Category: Targeted Programming
City of Round Rock Parks and Recreation
Round Rock, Texas
Year Awarded: 2020
The mission
Aquatics managers for the City of Round Rock, Texas noticed that few of their pool attendants took the steps needed to become lifeguards, despite an interest in working close to the water, helping visitors, and assisting lifeguards. Even with the city offering free lifeguard training classes for pool attendants, no more than one in 100 took the leap to get to the next level.
When leadership examined the situation, they realized the attendants weren’t confident in their swimming and water skills. As a result, they’d start taking lifeguard training and would either leave after the first session or have to drop off when they didn’t meet skill requirements.
A lot of enthusiasm went to waste: Teens who had been excited at the prospect of becoming lifeguards tried but then left feeling defeated if they didn’t have the swimming skills.
Brilliance at work
Nichole Bohner, aquatics division manager for the City of Round Rock, worked with the aquatics supervisor and a team of lifeguard instructors to develop a new program aimed at helping pool attendants build the swimming and water skills needed to pass prerequisites for lifeguard training. They called it the Pool Attendant to Lifeguard Program.
The instruction lasts one month and leads up to the week-long lifeguard training class. It fills an important gap for teenage pool attendants who need the foundational skills and swimming instruction but don’t want to take beginner classes with children.
Special highlights
The program is specifically designed for pool attendants (who are typically teenagers), so the group can bond with others their age who are learning these skills together. It allows for a safe space to express frustrations about not having learned water skills at an earlier age.
Pool attendants are invited to attend in-service trainings that are focused on more basic lifeguard skills — a strategy that helps easily integrate them into lifeguard staff.
When pool attendants do become lifeguards, they’re enthusiastic advocates, because the aquatics division invested in them.
The latest
Four years later, the Pool Attendant to Lifeguard Program is still active and has become a great recruitment tool for both pool attendants and lifeguards. So far, 62 people have completed the program and gone on to become lifeguards.
The program’s structure has remained the same, according to Bohner, who said the approach has proven successful. Since the participants are teens, it’s tailored for that age group.
“Learning with peers helps keep them motivated and engaged as they go through the coaching and course together,” Bohner explained. It also fosters the ability to work in a team, which creates a positive culture among lifeguards.
Having this program as an option fills gaps in training that many teens have if they weren’t exposed to traditional swim lessons at a younger age. Those who aren’t confident in their swimming ability can connect with peers and learn the skills together.
Bohner notes that the program has helped build the division’s strong lifeguard culture, which has been instrumental in driving recruitment and retention. Young people are mentored, and their lifeguarding experience can serve them no matter what career path they choose.
“Showing our team that service to community translates to all walks and all career paths has benefitted us and will benefit them,” said Bohner. “It’s giving them value beyond just a summer job and ensuring they understand that value.”
In 2023 and 2024, there were a total of 300 available positions for pool attendants and lifeguards, and they received more than 500 applications. The increase in interest has allowed the aquatics division to pull from a more competitive applicant pool.
