BALTIMORE, Md. — A Baltimore swim program is working to make water safety a skill that everyone, regardless of age or ability, can access.
Baltimore swim coach on a mission to make swim safety accessible
R-Trainers, founded by swim coach Danny Russell, offers lessons at multiple pools in the Baltimore area with a focus on what Russell calls water is wellness.
"Whether it's open water, pool water, or somewhere in between. It's a skill that's very important that a lot of young people and adults in our community simply don't have," Russell said.
Russell grew up swimming and competed on the swim team at Coppin State. During the pandemic, he started teaching swim lessons on the side. As demand grew, he launched R-Trainers as a dedicated program.
"Watching people come in not knowing how to swim, but wanting to be part of it and taking ownership of this mission of being water safe. Coming with a story of trauma of how they almost drowned or had a family member drown, and now they're jumping with confidence into 10 feet of water," Russell said.
They offer private lessons, parent/child swimming, adaptive swim, sensory swim, lifeguard certification and more. Lessons are $25 per session, with sibling discounts available.
"I have families as large as 6 that are coming in; we want to make sure it's a skill that's affordable," Russell said. "The goal is for anyone from 6 months to 60+ to learn how to swim," Russell said.
He also sits on the board for Diversity in Aquatics with a mission to bring swimming back to HBCUs. When he was a freshman at Coppin State, his swim career was cut short after the swim team lost funding.
He hopes his programming can aid in that mission and help young people grow.
"We have some of my swimmers who actually started with me not knowing how to swim as early as last year, and now they're in here as junior instructors, so we look at swimming also as workforce development," said Russell.
Justice Riggins is one of those junior instructors. She has a goal of becoming a lifeguard.
"I feel like I have a connection with the water. When I'm in the water, I feel like I'm in my safe space," Riggins said.
She's been swimming since 2022. Many others have learned within the last year.
"I was afraid to go in the water first. I practiced more, and now I'm on the swim team, Splash Crabs," Zara Armstrong said.
Swimmer Heru Broughton Easterling had a similar experience.
"Before, I was scared to get into the deep end; now it's just casual business," Broughton Easterling said.
For anyone hesitant to take the first step, he had simple advice.
"I think you should just try and hop in. You only live once," Broughton Easterling said.
If you're interested in getting lessons with R-Trainers, click here.
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