The LIFESAVING CHRONICLES Podcast

How to Prepare for the American Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor Trainer or Water Safety Instructor Academy (Part 1)

• David Kotz • Season 1 • Episode 8

Share episode

Send us a text

Welcome to Episode 8 of The LIFESAVING CHRONICLES podcast! Join Dave Kotz and Anna Unruh from the National Safety Training Center as they go deep into the essentials of preparing for a Lifeguard Instructor Trainer Academy (LGIT) or a Water Safety Instructor Trainer Academy (WSIT) offered by the American Red Cross.

In this episode, you'll learn:

  • The importance of having the latest Lifeguard Instructor Manual and other essential materials.
  • Tips for managing and organizing your course materials.
  • What to pack for the academy, including water gear and note-taking supplies.
  • The benefits of networking and learning from fellow participants.
  • How to prepare for practice teaching sessions and the significance of knowing the Red Cross materials and methods.

Whether you're a seasoned instructor or new to the field, this episode is packed with valuable insights to help you succeed in your instructor-trainer journey.

Contact David Kotz

  • Email: info@nstc.net
  • Phone: 908-502-0600


About The Lifesaving Chronicles:
Hey there, lifesaving educators! I'm David Kotz, your host and the founder of the National Safety Training Center. Join me as we embark on a bi-monthly journey, each session packed with approximately 30 minutes of rich content tailored for American Red Cross and American Heart Association educators like you—CPR/First Aid instructors, Lifeguard instructors, EMT instructors, and any current or aspiring lifesaving educating entrepreneurs who are passionate about saving lives. We'll dissect current events, explore teaching strategies, and review lifesaving techniques. But that's not all! We want you to be a part of the conversation. Got a topic or an incident you're itching to discuss? Send it our way, and let's tackle it together on the show. Gear up for an educational ride with The LIFESAVING CHRONICLES.

Watch us as a video podcast on YouTube!

Podcast Disclaimer: By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that the National Safety Training Center (NSTC) makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. The content isn't a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the NSTC does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The 3rd party materials or content of any 3rd party site referenced in this Podcast don't necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of the NSTC. The NSTC assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in 3rd party materials or on 3rd party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. NSTC makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses or other elements or codes that manifest destructive properties.

Thank you.

David Kotz:

Dave Kotz again from the National Safety Training Center. I'm here with Anna Unruh. Anna and I work together at National Safety Training Center, where we offer a huge variety of classes. Today, we want to talk to you about applying to a lifeguard instructor trainer academy or a water safety instructor trainer academy and what you need to do to prepare. So Anna, I want to give you a quick opportunity to give us your background. You haven't been on yet. This is your first time.

Anna Unruh:

I became a Red Cross instructor in 2008 in Athens, Ohio. Got to do CPR first aid for CPR Pro Rescue. It's the RTE, and I never remember what it stands for anymore.

David Kotz:

Responding to emergencies.

Anna Unruh:

I became an instructor out in Athens, Ohio as a graduate student, and then through a whim decided, hey, I'm going to go into some aquatics classes just for my recreation degree. Took a WSI class and then also took a lifeguarding class and had some amazing instructors that really pushed everyone to their peak. Also got to do early wilderness first aid before it became a national program when I was volunteering in Maryland. And then in 2012, I was the aquatics representative for the state of Nebraska for the Red Cross for a short period. Shortly after, I became a lifeguard instructor, and then after that they were starting to work on some of the academy outlines, so I got to go through both the WSI and the LGA. WSIT, LGIT academies early on. I since retook those, so that way I would have the up to date information. And, yeah, got to be an educator for a short span.

David Kotz:

I was going to say how we met,

Anna Unruh:

Oh, yeah.

David Kotz:

As the Red Cross was searching for additional educators- those are the people that actually teach the instructor trainer academies. So Anna and I were in a class. Oh my goodness. How many years ago was it?

Anna Unruh:

Uh, it was about seven.

David Kotz:

We were a group of eight or nine people that were basically being trained to be educators for both water safety instructor and lifeguard instructor trainers. So that's where we met. So this is very apropos. We have been through the academies. We have taught the academies and some of us have gone through the, we've gone through them again. And I actually, I'm so old that I remember what happened before the academies. So we've got the history of it. What we want to talk to you guys about today is how to prepare for an academy. There's a little bit of mystery that goes on with the academies and what happens there. We want to pull the curtain back, show you what happens at the academies and help you prepare for them to maximize your success. So Anna, what like stuff do you need to bring to the academy with you?

