HomeTown News
BY TAMMY ROBERTS
SpaceCoast Medicine
BY MARIA SONNENBERG
Legacy Junior Lifeguard Program Teaches Fitness, Water Safety
June 5, 2009
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA - A very close call made local athlete Donna Bollinger realize the need for a program that teaches youngsters the skills necessary to survive in the ocean.
While enjoying a North Carolina beach, her then nine-year-old son Ben and two of his friends got caught in a rip current. Bollinger, a year-round swimmer, saved them, but it was touch-and-go. “I brought those kids up against the rip current because I was too panicked to get out,” she said.
From that near tragedy emerged the Legacy Junior Lifeguard Program, a camp that teaches students between the ages of seven to 17 to meet the sea in their own terms.
Cocoa Beach Hilton Hosts Venue
Hosted in the safe environment of the Cocoa Beach Hilton Hotel, the Junior Lifeguard Program studies topics that range from lifesaving principles to marine ecology and biology. “We cannot thank Jason McKee enough for helping us to get it started in the Cocoa Beach Hilton,” said Bollinger.
The camp is perfect for youngsters who want to raise their ocean competency as well as students who are interested in becoming certified lifeguards. The program is about more than just water safety. “The ocean provides us with very important life lessons,” said Bollinger.
Part of the camp involves tailing real lifeguards as they go about their duties and in the process learning the value of mental and physical discipline. The lifeguard camp is part of Legacy Sports and Life Skills, an educational organization that uses sports to develop leadership skills.
For information about upcoming sessions of the Junior Lifeguard Program, CLICK HERE, or call 890-6561 or 557-2761.
Hometown News
BY TAMMY ROBERTS
Florida Today
BY KAITLYN NORTON
FloridaToday
September 19, 2008
BY RICK NEALE
FloridaToday
BY JENNIFER TORRES
