Adaptive Aquatics Instructor

A primary responsibility of all jobs at the Springfield JCC is to ensure that each and every member, guest and visitor has a positive experience and leaves the JCC feeling better than when they arrived. This role requires knowledge of a variety of physical/developmental/intellectual disabilities, as well as in-depth knowledge of swimming strokes, stroke development, and water safety techniques. The Adaptive Aquatics Instructor needs to have excellent customer service skills and be able to communicate effectively with swim participants, families, and staff members alike. Being organized, timely, and reliable are necessary skills that the Adaptive Aquatics Instructor should possess in order to provide high quality lessons each and every day. With a passion for Aquatics and teaching, the successful candidate will demonstrate patience and enthusiasm and be able to motivate students to accomplish their swimming goals.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Be able to teach a wide variety of different abilities, including but not limited to

  • Autism

  • Down Syndrome

  • Developmental and intellectual delays

  • Cerebral Palsy

• Provide high quality swim lessons using recognized, effective, and relevant skills and techniques within the Aquatics industry.

• Assess each swim participant’s performance in each lesson and provide feedback.

• Redeem participant swim lessons using the JCC software system.

• Effectively communicate the new skills that are learned at the end of each lesson to families and swim lesson participants.

• Effectively communicate the expectations and goals of each level to families, swim lesson participants, and instructors.

• Effectively communicate with families in a timely manner to create schedule with family

• Communicate effectively with swim students and ensure that all water safety rules are adhered to.

• Monitor students continuously to prevent accidents and injuries.

• Implement ground rules for swimmers and their family members for all sessions.

• Maintain and organize all swim lesson equipment.

• Develop meaningful relationships with members, staff, and the general public and use excellent customer service and communication skills to maintain those relationships.

• Regularly engage with educational materials related to Adaptive Aquatics

Qualifications:

• Reliable, professional and passionate for aquatics

• Be able to motivate people of all different backgrounds and provide constructive feedback on their progress.

• Proven knowledge of each swimming stroke and the mechanics involved with teaching each stroke.

• Ability to adapt lessons to the needs and abilities of the participant utilizing adaptive tools and equipment as appropriate

• A positive attitude with the ability to work alone, with the Aquatics team, and the entire Health and Wellness team

• Proven track record of providing high quality swim lesson services to a wide variety of populations.

Education/Experience/Certifications

• Background or experience in Special Education, Adaptive P.E., OT, PT, or related field preferred

• Must have current CPR, First Aid and AED certifications for both infant/child and adult.

• Current swim lesson certification from an organization recognized in the swim lesson space.