My name is Emily Rehfeld better known as “Miss Emily”. I was born and raised in Denver. I started swimming at an early age and started swimming competitively at the age of nine through the first years of high school. After getting my water safety instructor certification I found out my passion was to teach kiddos to swim. I have been in aquatics and have taught for fifteen years, now going on my seventh year with SafeSplash. I have been in management since 2013 and have been the Assistant General Manager at Aurora Southlands location since the summer of 2015. It’s been a truly special experience being a part of this amazing team and watching SafeSplash grow!
In 2016, I had a swimmer that I had taught for four years complete level 8 with our SafeSplash program. It was a very bitter sweet moment for me. My little “peanut” was no longer going to swim with me.
I am very proud of Miss Jade. I remember when she started, she was 3 years old, timidly dipping her toes into the water on the first day of swim camps.
Jade and I made a connection right off the bat and she trusted me. She made progression that summer from a level 1 to a 2B. After swim camps were done, her parents enrolled her into group classes. It is very important to find an instructor who is a perfect “match” for your swimmer. This will help with progression. That is why we have the SafeSplash Match. At SafeSplash we try to match each child’s personality and learning style to the perfect match of an instructor who has a teaching style that aids in the 
progression through the SafeSplash program. In order to do this, we hire diversely in personality amongst our teachers to meet this goal. We want every student to have a great experience. I recently had a 3 year old swimmer who didn’t want to continue with lessons after two weeks. I came to find out they didn’t have the right instructor match. We found a correct match for this swimmer and he now is excited to come back to swimming and mom wants to continue into the summer.
So, how did my “peanut” reach her goals? Dedication and consistency. Jade literally came to every class, every week. In the four years I had her she missed maybe 2-4 lessons because of vacation. Even after missing her lesson she would come back and couldn’t wait to tell me about her vacation and she even swam while she was away!
What goals do we recommend for your aspiring Missy Franklin?
- Make sure you are communicating with your instructor about your student’s progress. Come to Splash N’ Tell every month. This is a great time to stay in the loop and catch up with your instructor about your swimmer progression and reset goals. Get some ideas to take away and practice outside of lessons. This is your opportunity to get to know your instructor and what you student works on each week!
- Set aside time to practice. Kiddos will benefit from any additional time in the water. Find an open swim time at your swim school or local pool and make it a fun family outing. Practice first and play after.
- Join in on the fun! When parents get in the water too it’s a fun activity and the kids “see mommy and daddy involved and swimming too”.
While I was very sad to see Miss Jade graduate from the SafeSplash
program and move on from Summer Club Swim League to a USA Swimming competitive year round swim team, it was so satisfying to know that I was able to make an impact on her and her family. She still books her birthday parties with SafeSplash, and her little brother is now taking lessons, so we get to see her from time to time and I always get a hug. I am so proud of her accomplishments and the goals she has met.
Find the right match and dive into lessons today!
