Nashville Dolphins

The Nashville Dolphins swim team provides year-round swim practices and competition to over 100 children and adults with intellectual disabilities at no cost to any participant. Swimmers must be able to swim 25 yards independently and take direction from a coach on deck to participate on the swim team. We currently offer practices two times a week year-round. The Dolphins swim team competes in special olympics locally, regionally, and nationally and our swimmers take great pride in being part of a team like their siblings and peers. Opportunities for adults with disabilities dimish after the age of 21, leaving many sedentary, lonely, and often overweight and unhealthy. We not only make available weekly aerobic exercise, but we also provide many out-of-water socializing opportunities for our team members including parties, movie outings, a prom, a triathlon and more. We also encourage our swimmers to give back to the community, so we volunteer with various non-profits around Nashville.

The future Dolphins, our largest program, provides one-on-one learn-to-swim lessons and water safety to 170 children and adults with intellectual disabilities each semester at no cost to any participant. Over 90% of all accidental deaths of children with special needs is due to a drowning event. The Nashville Dolphins aims to reduce this tragic statistic by teaching water safety awareness skills to all enrolled participants without charge. Additionally, having water safety and swimming skills allows the participants to enjoy the many benefits of water recreation and fitness within a safer environment. People with disabilities need individualized instruction and attention in the pool which we provide, and each lesson is customized to each swimmer's needs and abilities. All our lead instructors are certified as "swim whisperers" with swim angelfish, the global leader in adaptive swim instruction. Every instructor has now taken the 16+ hour online course to add to their knowledge of adaptive swimming. Our lead instructors are also certified in starfish aquatic institute which is a nationally and internationally recognized swim instruction certification program.before each session begins, parents of children new to the program fill out a detailed questionnaire about their child's needs, likes, abilities, behavior, etc. So that our instructors and volunteers can plan how to work best with their swimmer. Swimmers are evaluated at the beginning, middle, and end of each session to track the progression of skills. We are also using a digital swim lesson management app that allows instructors to track progress with swim skill benchmarks pre-built into the app. Children are paired with the same volunteers and instructors each week within our future Dolphin program. There is no limit to the number of lessons a child can receive in this program as all our swimmers learn at different levels and speeds. Although not all participants can become independent swimmers due to more severe disabilities, they all experience the joy in the freedom of movement and the increased range of motion provideed by the buoyancy of water. In addition, the Nashville Dolphins social programs provide valuable social skill developmental opportunities. The family members also benefit from the support and understanding of other families experiencing similar challenges related to living with special needs individuals.

The junior Dolphins program provides swim instruction to those participants with disabilities who can swim several yards independently but need more experience before they are able to join our swim team. The junior Dolphins lead instructors and volunteers are in the water with our swimmers, teaching proper technique on all four strokes and proper breathing. They also work to build each swimmer's endurance and confidence. Typically, volunteers are positioned down the swim lane, so swimmers begin to do laps during practice with rest and instruction all along the way. The junior Dolphins classes help prepare the swimmers to gain the skills needed to join the swim team.