Miller Swim School:

The new Miller Swim School in Jenks is only about a week away from completion!

As parents there are so many lessons on the list of must-dos for our kids. We feel the need to get them involved in sports for the benefit of exercise and learning team dynamics. We are pressured to enroll them in music lessons to help them with math skills. Teaching them a foreign language while they are young is shown to have many benefits. And then there are swimming lessons. This one is non-negotiable on your to-do list because it not only involves physical fitness and socialization perks, swimming lessons may actually save your child’s life!

There are approximately 7,000 drowning deaths per year in the United States. Drowning is the second leading cause of death caused by unintentional injury for girls between the ages of one and four and has now become the top cause of death caused by unintentional injury for boys in this age group. In addition to taking safety precautions such as fencing pools, providing constant adult supervision and the use of lifejackets, formal swim lessons have been shown to reduce drowning deaths. As Rowdy Gaines said at the ribbon cutting ceremony in Jenks, “Drowning is an epidemic and we know the cure: swimming lessons!” Swim lessons are a necessity!

The official ribbon cutting ceremony with Larry and Rita Miller doing the main honors!

If you live in Tulsa you undoubtedly have heard of Miller Swim School. Larry and Rita Miller began Miller Swim School in 1960, and it is firmly established as the leader in providing quality, year-round swim classes for all ages. To this day Miller Swim School continues to be a family-run business offering classes for infants and toddlers all the way to adults. There are also opportunities for competitive swimming and swim parties. The location at 64^th and Mingo isn’t going away, Miller is simply adding another location to meet the growing demand for swim programs.

Getting to meet three-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines was a total “fan girl” moment for me!

The new location is in Jenks, 525 W. 91^st Street South, a great location for people in the surrounding areas and south Tulsa.  The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place this morning, Friday, April 26, with the Miller family, Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist Rowdy Gaines and local dignitaries in attendance. A tour of the new, soon-to-be completed facility revealed a beautiful twenty-yard pool designed for swim lessons, complete with a parent viewing area, showers on deck and spacious changing rooms.

The new facility is about a week away from completion.

The instructors at Miller have so many activities which help swim skills. The kids just think they are having fun!

My grandson began lessons at Miller when he was 18 months old, and as a former swim teacher and coach, I was anxious to watch. Could the lessons really live up to the hype I had heard over the years? I have to admit, they certainly did. I was so impressed each time I went and watched the instructors with the young children. The instructors created a welcoming, comforting environment full of fun water activities. Through play, which is how young children learn, they were soon going underwater, blowing bubbles, floating (with assistance) on their backs and jumping off the side. My grandson had a constant smile on his face throughout each lesson, a sure sign of success! Of course, the biased grandmother in me is sure someday he’ll be a gold medal winning Olympic swimmer like Rowdy Gaines, and we’ll look back fondly to his swim beginnings at Miller. It is evident why Miller has become so successful, and I’m sure this excellence will carry over into the new Jenks location.

My grandson was excited to get his ribbon for passing a set of swim skills!

 There will be a carnival Sunday afternoon for families to come and celebrate the grand opening. There will be pony rides, Josh’s Sno Shack, food trucks, a bouncy house and prizes. The community is welcome to come out and celebrate at the new location in Jenks from 2 until five P.M on Sunday afternoon!