Swim coaches at SR, HA, and NCS/St A’s involved in lifeguarding scandal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a test. And there was re-certification for all of them with a test. The article is incorrect. I am amazed all of you believe everything you read. Or perhaps you get your news from Truth Social as well? Would be par for the course for the dcurbanmom crowd lol

So we are supposed to believe what you, an anonymous poster on the internet, writes?

ID yourself so we can check if you are a credible source.

Someone has been telling a very consistent and disturbing story for some time now: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1209730.page#27661160

If this is some kind of cruel conspiracy against people who charge huge amounts for very short certification classes, it's very, very well orchestrated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a test. And there was re-certification for all of them with a test. The article is incorrect. I am amazed all of you believe everything you read. Or perhaps you get your news from Truth Social as well? Would be par for the course for the dcurbanmom crowd lol

So we are supposed to believe what you, an anonymous poster on the internet, writes?

ID yourself so we can check if you are a credible source.

Someone has been telling a very consistent and disturbing story for some time now: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1209730.page#27661160

If this is some kind of cruel conspiracy against people who charge huge amounts for very short certification classes, it's very, very well orchestrated.

Especially effective when the Stone Ridge/Kenwood coach who has been banned by the RedCross admitted it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This article is overblown- there was a disgruntled employee who called the Red Cross and alleged that two instructors were providing substandard classes despite the fact that these instructors have been providing classes for decades and producing refectory good lifeguards.

What the article probably doesn’t cover is that this employee was passed over for a job by one of the coaches and was out for blood- lied to the RC and to the Washington Post. I am actually surprised this got covered so sloppily tbh

No, the course was drastically shortened and did not allow students to do much hands-on practice, which is seriously deficient.This is corroborrated by actual attendees.

Don't spread lies. This is a huge scandal and the coaches involved should be disciplined by their respective schools. They just do not take saving lives seriously.

[Anonymous]

The Red Cross has been in the cross hairs for quite some time, for allowing shoddy certifications procedures and taking attendee's money. It's about time they cracked down! They need to do this consistently, which they're not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a test. And there was re-certification for all of them with a test. The article is incorrect. I am amazed all of you believe everything you read. Or perhaps you get your news from Truth Social as well? Would be par for the course for the dcurbanmom crowd lol

So we are supposed to believe what you, an anonymous poster on the internet, writes?

ID yourself so we can check if you are a credible source.

Someone has been telling a very consistent and disturbing story for some time now: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1209730.page#27661160

If this is some kind of cruel conspiracy against people who charge huge amounts for very short certification classes, it's very, very well orchestrated.

Especially effective when the Stone Ridge/Kenwood coach who has been banned by the RedCross admitted it.

Yeah, the facts are pretty established here. At best, it was shoddy behavior, at worst it was fraud. Either way is pathetic, huge apologies owed and money reimbursed.

[Anonymous]

I'm glad to see the Red Cross banned those "coaches", and it should ban any instructor who was there that day in a support role as well. Furthermore, they should lose their full time jobs. These "professionals" knew their class was fraudulent. Have they provided their bogus class before? How many times? It happens every summer that a lifeguard has to make a save. A life is potentially at stake. But who cares when we're charging $400 a kid? Why is it so hard to be honest?

Two of my kids are lifeguards. They took the lifesaving course through Montgomery County. I paid $50 for one of them. For the second, the county was in need of guards, so they offered a coupon for $50 off the class if you agreed to work at a county pool after getting your certification, so it cost $0. Since neither had their drivers license yet, I sat and watched much of the training. Both times it seemed to me that it was a thorough class and there were more than a few kids in the course who did not pass, whether they failed the initial swim test or one of the later tests.

That's right, there is no need to pay $400 or more for bogus training at a fancy location! ($400 for recertification? Really?) You can go to the public pool and pay $50 if you're a Montgomery County resident, or $65 if a non-resident. If you're a guard for the county, the county provides the recertification course free of charge. That one was two full days over a weekend. Good for the students who spoke to the Red Cross, and good for the parent who raised the issue.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting the follow up to this. I was pretty disturbed by the allegations, which have now been corroborated. What they did was deceptive and put swimmers (and the teen lifeguards themselves) at risk.

