The headlines in Fort Worth, Texas, had been harrowing. Several fatal drownings, including one of a Masters swimmer who had been swimming in a lake, had led recent newscasts, and the Masters swimmers on Fort Worth’s Team Ridglea were paying attention.

Four children from Como, a historically African-American community in Fort Worth, drowned in 2015, deaths that led the Fort Worth Drowning Prevention Coalition to partner with a local swim school and Como First Missionary Baptist Church to provide free swim lessons.

Sarasota (Fla.) Y Sharks Swimmer Bill Ewell completed the U.S. Masters Swimming’s adult learn-to-swim instructor certification course in 2016 and has taught ALTS lessons since April at a YMCA.

Aaron Taylor struggled to find students for adult learn-to-swim classes at his Sarasota, Fla., YMCA branch for the first three months of the year. The U.S. Masters Swimming ALTS initiative fixed the aquatics director’s problem in April.

Steve Woolson was one of 29 people who signed up for adult learn-to-swim classes offered in April at a YMCA in Sarasota, Fla. Members of the Sarasota YMCA Sharks Masters club volunteered their time to teach the twice-a-week lessons.

Exploring and learning are two verbs that describe what I try to do daily. It’s in my nature to be curious and to discover what is unknown to me. This has led me to swimming lessons—because I want to do it all, but swimming eludes me. There’s such a beautiful world out in the water, but I can’t just jump in. That frustrates and saddens me. Not swimming keeps me from living my life the way I want.

A few weeks ago while coaching a Saturday morning practice, I had the chance to meet Mari Soliman on deck. Right away, I thought, “She looks like she could be a swimmer.” She looked confident yet a little nervous. When she approached, she was outgoing, happy, and excited to get started.

In this second installment of Mari Soliman's Adult Learn-to-Swim Story, USMS catches up with Mari to talk about how her swimming lessons with her USMS-certified adult learn-to-swim instructor, Megan Lassen, are progressing.

In this second installment of Mari Soliman's Adult Learn-to-Swim Story, USMS catches up with USMS-certified ALTS instructor Megan Lassen to talk about how her swimming lessons with her student, Mari, are progressing.

I consider myself a free spirit. I love exploration, freedom, and change. I’ve never liked feeling restrained, and not knowing how to swim was keeping me caged. I wanted to just jump in the water without my fears tying me down. So several months ago, I decided to reach my lifelong dream of learning to swim.