As published on Hannibal Net and the Hannibal Courier-Post
July 24, 2008
The parents who drop off their children at the Hannibal Aquatic Center - commonly called the community pool - need not worry about the safety of their young swimmers - two teams of Hannibal lifeguards just brought home first and second place trophies among the 16 teams at the Midwest American Red Cross competition.
In addition to winning best overall, the local teams won awards for individual categories. And their trainer (and coach), Mike McKenzie was voted "most valuable lifeguard" in all 16 teams.
Mike's team - Amy Sweets, Tylor Zerbonia and Sasha Cernea - won first place overall, first in CPR and second in passive rescue (an unconscious victim) at the competition. It was on Sunday, July 20, at the Kennedy Recreational Complex in St. Louis County.
Jeremy Glasby coaches the team winning second place overall, along with first in active rescue and second in First Aid. His team members are Ian McKenzie (Mike's brother), Henry Sweets, Sarah Whistler, Kyle Bowman and Michael Foster.
In her fourth year of lifeguarding at the local pool, Amy said it is rewarding to "know you are doing something worthwhile. You are here to protect people's lives. I don't think people necessarily realize the gravity."
At the competition, she said, "it's like a real life scenario. You have people 'drowning' and you want to make sure they are safe. You have to be a perfectionist."
Jeremy was not surprised Mike was named best lifeguard, because "he's looking to improve always, looking for the best in people. He is assistant manager of the pool and watches us. And he is a great guy to work with and for."
Jeremy himself received praise from his teammates. "Jeremy is awesome in training us," said Henry. "The best thing about him is he is never really negative. He is always positive about everything."
Sarah said that Jeremy "is always at peace."
This was only the second year the local teams have competed in the regional lifeguard contest. Mike explained that the St. Louis Chapter of the American Red Cross is "nationally renowned for being the top-notch in aquatics, so they have teams from all over come."
To have Hannibal's two teams win, he said, "is amazing when you think about how young our team is. We have 16-, 17- and 18-year olds go down there and compete with 20-year-olds, 25-year-olds and do better - it is really amazing."
Describing some of the lifeguard's 32 hours of annual training, Jeremy said they "have to do a 300-yard swim" and also must swim with 10-pound rubber brick on their chest. "They do a surface dive into the water and pick up the brick and swim back to the starting point within a minute, 45 seconds."
Also, Jeremy continued, "we take our tubes and do our deep water and spinal. We always carry our fanny pack with our CPR mask and our gloves."
Pool Manager Ronnie Ferrel said the lifeguards train about four days a week, and "Mike challenges them every time he has them in the water…rescue skills to rescue management, backboarding and spinals. Mike has done a great job as far as his knowledge and also his leadership. And the staff has been great for him to work with." The lifeguards are recertified every year, Mike said. "They don't have to, but I recertify them. They go through the same 32-hour class every year. We are sure they are the best in what they do, and we really take pride in that. "Everybody likes to train," Mike said. "It's extra hours, but it's worth it when you are sitting on the stand, knowing that if something goes wrong we can take care of it and it’s just second nature to us.
Several of the lifeguards are wearing red wristbands that they received for doing a rescue at the local pool.
Sarah said her rescue was a girl about 11 years old. "She went off the red slide and instead of going into the water, she went the opposite way. The water comes out of the slide and goes one way, and she turned around and went the other way."
After someone is rescued, the child is taken to Ferrel's offices, and parents are called. Each rescue is recorded for Red Cross records.
Ian has done two rescues this summer, a boy about 7 who was bobbing in the water after going down the red slide, and a "little girl who was swimming but wasn't going anywhere."
Tylor has not taken off his wristband "since I got the rescue…It remind you are here for a reason. You are not just out here to get a tan. Your job is to save lives. Some people think kids are just here to get a summer job, but it's really important. We train and are trained professionally."
"I save a little boy that came down the red slide," Ian said. "He had his head out of the water, but he couldn't go anywhere. I pulled him out of the water."
The red slide has rules, including a height limit. The swimmer must be 48 inches tall, which is the manufacturer's rule.
Ferrel said Hannibal should be very proud of the lifeguards "and also feel very safe coming to our pool. Not too many kids these ages have this type of job with so much responsibility and so much expected of them.
"They are constantly being trained and being pushed," Ferrel added. "Lifeguarding has changed. You have to be a preventive lifeguard. You have to be able to handle any type of situation. You have to be able to have emergency management and just be ready. The Red Cross has helped us with that because they have an auditing program, which has really strengthened our program.
"These are not just people sitting and watching the pool. They are lifeguards in the true sense of the word, professionals. They can go anywhere and be a lifeguard and be successful. I'm real proud of them, and I know Mike is too."
Local Red Cross personnel also are proud of the local lifeguards. Beth Dickerson, director of health, safety and preparedness with the Northeast Missouri Chapter, American Red Cross, said, "I cannot help but to be proud of Michael McKenzie and the other American Red Cross lifeguards at the Hannibal Community Pool.
"I personally know two of the lifeguard instructors from St. Louis, they are tough! They have very high standards for the lifeguards they train. I would say that Mike and Jeremy (both American Red Cross instructors) at the Hannibal Community Pool have given them a run for their money.
"I hope the teams from Hannibal will inspire other area pools to put together teams and compete," Dickerson said. "I know the two teams have practiced hard and deserve the honor of being best in the area. I would like to say to all of the team members congratulations and keep up the good work."
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