You can expect a lot more instructional videos from AI in 2018.
Starting in January, Aquatics International will publish one video each week that demonstrates a lifeguarding skill that I feel is critical to your training.
We’re calling it the Weekly Warm-Up series —a resource that instructors and in-service trainers can use to keep their guards’ skills fresh, especially during the offseason, and push them in new, more challenging directions.
The 52 videos will cover at least six topics, including glove application; rescue tubes; team towing; one-armed towing; disengaging from rescue equipment; positioning around victim; and finally, primary assessment.
Each Tuesday, I’ll introduce a new video, explaining the purpose of the drill, as well as those crucial performance measures that the instructor should keep a keen eye on. This is as much a training exercise for guards as it is for instructors. Throughout this series, I want to help instructors develop a critical eye.
When you watch your team execute a drill, how confident are you that you’re not overlooking some small, but critical detail? What does it look like when guards practice to the best of their lifesaving abilities? These videos will not only demonstrate how to conduct certain drills, but I’ll be providing commentary, breaking down what the team is doing right, and what it’s doing wrong – instant-replay style – giving you a good baseline comparison for your own team’s performance.
Each series will begin with the fundamentals and advance each week, becoming progressively more challenging.
By the end of each series, your team should be proficient in each of the aforementioned exercises.
Weekly Warm-Ups will also help you expand your repertoire of training programs. Too often, I see instructors stuck on the certification fundamentals. I want to challenge you to better incorporate the specifics of your facility, an emergency action plan, the uniqueness of the equipment you work with and the local policies governing your operation into your in-service training.
To kick off Weekly Warm-Ups, I’m challenging guards to glove up quickly and without delaying care to the victim. In the onset of a rescue, this is not something you want waste precious time on. I go over the objectives in the introductory video above. In the drill video below, you’ll see a breakdown of how the team performed. Turn up the volume, and listen close.
Stay tuned to aquaticsintl.com and “Like” Aquatics International on Facebook for new videos every Tuesday.
Good luck, and keep training!
