CityView Magazine

14 March 2021 be able to dedicate the amount of time it took to make her dream of offering the Infant Swimming Resource program in the Fayetteville area a reality. e process of becoming a certified ISR instructor is a daunting one and required that Nicole move to Florida for the better part of last summer to undergo eight weeks of intensive in and out-of-water training to learn the unique skill sets necessary to teach young children to save themselves from drowning. Nicole became officially certified as an ISR instructor on Aug. 1, 2020 and could not get back to Fayetteville fast enough to implement the program in her community. She is careful to distinguish what she does from traditional swim lessons. "ISR teaches using behavioral psychology, sensory-motor learning and positive reinforcement to make an otherwise unforgiving water environment safe for children to learn what will work to allow them to make progress in swimming or floating and obtain air when they need it. Six to 12-month-olds learn to hold their breath underwater, roll onto their backs to float unassisted and wait for help to arrive. Children who can walk proficiently are taught to hold their breath when they go under, swim with their heads down, roll onto their backs to float, rest, breathe and roll back over to resume swimming, continuing this sequence until they reach safety. And we customize each one-on-one lesson to that specific child's ability in the water." It takes Coach Nicole working with each child for 10 minutes a day, five days a week, for five to six weeks to achieve skills that could very well one day save their lives. Since August, Burkhart has graduated over 50 students ranging in age from 6 months to 6 years from her specialized lessons. Along the way, she has garnered a growing fan club of grateful parents who still marvel at their children's accomplishments and sing their instructor's praises. Hollie Fleming, whose daughter completed ISR lessons at only 10 months old, recalls her fearful, screaming infant entering the pool with Nicole on Day 1, "but by the end of our six weeks, she could quickly, calmly and confidently turn herself over underwater and float on the surface. When my husband and I saw her do that, we knew we'd done the best thing for her." Jessica Rogers credits Nicole and ISR with restoring her family's confidence in the water aer a swimming accident while on a lake vacation le both Rogers and her 4-year-old son traumatized. "I called Nicole the moment we returned from vacation to enroll both my son and 1-year-old daughter," says Rogers. "Nicole is wonderful. She helped me trust the process and explained everything in great detail at each lesson. She patiently worked through bumps in the road and set goals for both of my children. e skills she's taught them are absolutely priceless. I will forever be grateful for the program, and for Nicole." "I have to add," says Rogers, "aer just a few weeks of classes we returned to the lake and my son's fear of the water was non-existent. Watching him be confident and relaxed in the water made this mama's heart very, very happy." e mission of Infant Swimming Resource is simple yet profound, "Not One More Child Drowns." anks to one military spouse and busy mother of three who took the plunge quite literally to turn a lifelong passion into a career in water safety, our community is 50 children closer to reaching that goal. And counting. For more information: www.infantswim. com, n.burkhart@infantswim.com. Claire Mullen can be reached at clairejlmullen@gmail.com. "Not One More Child Drowns." Thanks to one military spouse and busy mother of three who took the plunge quite literally to turn a lifelong passion into a career in water safety, our community is 50 children closer to reaching that goal. And counting.

• Cover