2018 marks an exciting, milestone year for the Hubbard Family Swim School. It’s been 20 years since Bob & Kathy Hubbard decided to take the plunge and open their first swim school in Phoenix that was dedicated to teaching infants and children how to swim and learn to be safe around water. From the very beginning, their philosophy about swimming has always been the same: Learning to swim should not be a choice. Every child must learn how to swim.
Fox six years prior to opening their first swim school – from 1992 to 1998 – Bob had been the Director of the Phoenix Swim Club and, along with Kathy, had focused on coaching and training top-level, elite swimmers. The couple was not coaching children at that time – they were busy raising eight children of their own. Three of their kids were in college, two in high school, and three were in grade school.
The Hubbards both had strong backgrounds in the sport of swimming. Bob had first developed his passion for swimming while working as a beach lifeguard in New York while Kathy had been a champion, competitive swimmer in college and even qualified for the 1968 Olympic Trials.
After many successful years of coaching award-winning, adult swimmers, the couple decided that what they really wanted to do was go back to basics and focus primarily on teaching infants and children how to swim and truly share their love of the water with other families.
Now, two decades and two additional swim schools later, the Hubbards have not only taught thousands of babies, children, and children with special needs, they’ve also become world-renowned leaders and expert speakers in the field of infant swimming. Recently in fact, Bob and Kathy were awarded the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award by the U.S. Swim School Association for their many years of leadership and dedication to the learn-to-swim industry.
“Swimming and splashing with all the adorable babies and children over the years has been so fulfilling and rewarding for us,” says Kathy Hubbard. “It has meant a great deal to us knowing that we are not only teaching children how to swim, we are also introducing them to a beautiful sport that they will be able to enjoy throughout their lifetime. Swimming is a special, life-long activity that everyone in a family can enjoy.”
The three Hubbard Family Swim Schools – in Phoenix, Peoria, and Mesa – all offer swim lessons to babies and children, eight weeks up to 12 years of age. The temperature of the heated, indoor swimming pools is 90 degrees all year round. For more information, visit www.hubbardswim.com
