The Lake Highlands YMCA pool during renovation
If it seems like things are hip and happening at the Lake Highlands Family YMCA, you’re right. Since new Aquatics Director Skye Shepherd arrived in August, the indoor pool and deck has been refurbished, the Y has launched a new swim team – the Stingrays, and the gym floor has been resurfaced. Swimming lessons have been added during the school year for home-schooled kids and they’re looking to start a class for special needs children. That’s in addition, of course, to their signature Make-A-Splash program, which keeps kids in LH apartment communities safe with free swim lessons.
And the ideas just keep coming.
“When I got here, we just had swim team prep, so if you wanted to be on swim team you had to go somewhere else,” explains Shepherd. “I have three coaches who are fantastic, and a lot of people are excited and want to join. We’ll offer classes for boys and girls aged 5-18, including a Cub team. They’ll get to compete against other [YMCA] branches – it’s a community-building opportunity.”
“Being on swim team builds relationships with teammates and coaches,” continued Shepherd, “and it’s great for health, especially for young teens. They also learn that being somewhere on time pays off. At the meets, they get ribbons when they swim a good time, and then going to a big meet shows them what a big sporting event is like. It broadens their horizons.”
Some, Shepherd says, will go on to their high school swim team or switch to other sports, while others might shift to music, dance or other activities, but the lessons will transfer with them.
“This can be prep for high school swim team, but it’s also for some who might be uncomfortable with other sports. It’s not super-competitive – you can come here and swim and hang out with your friends. Parents can come and drop their kids off while they workout. The Cub team can try it out and learn discipline and endurance – often with their swimming siblings. It’s fun to see them get better and try hard. At the YMCA, you can be competitive but that’s a choice and not a burden.”
Ironically, Shepherd was never on swim team as a kid. The confessed “jock,” a transfer from the Oklahoma City YMCA, was busy with basketball, softball, track and dance.
“You were not going to get me in a swim suit growing up,” laughs Shepherd, “but I started coming to the Y to work out during college and I saw that they needed lifeguards. Brian Wilcox, a wonderful aquatics director, taught me how to do lifeguarding and how to teach lessons. I fell in love with teaching and coaching and swimming, and I never stopped.”
Coaching, she says, enables her to make an impact in the lives of children far beyond the pool.
“It’s about making a deeper difference – definitely,” says Shepherd. “I had a boy, Charlie, who aged out of the Y team and tried out for the school team. He was always so excited to see me and tell me how he was doing. He did football too, and he was always trying to find the balance – ‘hey, Skye, what do think about this?’ And it began to be about making good decisions, not just about ‘how can I swim better?’ I used to stress to him touching the wall at the end – don’t halfway do it. Finish. There was a deeper meaning he needed to learn – he needed to go all the way.”
If you’d like to meet Shepherd, swing by the pool and say hello. Executive Director Clint Elliott says you can also check out their new exercise equipment: 4 brand new Precore Ellipticals, 2 new Cybex Arc Trainers, and 2 Precor AMT’s. If you’re not a member, the folks at the front desk can help you with that. The LH YMCA is located at 8920 Stults Road at Greenville Avenue.
The Lake Highlands YMCA pool has been renovated and is now open for business.