Anna Unruh:

Alright, so first of all, going to acknowledge that the Lifeguard Instructor manual that they just released this year in 2024 is a beast. And so, you need to know how to manage that. My tip is that since the academy is based on the instructor led outline, you need that portion absolutely in paper so that you can follow along. If you need appendices and things- if you're flying in, maybe digital, you're going to have to flip through a lot still to know where those pages are. But you're actively going to need skillsheets, all those scenarios, so there's a lot of appendices that you do need. So you need the instructor led, and then any materials that the instructor led references. All of those multiple rescuer skill scenarios. All the skill sheets, all those little pieces. But as far as do I need the blended learning manual? You don't need that manual to follow along, but you do need to know where it is and where the outline is.

David Kotz:

So I'm going to go out on a limb and make a recommendation. I believe they actually require now that you bring the entire printed manual, which again, 960 some odd pages is a beast.

Anna Unruh:

If you are flying, you will be checking a bag. Period. End of story. Even if you're only bringing part of it you're checking a bag.

David Kotz:

So if you're going to check a bag, check a big bag, bring the whole flipping manual with you. It's three inch binders. It will help you dramatically to have that. Now that doesn't mean to say you can't have a digital copy as well for all you young digital people. Great. But having the hard copy will be invaluable to you as you go through the academy. Your educators will demand that you use that paper copy and be able to flip back and find things. So the next question is, do you try and print 960 some odd pages on your printer? Like one back there? No. Do you go to Staples and have them printed? You can, but you're not going to like it. Best solution, go to the Red Cross store and order it there.

Anna Unruh:

You're also going to be guaranteed to get the newest one if you're ordering through the Red Cross store. Recently had just an instructor training that somebody's Oh, my boss handed me this one. It's that's not the current one, buddy. You got to have the most up to date one. So bringing your facilities copy; not a great option, especially with just this newest release, so unless you are absolutely sure that you have the newest, most up to date stuff, don't take the facility copy, order your own personal copy.

David Kotz:

And I think we've both had the experience where people show up at an academy and they have the instructor manual that's two versions ago and then they look all embarrassed. Oh, we've been using that. Oh dear. No.

Anna Unruh:

I just reused the cover from the ancient one, and I gave someone a heart attack. The inside's a current, but the outside makes people worry. Don't do that.

David Kotz:

Gotcha. So remember, at the academy, the instructor manual is definitely important. The instructor trainer guide, you're also going to need. Again, that's less pages, I think it's two or three hundred, but you're still going to need that. You're going to end up with multiple manuals open on your desk. So instructor manual, instructor trainer guide, or ITG, I don't know if you need the participant manual or not...

Anna Unruh:

I believe, check your emails when you're accepted into the academy. We're going to default to that of whatever you are officially told... goes. But our experience is participant manual, you could do a digital because somebody's following along during a practice teaching. It's also good for you to reference so that you can find the pages for when you present. We'll get to those in a moment. But you do need to have it, available in some form. So you do need a participant's manual.

David Kotz:

My recommendation, if you're already schlepping that big suitcase, get the hard copy, bring it with you. You will be everybody else's hero when you have the material and everyone else is trying to figure out the wifi connection, why the technology won't work. Bring the hard copy. There's one other thing which is new in the current R24 program that we haven't had before, which is the deck guide. That's a- it's on water resistant.

Anna Unruh:

Yes.

David Kotz:

There've been complaints that people, when they dunk the thing in the pool, they say it doesn't really dry off. That's not what it's designed for. It's water resistant, not waterproof. So having the deck guide with you will just help. Are all those things contained in the instructor manual? Yes, but the deck guide will definitely help having that on the deck.

Anna Unruh:

It's also very visual which is nice to have that skill walk through with the pictures next to it when you're doing a teach so that you can see exactly what should be going on. I will let you know that the pictures, as you go through, this is part of getting familiar to your stuff, not in the exact order that they are in the manual. There's a couple that are flipped. No big deal, but you just need to know that as you're going through your manual so that what matches up and what doesn't.

