No Generation Gap In This Cool Pool

Bv Jacob Schaad Jr. . CAPK MAY There is no generation gap b<*tweeh a 63 year old grandfather and the yery young children he teaches In fact, they get along swimmingly well Sam Hall, who swims above and beneath water like a dolphin, is teaching children as young as six months to swim like h uni a ns It's part of a Cape May recrea

- » - . :•'? ' • (Photos by Doria Ward) IS HE SMILING or crying? Seven-month-old Lotii* Fermonte of Cape Slay isn’t quite sure as his mother, Jill, introduces him to swimming pool.

. tion program held in its Olympic sired \ swimming pool at the city’s elementary \school NAIthough Hall instructs children of ail aJes, his freshman class for children two years and under is a more recent addition to the extensive recreation program of the Cape May Department of Civic Affairs. It is designed to educate parents and teach babies basic survival skills in the water and has attracted more than 100 parents with their offspring since it wa$ started in 1980 "We feel that the swimming program is especially important in the Cape May area because residents here are exposed to water on all sides," said Hall. ’A child who can swim has a better chance of survival if something unexpected happens in the water." Hall, who has five grandchildren living in Philadelphia, said the key to teaching the young is establishing confidence in them. The younger the baby the better, he points out, because at birth every baby is a perfect swimmer; having lived in the fluid wofld of the womb for nine months. Therefore, he adds, the association between water and ease can be maintained and reinforced if the child is reintroduced to the element of water during his early days in the outer world. ONE OF HALL'S youngest pupils has been five month old Alyson Theresa Carroll, daughter of Michelle and Frank Car-

(?'

MT yyr s

OFFERS

UNBELIEWILE PRICES OR

DIRECT FACTORY SAVINGS Sweater Ou&ef MEN S AND LADIES'

CASMERTSHDUNDMERINOCOTTON SWEATERS

100% SHETLAND WOOL SWEATERS FIRST QUALITY GARMENTS *38 RETAIL NATIONALLY FOR UP TO Now At Our Direct Factory To You Price Of

CREW* CARDIGAN* V-NECK MACHINE WASHABLE SIZES 34-42 - All Colors Monogrammlng Available

SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT GARMENTS

STONE HARBOR MALL 96th St. (R*«r of M«ll) - 97th it. (Front of Moll) STONI HAftWOR 36*3164

TERRA MAR PLAZA •OO TILTON RO. NORTHFKLD 643-3320

SILEN’S SALS! o/Vl £ SHOES ft CLOTHING FREE PARKING SILEN’S SHOES &RESORTWEAR 5000 PACIFIC AVE. & HAND AVE., WILDWOOD

FIVE-MONTH-OLD Jennifer Nank of North Cape May gets helping hand from mother Donna and swimming instructor Sam Hall.

roll of the Villas. Mother and child have been participating in the program since January. "The first time in the water she didn’t cry," Mrs. Carroll explained. "The second time she was frightened by Mr. Hall’s voice and there were tears. He's a very good teacher, however, and he’s really good with the kids." So good that when the older children perform weil Hall rewards them by riding them on his back, dolphin-like, the length of the pool. Tasi PerkinS, the 16-month-old son of Chree and Douglas Perkins, of Cape May. has been taking lessons since he was 12 months old * "He- didn't do very well at the beginning," explained Mrs. Perkins whose husband is a Coast Guard diver. "He was afraid of the background noise, but now he’s not afraid at all. He goes under water and floats on his back." One of Hall’s prize earlier pupils he characterizes as "an amazing kid." He recalls the boy started at two and by the time he was four he could swim halfway across the pool and under water. NOT ALL OF Hall’s pupils are quite so‘ progressive, however. There was one, he said, who must have been a confirmed landlubber, refusing to go anywhere near

the water. "Oh boy, did he cry!,’’ Hall said. The course lasts 10 weeks and encompjfcses all of the facets of swimming including establishing confidence, going under water, jumping in (the very first lesson), and floating. Once a child reaches two he or she graduates into the Tiny Tots category and advances from there into older age categories. Hall has been a "pool shark” for most of his life. In the late 30’s, when he was still in his teens, he was a lifeguard in Wildwood and attended the Red Cross Aquatic School. He returned to lifeguarding in 1954 at the Abington YMCA in Philadelphia and he taught lifesaving there. A maheinist, Hall retired in the fall of 1980, and moved to his present residence in North Cape May frorti Philadelphia. Hall admits each of his pupils may not have the potential to become expert swimmers, but there is always the chance that when they start that young they may have a shot at becoming another Mark Spitz or Esther Williams. Whatever, there’s a sign on the wall of the pool facility that tells Hall’s feelings bluntly. "Don’t be a weak fish," it says. "Learn to swim.”

AS A REWARD for his pupil's efforts, swimming instructor Sam Hall gives a ride, dolphin style, to two-year-old Chad Utsch of North Cape May at Cape May elementary school pool.

THE SEA GULL

'distinctive Seashore Slpparet for Wien & lA/oi B1SJSKYR bntzfcn

smwisvvi

Q White Stag FALL MERCHANDISE ARRIVING DAILY 264 96th Street, Stone Harbor Daily 9:30 to 9:30

4/AUGUST 4. 198?