ISR made a huge impact on my life beginning in 2003 when my son Liam participated in lessons as a recommendation from one of my friends. I looked into various programs and found that ISR instructors were required to have significantly more academic and in-water training and the teaching was a scientific approach unlike the other programs that were offered in the community.

Having previously worked in the health care setting I understood the importance of certification/licensing especially when dealing with children in a very unforgiving environment. As parents we have a tremendous responsibility to protect our children, we take the time to research what is the safest for our children including everything from car seats to what type of pacifier they use. When making the decision on which type of lessons Liam would have, we did our homework, after all they were handling our baby in the water.

Brevard County has 43,000+ in-ground pools and an immeasurable number of retention ponds and bodies of water, most of which are unprotected. Living on a pond, we knew getting Liam skilled had to be a priority and ISR offered what we needed, the opportunity for him to be an aquatic problem solver – to be able to get on his back in the event he reached the pond. While we were excited that he learned how to swim and could have fun with his new skill, it was more important that he could save his life. Liam completed his ISR training in 2003, where at just over 14 months he was able to swim with his face in the water, roll back to take a breath and flip back over to make it safely to the side of the pool. Here was a little guy who had only been walking for three months and now could save his own life fully clothed. Words can’t describe how I felt when I watched him roll onto his back for the first time by himself, what a sense of joy and relief, not to mention my racing heart and cold chills down my arms. This was such a moving experience for me that I decided that I too wanted to be able to teach children to save their life. I still get those feelings each time a child makes rotation from face down to face up by themselves – you know now they have a chance to survive!

I completed my initial certification in 2003 and began working on my Master Instructor certification in 2007. Training to become a Master Instructor consists of 10 additional weeks of training and academic study in the areas of anatomy, physiology, psychology, behavior and theory with a Senior Master Instructor. I am also responsible for training new instructors and quality control through mentoring other ISR instructors in the area.

Being an ISR Instructor is not a job, it is a passion. I feel very lucky to have been accepted into a training program with an organization that is dedicated to enriching and saving the lives of children. Over 40 years of research and commitment to safety make ISR unique.  It is an honor to be part of ISR and to teach children self-rescue techniques to save their life in the event that all the other barriers of protection break down.

As a Brevard County resident for over 26 years I am honored to be able to teach such an important life saving skill to the children of this community.