Hi! I’m from Waverly, Ne,----just down the road! Growing up, Waverly had no pool so my parents drove me daily into Lincoln, summers, to swim for Ballard Pool. From summer league, to year round swim team, to UNL, I had a very successful swimming career.
I became a lifeguard in 1977 as Waverly built a new swimming pool. All lifeguards HAD to teach the Red Cross Lessons. It was there I realized my gift AND passion for teaching kids to swim—a revelation at age 16! I moved into Lincoln to attend UNL, was offered a place on the UNL team, declined, but continued to teach lessons during the summer as a head instructor for the Red Cross. Soon families begged me to teach their kids privately. It wasn’t long before I began my own business, in my parent's backyard, in a 15 ft., above ground, round swimming pool. One student at a time...I loved it!
I worked my way through college teaching lessons, graduated in 1985 with a BS degree in Business (finance) and decided a swimsuit was still my "suit" of choice so I continued to grow my already long list of clients. From that 15 ft above ground pool to a 16x20 above ground pool to an 18x36 inground pool, it was so wonderful...but for only 5 months out of the year. I dreamed of an indoor pool. I began renting every indoor pool in Lincoln during the winter months. I'm thankful for the facilities around town that allowed me to continue my business. But when they saw the number of swimmers, rent increased exponentially. That was difficult and discouraging but my business continued to grow.
I now have a beautiful, indoor, heated pool complete with a deep end and a diving board! I've been here, in the middle of town, since 2002 and I absolutely love it!! I've spent hours, weeks, months and years remodeling and updating and am very proud of this facility. I've tweaked my swim program consistently and the results are astounding! Rhonda's Swim Academy has been strictly word of mouth and I'm grateful for the families who pass along my name and the friendships and relationships we've developed. I love to watch these swimmers grow and I keep track of them for years after they've completed my swim program. Many ask to come back and teach here. It's so rewarding to be teaching third generations of families. Previous teachers wait until their children turn four and then bring them to me. I am so honored.
Eventually I developed and coached the Stingrays Swim Team competing in the City Swim and Dive League. This fulfilled another passion--coaching swim teams. That was five years of fun!!
I’ve now hosted over 600 birthday parties, offer Open Swims, Swim n Shops, Camp Stingray and JumpStart. Summer 2022, we had over 1,100 swimmers in 11 weeks from over 33 different communities in Nebraska and 31 different states from New Jersey to Oregon and Washington. And we keep growing. Word of mouth has been my only advertisement for the last 35 years.
Swim moms claim I’m the best kept secret in Lincoln. Others have said “better than private” and ArubaSusie says “be prepared to be amazed”. "Jaxon" asked if he could come here and swim everyday instead of going to school.
We are well known for our four day sessions. I can’t remember ever being asked for a refund. Ask around. You know families that have come here—please feel free to ask them for references.
We’re going strong and plan to continue for a very long time! Come join us!
