ABOUT US

We Teach Swimming (WETS) has been teaching children how to swim and be safe in water since 1996.  My journey in Aquatics started long before I was born. In the 1940's, my mother took her first swim lessons as a teenager.  After being hooked by the ability to move freely through the waters of Lake Winnipeg, she successfully challenged the competitive world of Aquatics and a few short years later made it her career.

OUR STORY

We Teach Swimming (WETS) is year-round swimming instruction, dedicated to teaching kids to swim in a safe, warm, loving and FUN environment. It was conceived in 1996 by me, Donna Morel, after observing how children often struggled to learn to swim in large public pools settings. WETS offers exceptional swim instruction with smaller class sizes for more individual attention, and in a private pool there are fewer distractions. By streamlining the teaching methods it has proven effect in teaching swimming easier and faster for the Instructors and swimmers.

Additionally, I noticed that many families had difficulty scheduling swimming lessons into their family schedules. WETS was designed to cater to the convenience of families with busy schedules offering multi-level classes one day a week/session, trying to put siblings together or in back to back classes.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Swimming, unlike most land based skills; it is a uniquely different process of development.  The four developed skills needed to swim successfully are: buoyancy, streamlining, breathe control and propulsion.

Learning a physical skill like swimming requires many things including physical, mental and emotional readiness.  At WETS we use a foundation building process where skills are developed at a gradual pace starting from the simple and progressing to more complex. There is an emphasis on the progressions of the strokes rather than the swim level, so a swimmer could be working on 2 levels during a session and progressing at their own pace through the continuum. We have a simple set of drills that all the Instructors use to develop all strokes.

You will observe that throughout our swimming instruction we repeatedly practice a skill over and over in short distances, perfecting the technique before moving to longer distances. Swimmers who try to improve skills by swimming longer and harder without correct technique results in constantly struggling, inefficient movement and unnecessary tiredness.  Essentially practicing the stroke incorrectly, creating frustration and a poor quality swimmer.

Like most physical challenges, swimming is more than a physical experience. There is a great deal of emotion involved as well as some mental processing while the actual learning takes place on the physical level.  Each skill is acquired through progressive movement and the repeated occurrence of that action.  The brain then assimilates each experience and through nurture and reinforcement, recognizes familiar patterns of movement (muscle memory).  This repetition of doing it again and again helps the student feel the skill and remember it.

Our Instructors:

Darby Michalina Milner

Hi to all swimmers! My name is Darby Michalina Milner and I am 19 years old. I have lived in Kelowna since I was 4 years old and absolutely LOVE being in, on and around the water. I have been teaching swimming lessons for 3 years now and am currently a swim coach for the Ogopogo Summer Swim Club. I love the water so much that my parents gave me the nickname of Fish Girl. I am a certified lifeguard, swimming instructor and am currently completing my Water Safety Instructor Trainer course. I currently attend UBCO taking my undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Arts program. A little know fact about me is the Donna was the person who taught me how to swim and now I teach for her! I look forward to seeing everyone at the pool!

Lauren Bytelaar

My name is Lauren and I have been teaching for WETS for over 3 years. With my background in competitive swimming and my love for the water and children, it only seemed fitting to pursue employment in this field of work. Ever since completing my lifeguard and swimming instructor courses (NLS, WSI, and LSI), I have been teaching for Donna Morel.
A part from my love for the water and teaching kids, I also have a passion for Geography and traveling. I have recently graduated from UBCO with a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in Human Geography and a minor in French, with one of my years of studies spent in Norway and Uganda. It is my future goal to find employment in the field of city planning and urban development.

Courtney Dieno

My name is Courtney Dieno and I've been a swimmer ever since I was a baby. My goal at a young age was to be a Lifeguard and I soon realized that I would love to be a Swim Instructor as well. I've been teaching for Donna since I first moved to Kelowna 3 years ago. I was raised in North Vancouver and fell in love with Kelowna after spending a summer here. My passion is Scuba Diving and it is here in Okanagan Lake that I accomplished my dream of being a certified Diver in hopes that one day I become an Instructor and travel the world.

Brittany Jeffries

I became interested in teaching swimming when I was 13 years old. I began my swimming courses as soon as I could and now I love teaching and being in the water. I have been teaching with WETS for a year and a half now. When I'm not in the water, I am dancing. I have danced since I was 5 years old and hope to keep dance a part of my life.
In the future I plan to continue teaching swimming while attending UBCO. I will be going to school to become a Pharmacist.

Bryanna White

I have been competitive swimming for over 14 years (and loved all of it)! I have been teaching swim lessons for WETS for 3 years and have coached with the Ogopogo Summer Swim Club for 6. I love the water and teaching new swimmers to love it as well! I am entering my third year at Queen's University where I have swum on the Varsity Swim Team for the past 2 years.

TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES!

We are looking for top notch Instructors!
We are always looking for reliable, energetic instructors for our growing year around program. A.M., P.M. and/or weekends. For information, call Donna at 250-470-7496 or email her at