40-Year Swim Coach Ready to Hit the Water for Another Season

For Linda Cassidy, swimming isn’t just a fun summer activity – it’s a way of life.

Growing up on Clearwater Beach, Cassidy was taught by her father at an early age that, if you live near water, you must know how to swim and respect the water for the powerful and sometimes-dangerous element that it is.

For the past 40 years, Cassidy has been sharing this lesson with both children and adults throughout Pasco County.

Now she's preparing to hit the pool for another summer season as the aquatics manager of the New Port Richey Recreation & Aquatic Center.

"I began coaching competitive swimming in 1973, and in 1983 I started the first competitive swim team in Pasco County, the Pasco Aquatic Club, at the New Port Richey pool,” said Cassidy. “These days, I am seeing the kids that I once coached on swim team bring their own children to me for swim lessons. When I ask them why they aren’t teaching them themselves, their response is ‘because it was a good experience.’ I couldn’t ask for a better response.”

Cassidy attended earned her Red Cross Water Safety Instructor certificate in 1984.

“I wanted to learn more about the teaching and fundamental aspects of swimming, especially for young children,” said Cassidy. “Once I knew the basics, I learned everything I could about working with babies and preschoolers, and they have become my prime focus for swim lessons.

"Teaching young children to swim and to be safe in the water, especially those that are afraid of water when they first start, gives me the greatest satisfaction," she said. "I want a child to learn to enjoy the water and be comfortable in it.”

Registration for summer swim lessons at the center began this week.

Eight sessions of swim lessons will be offered this year, beginning May 21. All sessions run two weeks (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday).

Classes range from Parent Tot and Preschool lessons to the American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim program levels 1 – 5. A Development Stroke class and an Adult Scare-D-Cat and Technique class are also available.

Each session costs $30 for members and $40 for nonmembers. The development stroke class and the adult class have different prices.

Registration will be held at the front desk every Saturday morning between 10 a.m. and noon and Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

For more information, call the New Port Richey Recreation & Aquatic Center at 727-841-4560 or visit www.cityofnewportrichey.org.

For more details, click here.

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