Little Seals Swim School

Sandy Duke

Located in Jacksonville

Hi! I am Sandy, a Floridian for most of my life, a wife of 30 years, a mom of two adult kids and a newly appointed and honor to be called a "Nana" to my 1st grandchild.

I had the opportunity to be a stay at home mom and "chaos coordinator for my kids throughout their childhood. I was always very involved in their school functions, events, and activities growing up. Now my kids are grown up and having families of their own.

One of my earliest childhood memories growing up in Florida was swimming with my own father. I recall jumping to him off the side of the pool, him waiting for me at the end of the slide or teaching me how to dive off the diving board. I especially loved it when he would empty his pocket full of change, count it and then he would throw it to the bottom of the pool for me to find. All fond memories, but before all the fun and games he taught me how to swim and how to float. "Arms up, feet apart, push your belly up and chin up ." I can still hear his voice....

Becoming a mom, I became aware of lots of hidden dangers. Water being one of them. As we all know, living in Florida there are lots of bodies of water, ponds, lakes, oceans, creeks, and springs; all ready for us to visit and explore by swimming in, or on a boat, jet ski, or on a float. With all those activities involving the water, I taught my children the importance of water safety at a early age as I was also taught. My kids too learned the importance of swimming, rolling on their back to catch a breath and to take a break before turning back over and swimming again.

As my own kids begin families of their own, I am back to the beginning again, teaching kids the importance of water safety. Building up their confidence to swim to safety, to float like a "starfish" before swimming and kicking hard to where they want to go.

I truly enjoy what I do. The kids smiles say it all after completing a swim, float swim. We celebrate with lots of "high-fives", we shout- "You did it!" and have even done a few "happy dances" on the steps. Every SWIM-FLOAT-SWIM is a big deal and reason to celebrate when it comes to water safety and Survival skills and confidence building. Consistency is key.

I look forward to helping you and your child's Survival Swim needs and Welcoming you to our Little Seals Swim School Family.

Sandy Duke