always more a maintenance guy that didn't like the water. But this year, we've been running low on lifeguards, and she asked if I wanted to, so I decided I would step up,” said Cooper Chiplonia, JFK Pool maintenance and lifeguard.
The best part of her job? Watching the kids she helped swim their first lap encourage swimmers of all abilities.
“It's special, it gives them opportunities to do things that's hard for them to do on their own,” Selinko said.
“We've worked so hard to bring up to the standard that we get kids who go through our program, then progress through junior lifeguard program, our junior lifeguarding program, and then our lifeguarding class. And it's really cool to see everything come full circle, but it does make me feel being around some of them,” Freeman explained.
Hoping they, too, will teach the next generations of lifeguards.
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