On Aug. 15, aspiring teen lifeguards learned what it\u2019s like to actually work in the field, being schooled by Junior Lifeguard interns at Mission Beach on first-aid and water-rescue techniques.\u00a0
\nThat day, lifeguard hopefuls, in a bootcamp-style setting, got the chance to shadow Junior Lifeguard interns for a day of mentorship and learning.
\nThe Junior Lifeguard Program teaches youth ages 7 to 17 important life and safety skills, including water-rescue techniques, first aid and CPR.\u00a0
\nIt was a dress rehearsal for Junior Lifeguard Internship Program participants, many of whom will go on to become seasonal and professional lifeguards with San Diego Fire Department or other agencies.
\nStarting out at Santa Clara Recreation Center, the day combined fun, camaraderie and hard work for 26 teen junior lifeguard interns. This year\u2019s intern field, for the first time, was more female than male, 19 women and seven men.
\n“We like to empower these females and give them the confidence that they really can do this job,” said San Diego Junior Lifeguard intern coordinator Lauren Leisk. \u00a0
\n“We give them individualized lifeguard training on rescue swimming and first aid, the things they\u2019re going to need when they try out to become lifeguards.”
\nAdded Leisk, “We go over to the beach and train them on how to rescue someone with their fins and rescue boards, train them on water observation, and on how to properly package someone on a backboard, how to splint someone off with a broken arm.”
\nInterns are hired and paid to support City lifeguard staff during the program\u2019s two, four-week summer aquatic education sessions.
\nAug. 15 was especially significant for at least one of this year\u2019s female interns, Ava Smith from Northern California. She failed on her first attempt at becoming a Junior Lifeguard intern, but returned for a second try and succeeded.
\n“It\u2019s my dream job,” said Smith, adding she was “absolutely devastated,” after falling short the first time.
\nAsked why she wants to be a lifeguard, Smith answered: “Being able to make a difference and save people\u2019s lives. Being an intern is kind of a sneak peak at that.”
\nSmith ran 12 miles and swam four miles that day. Other program interns had run six miles and swam two.
\n“It\u2019s not fun in the moment when you\u2019re doing push ups or running a mile, but when you look back at it, you have such fond memories,” Smith said.
\nDuring the day, lifeguard interns ran relay races on the beach. They also swam out in pairs to marked ocean buoys, with one swimmer “rescuing” the other and bringing them ashore.
\n“The Junior Lifeguard Program is a unique learning opportunity for young men and women in San Diego, and our interns are an expression of that,” said Lifeguard chief James Gartland. “Junior lifeguards look up to interns and find inspiration in knowing that hard work and dedication will often yield personal growth and leadership roles.”
\nThe\u00a0Junior Lifeguard Program\u00a0is funded by the City of San Diego with support from the Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Aug. 15, aspiring teen lifeguards learned what it\u2019s like to actually work in the field, being schooled by Junior Lifeguard interns at Mission Beach on first-aid and water-rescue techniques.\u00a0 That day, lifeguard hopefuls, in a bootcamp-style setting, got the chance to shadow Junior Lifeguard interns for a day of mentorship and learning. The Junior […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":267243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11559","_seopress_titles_title":"Junior Lifeguards learn the ropes in Mission Beach","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11559,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-267242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beach-bay-press","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}