Meet Angela Wild | Swim Instructor, Boutique Swim School Owner, Water Safety Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Angela Wild and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Angela, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
As a swim instructor with over 25 years of teaching experience, the greatest lesson my career has taught me was the powerful act of humility. Working with children of all ages and developmental phases requires bottomless energy, positivity and the desire to work collaboratively to help achieve student success, while leaving all hubris aside. Being able to humble myself and learn from my clients, to be receptive to learning new techniques and methods from a variety of sources all foster better experiences both for me and my students. I always strive to improve, whether it be in areas of customer service, or in my skills and techniques so that I remain consistently dedicated to the profession.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When San Diegan’s think about swimming, the images of sandy beaches and swimming pools come to mind. For many, swimming is synonymous with “Summer”, and it’s woven into the fabric of the culture. As a life- long competitive swimmer, I never realized swimming could also become a career! After a decade in the fitness industry as a personal trainer, a near-by swim school allowed for a career shift, resulting in becoming a swim instructor for young children. A two- decade career followed, filled with triumphs and humbling failures working in the ” learn- to swim” profession. Over the years, I also became dedicated to working with both local drowning prevention organizations and national entities, as I saw how vital the connection was between learning to swim, and community education about water safety.

After working for a variety of companies, in 2020 I opened my own boutique swim school, and embarked on the journey of being a ” water – safety entrepreneur”. Being my own boss allowed me to find creative ways to educate the public about water safety, and also provided some freedom to pursue industry -specific problems that still need to be solved. As such, I built my business, the website and many facets from scratch. I then created a second website, and a non profit to help other aquatic professionals with information and resources. Recently, I co-founded a non – profit dedicated to helping bridge the gap between academia and instructors, advocate for improved legislation and be a louder voice within the public health and injury prevention spaces. I have also returned to school to pursue a second MA in Public Health with an emphasis on Community Health Promotion.

One of the most difficult challenges was pivoting during Covid. I was set to open my swim lesson business in February 2020, but had to change course when the aquatics industry was unable to continue offering swim lessons. Sadly, data reports that Covid – related pool closures resulted in an increase in drownings in 2021- 2022 due to a gap in quality instruction and practice opportunities.

A significant challenge that continues to plague the profession is the difficulty in educating the public of the dangers of water, when water is often associated with fun and recreation. We teach parents about car seat safety, the dangers of SIDS, and a myriad of ways to keep their children safer, yet, drowning is a legitimate danger that many first- time parents simply never consider. Drowning is the LEADING cause of accidental death in children under the age of 5, and is a leading killer among boys and men in open bodies of water. Drowning is not as simple as ” lazy parents not watching their child”, but a complex public health issue that require a holistic approach to solving, and the involvement of many different agencies. Bathtubs, toilets, large buckets of water, swimming pools, spas, oceans, lakes and even ponds and kiddie pools can pose a danger to children, and the worst thing any water safety advocate wants to hear is a parent say ” I never knew”.

As a water- safety expert, my first love is teaching kids how to swim. I prioritize lessons from the perspective of reciprocity and introduce skills to help children learn their own buoyancy. Water survival skills are the foundation, allowing the child to self- rescue should they accidentally fall into a pool. This can be a variety of skills based on the age of the child, but most children learn a sequence of floating, or a swim sequence that allows the child to back float and kick or swim to locate a wall or stairs and exit safely. The concept of ” swim lessons” has evolved to emphasize learning how to become more ” water competent”, which teaches a variety of skills and situations to help prepare a child for a potential aquatic emergency, AND the skills on how to effectively problem solve. San Diego has so many different aquatic environments, so it’s best to help teach children and their parents. how to safer around ALL bodies of water.
Learning to swim is one way to keep children safer around water, and as a water safety advocate, I’ve dedicated my life to helping the families of San Diego understand how to become water wiser by implementing layers of protection around all sources of water. Pool fencing is the key barrier, as well as door alarms leading out to the pool. CPR training is a necessary skill all parents should learn, and while assigning a ” water watcher” is important, becoming more vigilant AFTER swim time is even more vital. Data reports differ, but 60-80% of drownings happen during “non- swim” times, when parents are not expecting children to be around the pool, so if a child is missing, it is crucial that all sources of water are checked first.

It is an exciting time to be in water safety. Advocates continue to push law makers to make water safety education a mandatory component in schools, researchers continue to study ways to educate communities, improve teaching techniques, resuscitative techniques, and improve pedagogical methods based on evolving research in the fields of child development, developmental psychology, motor learning, biomechanics and epidemiology.
Community water safety coalitions and drowning prevention non -profits provide local education, scholarships and training for those interested.
Water safety is more than a job, but an exciting career that encompasses a broad spectrum of educational disciplines that attempt to tackle a seemingly simple problem. I’ve dedicated two decades to the profession, and while drowning will never be fully eliminated, people like me who love to teach swimming, the passionate families who’ve lost children to drowning, and the community of water safety professionals will keep promoting ways to reduce the statistic so that no parent will woefully say ” I never knew”.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
America’s Finest City certainly lives up to its name, so exploring what the city has to offer is no easy feat! One cannot discount all the obvious sights and attractions San Diego has to offer, so visiting Sea World, Lego Land, The Birch Aquarium, the Safari Park and Zoo would all be at the top of the list. However, a true San Diego tour is not complete without some more local flavor: The glider port in La Jolla, the Salk Institute for its architecture. Old Town San Diego for the Whaley House and tequila. The Palomar Observatory and the Golden Door for spotting stars. Sunny Jim caves of La Jolla Cove, the Flower Fields of Carlsbad. The Apple Pie in Julian and Potato Chip Rock. Gotta swing on ” The Hidden Swings” and walk across the Spruce St. suspension bridge. Grab a view of the SS Monte Carlo, or take a photo in front of the Kissing Sailor at the Midway, and before they go, a trip to Southbeach for fish tacos is a requirement!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My career trajectory would not have taken the course it did without the kindness, wisdom, friendship and mentorship of several people. Thank you to Dr. Stephen J. Langendorfer at Bowling Green State University. His life long dedication to the advancement of the profession ignited the spark that changed the course of my life, and his advice and guidance impacted my life in immeasurable ways. The kindness and mentorship from Adam Katchmarchi and the National Drowning Prevention Alliance was crucial to my interest in working with both local and national water safety organizations. The endless support from Mary-Ann Downing with the San Diego Prevent Drowning Foundation, my co-founders at the United States Drowning Research Alliance for the debates, brainstorming and brilliance and finally, a shout- out to my supportive husband and family. I could not be more appreciative.

Website: www.elementalsd.com

Instagram: @ Elemental_Aquatics_Sd

Linkedin: Angela Wild

Facebook: @ Angela Wild

Other: For more water safety tips for all, please visit www.thewatersafetysyndicate.com
To join or donate to our efforts: www.USDrowningResearchAlliance.com

Image Credits
Yasmin Yackey