David Kotz:

So at this point, I'm going to let out one of the secrets to the instructor trainer course, the becoming an instructor trainer is all about knowing the material and being able to use those course materials. Knowing the lesson plans, using the lesson plans. That's what it's about. You need to be able to do two things to be successful as an IT. You need to be able to have the lifeguarding skills or the water safety instructor skills. It doesn't mean you can't, you have to be able to swim. You have to be able to be a lifeguard at the standard. But knowing the materials is critical. If you show up and you open the book for the first time on day one, things won't go well.

Anna Unruh:

And for the water safety instructor side of things, you're so used to just- You're coming in, you might have had some teaching experience before, you need to know the Red Cross materials and methods. So don't wait until the academy to read through and know where everything is. Please make sure that you go through your materials ahead of time. Even as an experienced instructor, you have to know- So you're going to make sure that you have your water safety instructor manual, you're going to have your swimming and water safety manual, you're going to have your water safety instructor trainer guide. So you'll have all of those. You need to have all three in order to make it successful. And you will, this is the water safety and swimming and water safety book. Highly recommend keeping that as just buying the book because you're gonna flip through that, there's gonna be a lot of references trying to go page to page electronically, while I have seen it done efficiently. Everyone's going to be more confident that you found the right page when you can easily see it or again if somebody's didn't make it in their flight or something and you have that extra copy, now you can share easier and flip through and back and forth.

David Kotz:

Even for water safety instructor, just lifeguarding have the printed copy of the manuals. Your experience will be much better. Trust us. What other supplies? So we got the manuals down. What other supplies do we need to bring with us to the academies?

Anna Unruh:

Everyone's got their own note taking style. So make sure that whatever you, if you've been assigned things to read or do in advance, that you have done those and that you've highlighted, marked, Sticky tabbed, whichever works best for you through your book, so that way you know what you're doing and where your information is and you can find it quickly. And then as you go through the course, again, having highlighters, pens, pencils, whatever it is, as you go through. I was great at doodling demonstrations of things that I liked that someone did on the margins of my book, so that way I could replicate it later. So if there were key words or fun songs, or the songs are not so much for lifeguarding, but hey, if somebody comes up with something I'm able to note those down and I encourage even during like water safety instructor, have a way to take notes shortly after. A couple practice teachings or things, because you're going to pick up things from other people and you want to be able to remember them. I got to teach a water safety instructor course, where we had a person that was making up songs through the course for all their skills, and it was great. And I'm sitting there as the instructor trainer writing down the notes, and then people would ask me for my notes later because they wanted the song too. So make sure you have a way to recall tips and tricks that you are picking up from others, because that's also part of the experience.

David Kotz:

Actually, let's highlight that right now because truly that is one of the huge benefits to the academy style of training instructor trainers. You're going to have people from around the country and internationally as well that will be at your academy. You will learn what they do and you will be amazed at some of the things that they do. They'll take away some of the things that you do and that learning is one of the key benefits of hosting these academies. You have 10 people all from disparate areas that all bring their particular experiences to bear.

Anna Unruh:

And beware that like some skills, this is a weird one because I went down to an academy in Texas and there were some like tips and tricks that I had never seen before in my region, and then I bring them back to my region because I'm teaching, and so people now have some different ways that they can do skills. So that way they can get through everything. So being open to everything, once in a while they're a little surprised because again you haven't seen it before, but then you see how well it works and you're like, oh. I get it now. And a little bit with that, so we covered some of the classroom stuff. So you got to have your print manuals, you got to have ways to take notes, highlight prepare yourself for your teachings, but you also need water gear. So you want to have some goggles, WSIs, especially lifeguards. It's nice to have them but you're not going to use them as much, if at all. Still have a set, just in case. And then you're going to be in the water for hours. Again, this is not just little hopping in and out, hours, especially the WSIT academies. Lifeguards, you got a good chunk too. You need to stay warm. So however it is that you are going to stay warm for being in the water, whether you're wearing a rash guard, or if you're getting a shorty, or if you're getting a neoprene style jacket, like whatever it takes to keep you warm, because that will make a difference in your performance. If you are freezing, it's going to be harder to do things. I got to see that in academy where somebody like, once we made them warm, was so much more successful.

David Kotz:

What's a shorty? Were you insulting me as someone who's short?

