Children and young adults who have a love of sport, competition or just the water may be interested in joining a youth swim club that meets Tuesday nights at the FirstHealth Center for Health and Fitness behind the hospital.

There, Youth, Fitness, Swim, a swim class designed to teach children from eight to 15 years old how to swim competitively is currently enrolling students.

The Youth, Fitness, Swim class meets on Tuesday evenings from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., and is designed for students who have a basic background in swimming.

“This class is preparing these kids in case they ever wanted to do competitive swimming, like in college,” instructor Kristie Parks said. “Unfortunately, there’s currently no venue for competitive swimming in the county, but we’re looking at possibly providing a venue depending on how many kids want to participate.”

Tuesday night, Parks was teaching three students how to do drills to help them learn to turn from one swim stroke to another the way they would in a race.

“Right now, they swim about a half a mile a night, but by the time they end up they’ll be swimming a mile a night,” Parks said. “One advantage for parents is that they go to straight to sleep after class. Most of the time, they’re pretty worn out.”

Jacob Bennett didn’t appear to be wore out as class started this week, though.

He explained he looks forward to the swim class every week for personal reasons.

“So I can beat my sister,” he said. “I beat her every time.”

Besides learning how to compete with his sister, Makayla Shackleford, who is also in the class, Bennett said he’s learned some valuable swim strokes.

“I’ve learned the breast stroke, the back stroke, a few of them,” he said. “I’m really good, too. I’m a lot faster than I used to be. This is a good club, and if anybody wants to join they should come on out.”

Shackleford said she also enjoys the competition with her brother, but the stopwatch reads differently when she looks at it.

“I always win,” she said. “He’s not faster than me.”

All of that racing does take its toll, though, she said.

“It’s a lot of fun learning new ways to swim, but it’s tiring,” Shackleford said. “It does kind of wear you out.”

For class member Trinity Brown, the class isn’t as competitive as it is about improving her own skill set.

“Since I’ve been in this class, I just know how to swim a lot better than I did,” Brown said. “This is like one of my favorite things to do outside of school, swimming, and it’s my favorite sport, too.”

She said her advice to others who might want to join the class is to do so immediately.

“It’s just a lot of fun,” Brown said. “It’s really fun to be in the water, and you get to swim, which is always fun.”

Gym member John Robich teaches at Richmond Community College and has been involved with coaching youth sports in the past.

He said he is at the pool most every Tuesday when the class meets.

“(Parks) is doing something really wonderful for the community having these kids here organized in a swimming club,” Robich said. “Sports are great for kids to get involved in, and this is really something special. There’s something good going on here.”

The price to join the class is $15 per child if they or a family member belong to the FirstHealth gym. Otherwise, the cost is $30 per person.

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.