Neighbors

Beating the heat at Forest City Pool

Posted

During the recent heat wave, Wantagh kids cooled off at the Forest City Community Pool. 

About 10 kids made a splash at the Town of Hempstead Park and pool, located just off of Morgan Drive, at a program last week. Hidden in the backstreets of North Wantagh and buffered by the Southern State Parkway, the a z-shaped pool is one of the six outdoor swimming complexes operated by the town. 

The pool features a shallow end, swimming lanes, and low and high diving boards; there is an adjacent children’s pool that is less than two feet deep. Various swimming lessons, with programs focusing on different skills, are also offered at the facility.  

The guppies program, for children ages 4 and 5, involves parents and features songs and games. From there, children can move through lesson levels one through four as they gain experience. A junior lifeguard program, for kids ages 11 to 14, gives young adults an introduction to lifeguarding that’s a level below an actual certification program.

Meaghan Soel and Samantha McNamara teach the 50-minute classes at Forest City, which are held in the mornings and afternoons. They are certified instructors and formerly worked as lifeguards for the town.

For Seaford resident Coleen Schneider, the lessons were a way to help her 6-year-old son get used to deep waters. 

“I signed Maverick up for the level two class because we were new to the area and he had some difficulty putting his head in the water,” she said. “He wasn’t progressing at all with me, so knowing that the lessons were here and basically free, it seemed like a great way to get him used to the pool.”

Students take lessons two times per week, and there are two four-week sessions over the course of the summer. Class sizes are capped at 15 or 20, depending on the level. 

Instructors said the groups often only consist of 10 or fewer children, giving them more chances to work with the students on an individual basis. Besides admission to the pool, guppies and levels one through three are free for town residents. 

“He’s been jumping off the diving board,” Schneider added. “So we got there!