Swimming Coach with Freckles

by Cherie
(Tennessee, USA)

I have been swimming for eight years. In my senior year, I taught part time swimming in one of the schools close by.

I love the sun, and so I took on to coach six – one hour sessions of swimming.

I applied sun block usually every morning and it would last me for 3 hours. However, during the afternoon session, I forgot to re-apply most of the time.

I was inside the pool all the time and the sessions even extended beyond an hour as I naturally bond with the kids and I really am passionate about teaching them how to swim.

Once, a parent approached me and took notice of my skin. She told me that she was once like me, who enjoyed teaching swimming during summers but she came to regret it later on because she had freckles on her arms.

Since I was young back then, I did not take it seriously. Not until I was in my third summer of enjoying being a coach did I notice brown spots on my hands.

I was surprised at the clumps of spots and then I looked closely and realized I had quite aplenty. I then began to research for ways to prevent it.

I learned to take simple steps. For one, I learned to use sun block SPF 45, every 2 hours. I then wore dark wet swimming suits which cover my arms.

Lastly, I wore a large hat. All these I did while teaching kids. The kids and parents understood why I did this and soon they began asking information regarding sun protection.

This year, I applied for the school swimming coach position and was hired. I am very grateful to have been given the chance to continue my swimming journey with better sun protection.