With the NBA finals now behind us, we can look forward to football season in a few months, right? Well…maybe.

Although the idea of football players striking is not palatable or exciting, I just heard a good story to come out of the labor dispute.

The Kansas City Chief’s Leonard Pope saved a boy from drowning. Pope was in his home town, not at training camp, (see, 1 benefit!) and he was the sole adult swimmer at a pool party. Swimmers! Every pool party needs one!

When Pope heard his high school friend, mother of 6 year old Bryson Moore screaming bloody murder, the Kansas City tight end went into super hero mode, dove in the pool, and rescued the child.

This story was about such a close call! I don’t even want to go there thinking about all the non-swimmers attending a swimming party–except to say, they shouldn’t have!

But my mind keeps going to the hero here. How is it that Leonard Pope bucked the trend and learned to swim? Not only did he learn to swim, but he had enough skills to save someone’s life? I don’t think it’s that uncommon for a professional athlete to know how to swim. Have you noticed how many pro athletes are proficient in other sports? I wonder if there’s a correlation between the strength, courage and confidence to excel in a sport–to the professional level, and the courage and confidence it takes to swim well enough to save yourself (or someone else)?

I think about my brother, who was a semi-pro football player, proficient in swimming, tennis, golf, cycling–maybe it’s an interest in physically bettering yourself, or maybe it’s a certain physical awareness that all athletes have.

This is worth closer examination. I notice that on one of my favorite reality shows, The Biggest Loser, the staff on the show seeks to fight morbid obesity through turning fat people into elite athletes. If they start off not knowing how to swim, they don’t stay that way. Just sayin’.

Lots of action at the pool last night. My girls had a swim test for their second swim lesson, and they passed level 5! They are more than halfway to passing the whole US swimming learn to swim program.

Before they took their swim tests, the girls helped younger swimmers as buddy coaches. It was adorable to watch my 10 and 8 year olds holding younger children who were scared of the water, and helping them to get a little more comfortable. The girls loved the buddy coaching. But to the parents, it looked like confusion. I hope the younger children got something out of it.

Speaking of younger children, my 6 year old son had to sit it out last night, because he didn’t grab his swim suit on the way out the door. The main coach told him that he was close to passing levels 2 and 3, and if he worked really hard, even outside the pool, on his streamlines and floating, he could pass. My son commenced to work on streamline and floating right away, on the bleachers.

I hope to report another passed swim test on Monday!

Well, I did take big brother to swim lessons yesterday, even though you could tell he’d rather do ANYTHING else. It was worth it, though, to have the pokey boy out of the locker room before 8.

Tonight my young son tried his new technique for a quick change in the locker room. He made pretty good time, but had left his towel in the locker room. I sent him back for it, and he returned with his towel and swimming suit! It’s a good thing I noticed the missing towel.

As for the actual swim lessons, my son is still working on level 2, the front and back float. It looks like they must constantly rehearse level 1, 10 bobs, as well. They have been working on float position on dry land before they hop in the pool. I have seen my son float on his back for a few seconds without the coach holding him. It looks like he has pretty decent buoyancy, so that’s good.

Tonight I heard the coach say that children who can do level 7, breathe side to side, and know the frog kick can train with the swim team. They should also know how to swim a 50 without stopping. That’s the level my 10 year old daughter was stuck on when she last took lessons. My 8 year old daughter had gotten stuck around level 3 or 4, but as of this summer, had caught up to her sister.

We will see when I put them in swimming in a couple weeks.

Congratulations to the Make a Splash initiative on reaching the half-million mark! Not bad for having started in 2007.

Cullen Jones and ConocoPhillips can take big credit for the program’s success, due to their multi-city tour since 2009. Belying the research that says that black parents turn down free swim lessons, of 1,000 vouchers for free lessons, 600 people redeemed them.

This could really make a dent in the drowning rate. If these numbers continue, childhood drowning could go the way of small pox.

Here’s to the second half-million new swimmers.

For more information on Make a Splash, click here.

It’s been almost a month since a severe drowning tragedy in Louisiana. On August 3rd, 7 teens playing in the water at a Shreveport, LA park fell into a sinkhole. Each non-swimming teen tried to save another, all drowned but 1. Even more horrific: the children who drowned were siblings from 2 different families. And the most horrific? Their parents watched helpless, as the children screamed, “help me!”–because none of the adults could swim, either.

I don’t know what else it will take to get people in the water to learn how to save themselves; others! This makes me think of Wanda Butts. That poor woman lost her son, and then had the strength to start a foundation in his name, The Josh Project, so nobody else would have to lose their child to drowning. But children are drowning daily. What will it take to eradicate this plague? There is no small pox in America any more. This is doable. But we have to make it a priority. We have to act.

My daughter, a lifeguard, is competing in the Miss Michigan USA pageant next weekend. Her charity is the Make a Splash Foundation. She too was heartbroken when she heard this story. If she could learn to swim, with her issues about getting her face wet, extreme fear of the water, and lack of buoyancy, anyone can!

While I’m talking, I still have 2 non-swimming children. I took them down to the pool for lessons as soon as I could after hearing this story. Will you join me?

Did you hear the one about the man that ran out of the courtroom trying to escape judgment? He jumped into a river and drowned.

That really happened a month ago in Florida.

The moral of the story? Either, you can’t run away from the long arm of the law, or. . . you should really learn how to swim.

prolly both