For Carrie Kemerer, director of The Shelby Foundation, swimming was always something she shied away from. During family vacations, she would stay on the beach or poolside while her husband and son enjoyed the water because she was taught growing up land was much safer. But after just five days learning how to swim at the YMCA of North Central Ohio SHELBY BRANCH, Kemerer conquered a skill she will now have forever.
“I am so excited to tell people I know how to swim,” Kemerer said. “Everyone has been so enthusiastic for me.”
When Kemerer was at the Shelby YMCA for a business meeting, she casually mentioned she didn’t know how to swim. The YMCA staff could not believe their ears and insisted she learn from Ashley Pifer, executive director and aquatics specialist at the Shelby branch.
A couple weeks later, during the first week of January, Kemerer took the plunge — literally.
“I think I had an idea of how to swim,” she said. “But I did not feel confident swimming, I did not know how to tread water, I did not feel safe at all being in the deep end and I didn’t like putting my head underwater.”
These fears stemmed from Kemerer’s childhood. She came from a large family where no one was able to swim efficiently. Her parents never felt comfortable near water so instead of encouraging them to try, the water was a place to stay away from.
Pifer’s approach to teaching Kemerer how to swim focused on building trust and comfort first. Their already found friendship made this step really easy.
The lessons progressively built her skills, starting with basics like blowing bubbles and practicing proper kicking technique.
By day three, Kemerer was making significant progress, though she wasn’t ready for the deep end yet. Pifer was patient, focusing on teaching life-saving skills like the “swim, float, swim” pattern.
“The goal is for any swimmer, if they find themselves in trouble or in a situation, to roll on your back, float,” Pifer said. “You can breathe with your head out of the water. If you run out of breath, roll on your back, catch your breath, gather yourself, then you can roll back over and go again.”
By the fifth day, Kemerer felt confident enough to surprise Pifer. While she was gathering supplies for the lesson, Kemerer called out to her and then ran and jumped into the deep end.
“We were screaming so loud in excitement they could hear us out here in the lobby,” Pifer and Kemerer said as they laughed together recalling the moment.
The real test came during a family vacation later that January. At the resort pool, Kemerer’s son tried to warn her away from the deep end, telling her she needed to be careful and she shouldn’t be so close to the water. Then she jumped in.
“My husband was like, ‘What in the world?'” Kemerer said. “I’m laughing and said, ‘I learned how to swim!’ and he was totally shocked, but what made it all worth it, is the next day he said to me, ‘I love you, my little swimmer.'”
This experience has inspired Kemerer to pursue other goals: piano lessons, learning the French language, ballroom dancing, and visiting all 50 states.
“This is not a dress rehearsal,” she said. “We don’t know how much time we have here so, what else do I want to accomplish and be able to look back at and say, ‘I can do that.'”
Pifer and Kemerer’s friendship has also grown stronger than ever before. Being able to watch a friend conquer a goal was very rewarding to Pifer.
“I am so proud of her,” she said. “It was so lovely to be a part of this journey and I can’t wait to see what she does next.”
YMCA of North Central Ohio swim lessons are for any one at any age who wants to learn. For more information or to sign up, go to www.ymcanco.org.
