[Jeff Hail]

Like learning to swim.

2- 1/2 year olds. Locked inside a giant indoor pool facility. All the parents looking through the glass at the group from the outside. No parent is coming to save them.

One by one they drop them feet first into the Olympic size pool at the edge and let them cling on to the track drains a bit. Get used to the water. No waddle wings. A couple of safety person about 3 feet away towards the middle keeping an eye out. If anything went wrong they would just pluck a kid out. They dont get out until they turn around and face the safety and then lunge at them like Jaws is pushing them, then get relayed off to another safety closer to the steps and walk it off out of the pool.

Then all the kids are lined up and are led to the diving board single file, adults strategically placed so no kid can haul butt and run. Some kids just just walked to the edge of the board & jumped into the water on own into waiting arms of a safety. Some kids just stood there freaking out. They got pushed into the water below into the arms of a safety. Everyone popped up out of the water and were pushed to the side one at a time like a system and plucked out of the water.

Some crying , some laughing with snot hanging from noses but everyone got the hang of it quickly and the routine. 30 minutes of this repitition every single kid was swimming like Spitz, laughing and with confidence could not wait to get back in the water.

They didn't need anyones approval. That was in 1966 at the Van Nuys YMCA. No fear.