Aquatics Director Nicole Bills runs the Carmel Aquatics Center at Carmel High School and oversees all non-competitive programming. CSA will become the base of operations for these programs, including group and private swim lessons, masters swimming, and community lap swim when it opens. Nicole has an abundance of aquatics experience and we are delighted to share her expertise with the Carmel Swim Academy. Read on to learn a little more about Nicole and what she is most looking forward to when CSA opens.
How did you come to Carmel Swim Club?
I started at Carmel Swim Club in 2015. It was almost like the club found me. I was looking for a career opportunity in the Indianapolis or Carmel area as my husband and I were getting ready to move there from Ohio. I was about to give up looking for Aquatics Director jobs when I decided to look at the Indiana Swimming LSC for job opportunities one more time. There the posting was! It had been up for a few months already, but I decided to contact CSC anyway, and two months after that I was starting with the Club. It was a great move.
What do you enjoy most about your role as Aquatics Director?
I love to talk with the kids and parents about their lessons. The kids are always excited to tell me what new skill they accomplished or if they moved up a level. I like talking to the parents to get their feedback on the program and how they feel their child has progressed. I love seeing the families month after month and seeing a younger sibling of one of our other swimmers start their swim lessons. I also love getting in the pool and actually teaching the kids.
Can you share a little bit about the aquatics programs we currently offer?
With our group swim lessons, we offer a chance for kids to learn how to be safe in and around the water while using the four competitive strokes. We have five levels: beginner, beginner plus, intermediate, intermediate plus, and advanced. Each level builds on what swimmers learned from the level before. The levels help build the swimmers’ confidence and gives the parents the satisfaction of knowing their swimmer can be safe in the water. After the group lessons, swimmers have the opportunity to join our stroke technique and swim club prep classes. These classes provide more technique and endurance work to help swimmers be ready for the Carmel Swim Club. We also offer private and semi-private lessons, which are tailored to the swimmer’s individual needs and wants.
What is the greatest opportunity presented by the Carmel Swim Academy?
We are so excited to be able to provide all of our levels at one facility so that swimmers of all ages can see where they could be one day if they continue the lessons. It also gives the opportunity for parents to have their swimmers of different swimming levels to be at one place and one time.
What are you most looking forward to when CSA opens?
I am excited to bring our current programs to a “home base” without having to spread out at different pools. We will also get the chance to offer new programming for babies and adults. We will offer programs for any age and any swimming ability.
Thank you, Nicole! Nicole also put together some fantastic tips to work on skills from swimming lessons at home during this unusual time. We’ll share them here and across our social media channels in the coming days.