‘Ole’s Swim School’ to replace LTS

Augustana’s Learn to Swim (LTS) program looks different this fall. The program has a new name, curriculum and, for the first time, the entire university’s swim and dive team teaching its lessons.

The program, which has offered lessons to children in the Sioux Falls community since 1989, is now operating as Ole’s Swim School. The change also means that students who previously taught through LTS are no longer able to teach the program.

Senior and head lifeguard Kailah Miller worked as an LTS instructor for three years and developed strong relationships with her swim students and their families.

Miller said she knew a curriculum change was coming and expected to receive an email about it before the school year started, but instead, she found out she was out of a job.

“I was working, and then had people come up to me like, ‘Kayla, why aren’t we teaching anymore?’” Miller said. “I’m like, ‘we’re not? Wait, what do you mean we’re not teaching anymore?’”

Logan Haak, director of recreational services, said he’s more than willing to help previous LTS instructors find employment options through the Elmen Center or elsewhere on campus. He said he’s excited for the collaboration between rec services and the athletics department and believes there may be an opportunity in the future for more students to teach at Ole’s Swim School. 

Andrew Makepeace, head coach of the swim and dive team, said that when Haak stepped into his position in 2024 they had a few conversations about the swim and dive team’s role with LTS. 

Makepeace said last spring the two met again to solidify the team’s involvement, whether that be permanent or temporary. They decided the swim team would give lessons and receive team funding in return. 

“We’re still ironing out details,” Makepeace said.

Ole’s Swim School’s new curriculum, written over the summer, is designed to take young swimmers further in their skills faster than the previously taught American Red Cross curriculum. 

The end goal isn’t just drowning prevention; Makepeace said he wants the swim students to see what a future in competitive swimming looks like — and he wants to set them up for success. 

Colleen Lawrence, present LTS coordinator and previous AU swim team member and LTS instructor, said the thought process for each team member’s mandatory involvement stemmed from the idea of fundraising for the team.

Every National Collegiate Athletic Association athlete on campus has to volunteer to work game concessions, sell raffle tickets, host club tournaments and more to fundraise for their travel and equipment. 

“Instead of having to do random stuff like food service, why not teach swim lessons?” Lawrence said.

While teaching lessons seems like the perfect fundraising method for the swim team, Lawrence said that because the program was put together so quickly at the end of summer, it didn’t work to have all of the money raised go directly to team funds.

Haak said the student athletes will be paid the university wage of $13 per hour for the three or four hours of lessons they give each week. Previously, swim instructors were paid higher than any other job on campus: $16 per hour. The surplus will go to the team’s fundraising efforts. 

“Well, we didn’t hear anything about that,” sophomore swim team member Yong Jie Yap said about his payment for teaching lessons.

“I don’t think anyone on the team is doing the job like they were told they were going to get paid,” Yap said. “If you know you’re getting paid, you put in a bit more effort.” 

Yap taught lessons for LTS throughout the summer and believes he found out about the transition at the same time as his swim team and fellow LTS instructors — in person, two weeks before the lessons started. 

Yap isn’t certain this is how everyone heard about the transition to Ole’s Swim School, but he speculates that no instructor found out as far enough in advance as they would have liked. 

“They might have gotten, like, word of mouth, but I don’t think they really got an official statement about anything,” Yap said.

Lawrence said she wishes the transition would have been more open, but ultimately they decided that if they were able to start the program as soon as possible, they would. 

“It happened a bit rushed, but I think the end result is going to end up being fantastic, especially with the next session after we’ve ironed out all the details,” Lawrence said.