[Anonymous]

When I was being Red Cross certified 30+ years ago, we were not allowed to pass until we dove to the bottom of the 18 ft diving well at the then Montgomery Aquatic Center and retrieved a 10 lb brick. That exercise alone took a minimum 4 hours to practice and master. This is crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was being Red Cross certified 30+ years ago, we were not allowed to pass until we dove to the bottom of the 18 ft diving well at the then Montgomery Aquatic Center and retrieved a 10 lb brick. That exercise alone took a minimum 4 hours to practice and master. This is crazy.

That's still part of the county course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm glad to see the Red Cross banned those "coaches", and it should ban any instructor who was there that day in a support role as well. Furthermore, they should lose their full time jobs. These "professionals" knew their class was fraudulent. Have they provided their bogus class before? How many times? It happens every summer that a lifeguard has to make a save. A life is potentially at stake. But who cares when we're charging $400 a kid? Why is it so hard to be honest?

Two of my kids are lifeguards. They took the lifesaving course through Montgomery County. I paid $50 for one of them. For the second, the county was in need of guards, so they offered a coupon for $50 off the class if you agreed to work at a county pool after getting your certification, so it cost $0. Since neither had their drivers license yet, I sat and watched much of the training. Both times it seemed to me that it was a thorough class and there were more than a few kids in the course who did not pass, whether they failed the initial swim test or one of the later tests.

That's right, there is no need to pay $400 or more for bogus training at a fancy location! ($400 for recertification? Really?) You can go to the public pool and pay $50 if you're a Montgomery County resident, or $65 if a non-resident. If you're a guard for the county, the county provides the recertification course free of charge. That one was two full days over a weekend. Good for the students who spoke to the Red Cross, and good for the parent who raised the issue.

$400 vs. $50?

Typical.

Wonder if the coaches/teachers/school administrators bothered to reimburse the students who trusted them.

Unlikely.

[Anonymous]

This is a shocking story. I seriously question the judgement of these swim coaches. I hope they get strong reprimands from their schools.
I would not be thrilled if these folks are my kids swim coaches

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a shocking story. I seriously question the judgement of these swim coaches. I hope they get strong reprimands from their schools.
I would not be thrilled if these folks are my kids swim coaches

Of all of the things to clutch your pearls about this one is not so shocking. Someone overcharged for a bad life guarding course, I hope you’ve alerted the FBI. You won’t believe what some private school teachers charge for tutoring, which may or may not be effective. Who keeps on bringing up this story?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a shocking story. I seriously question the judgement of these swim coaches. I hope they get strong reprimands from their schools.
I would not be thrilled if these folks are my kids swim coaches

Of all of the things to clutch your pearls about this one is not so shocking. Someone overcharged for a bad life guarding course, I hope you’ve alerted the FBI. You won’t believe what some private school teachers charge for tutoring, which may or may not be effective. Who keeps on bringing up this story?

True, the tutoring fees many charge are ridiculously high. But at the independent schools our children have attended, teachers cannot solicit their students for tutoring. They can only be paid to tutor kids that aren't their students.

This lifeguarding class was inadequate. Either the disgruntled employee reported it to the Red Cross, or the Red Cross identified a problem in follow up surveys by their quality assurance team. Both may have happened concurrently.

The big problem here is that the coaches failed to admit their error and refund the money, or provide another full class once they were contacted by the Red Cross. In this case, it is no wonder that there was a lifetime suspension issued by the organization.

I believe the only way the coaches will get in trouble with their schools is if they actively solicited students for the lifeguarding class at school or via the school email system. That would likely be the red line. It isn't clear from the Post article if the teenager quoted was a student at any of these schools.

A note to the coaches: Going back and deleting emails from your account won't erase the email trail. It's 2024, everything is backed up.

[Anonymous]

Kenwood club should ban these coaches from holding any classes at the club at least for 3 years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a shocking story. I seriously question the judgement of these swim coaches. I hope they get strong reprimands from their schools.
I would not be thrilled if these folks are my kids swim coaches

Of all of the things to clutch your pearls about this one is not so shocking. Someone overcharged for a bad life guarding course, I hope you’ve alerted the FBI. You won’t believe what some private school teachers charge for tutoring, which may or may not be effective. Who keeps on bringing up this story?

I think some of us have higher standards than you. If I send my kid to a lifeguarding class I expect them to be trained properly. I expect my kids sports coaches to have good judgment and be ethical people. I expect them to be strong role models for my kid. Being a lifeguard is a life and death business. It is not to be taken lightly.