Stags Swim Lessons Make A Splash

The Fairfield University pool was filled with excitement this past weekend.  On Saturday the Stags defeated Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe Manhattan College in front of an alumni weekend crowd of more than 500 spectators. There were even more smiles on the pool deck on Sunday as the Fairfield student-athletes were back in the pool teaching swimming lessons to local children.

The Stags Swim Lessons Program doubles as both a community outreach program and a team fundraiser. For five Sundays each fall and each spring, the Stags offer three 45-minute lesson sessions to local children of all ages with all the proceeds going towards the Stags’ annual winter training trip to Hawaii.

The Stags Swim Lessons Program is particularly unique because it is completely student-athlete run. Junior Margaret Osmulski  and senior Cacky Keating  this year's program coordinators, are responsible for scheduling lessons, scheduling the instructors, collecting payments, and promotion of the program.

“Cacky and Moe have done such a great job with it,” Head Coach Bill Farley said. “It's really neat to see how the program has grown and how organized it all is. Our swimmers love it and the kids who come here love it.”

While the lesson program has been going on for quite some time it has grown in recent years. A few years ago enrollment was around two dozen; this fall alone there are 112 swimmers enrolled over three sessions with more than 30 instructors. This allows for many of the students to have one-on-one instruction which parents enjoy. The level and quality of the instruction has spread mainly by word-of-mouth from parents whose children have taken part in the program.

While it is a fundraiser, for the Stags, the program means so much more. Not only are they teaching children a very important skill, but they are exposing them to a sport they love and getting to interact with the community beyond the walls of Fairfield.

“It's a great connection to the community,” Keating said.

“We also get extra spectators at our meets. A lot of the parents want to know when our meets are and end up coming,” Osmulski said. “The kids cheer on their instructors and like to be able to see what strokes their instructors are doing and how they do it. When they come back to lessons, they say, 'I want to swim like you do,' and then they try. It definitely gets them interested in the sport of swimming.”

This past Sunday was the last week of the fall lesson programs, but the spring lessons are already being scheduled and will begin March. For more information about the Stags Swim Lessons Program or to get on the mailing list for the spring lessons, contact the student coordinators at fairfielduswimlessons@gmail.com.