Anna Unruh:

believe the shorties are the like, Shorts and short sleeve zip up stuff that goes over the swimsuits. I do not have one. I have a jacket. I wear swim shorts. Or,

David Kotz:

mini wetsuit type thing. feel so much better.

Anna Unruh:

Yeah, I even have they make swim yoga pants. Or you can just wear really clean yoga pants. Something to keep your body heat in you.

David Kotz:

So just remember you're going to be swimming primarily in a competition pool. They like to keep the competition pools mid seventies when you're standing around, whether that's for lifeguarding, you're doing skills and drills, or for WSI, where you're doing skills and drills too. That's a lot of standing water absorbs heat 25 times faster than air. You're going to get cold. So dressing appropriately is definitely a good

Anna Unruh:

I'd recommend at least three towels whether those are three that you bring because you're driving or if you check a big suitcase or if you're borrowing your hotel towels gotta stay warm. So make it work. Again, two towels minimum. I highly recommend three. Something to help you stay insulated. Swim caps, sure, they look goofy, but they work. So definitely do that. Also helps keep your hair out of the way during anything backboarding. I'm going to recommend that yeah, Dave doesn't have that problem. But then you don't have to worry about the hair sweep quite as much as you go through. So yeah, whatever's gonna work.

David Kotz:

If you do have long hair, just be prepared to manage that, whether a swim cap, extra hair ties, whatever the case may be. Some pools have more restrictive requirements for long hair than others. I don't know anything about

Anna Unruh:

Yeah, I haven't run into those yet. That's just me having taught long enough that hey, a braid tends to work better long term than a ponytail, but ponytail's still functional. Bun is like the standard go to. But yeah, also swim caps, regardless of who you are, just as a way to manage heat.

David Kotz:

Super cool. All right. So I think we've covered like everything we need to bring to the academy. And I always want to highlight. Thing that I didn't bring that I wish I had brought. Post it notes. You can have different colors, sizes, whatever works for you, but the post it notes were a game changer. I learned that from someone else. There's always a Staples nearby, you can get post it notes, but bring a little brick and you'll be a happy person.

Anna Unruh:

snacks would be the other thing. Again, long days, lots of time in the water and it depends on, like, how many people you have and how close you are to schedule on how long your lunch break is. So you may or may not be able to bop out and get something. Highly recommend grabbing something so that you can bring in lunch regularly. Inquire as if there's going to be a microwave or not. You might find that out day one and then be able to adjust what you're doing for the rest of the week. I was lazy and would just buy like snack stuffs and then PB& J it all the way through the week.

David Kotz:

I agree. Bring your lunch. Prepare for the academy. Have some lunches prepared; bring them with you. There is not enough time during the academy to go out to lunch. That will not happen. You will be much better served if you have your lunch you'll be able to rest and recover and prepare for your next session. If your lunches are prepared already, you don't have to go figure out what you're doing for lunch that day.

Anna Unruh:

If you are a caffeine person, bring your caffeine stash for the day. Hydrate.

David Kotz:

A warm caffeine? Are you cold caffeine? Do you need diet cokes or more coffee or whatever those what's those crazy energy drink things?

Anna Unruh:

There's so many. I legitimately brought a travel hot pot that collapses down and was making tea and we had several people that were sharing in that.

David Kotz:

I liked that.

Anna Unruh:

If you are trying to use tablets or computers to follow along and keep your materials. There may not be enough outlets for everyone. That's the other reason for hard copies by default, is Even if you have, are super familiar, super fast with technology, you may not be able to charge it, because the educators take priority on whatever outlet is there, and if there's only one, because you're stuck in an exercise room, or, there was one that was just a very small glass meeting office, they get the priority.

David Kotz:

You remember the racquetball court? The Rutgers, there was a racquetball court. That's where we did the class in. And how many outlets are in a racquetball court?

Anna Unruh:

You still need the paper.

David Kotz:

Do I travel with a small power strip? Yes, I do. Especially the USB charging stuff. I make friends by having USB ports available. All right, we got our stuff. How do we then take all our stuff and how do we prepare to ensure maximum success? What are some tips and tricks?

Anna Unruh:

Alright, so for practice teaching, which last that I knew they sent out ahead of time instead of day of because that gets a little hectic. So you should know what you're teaching, what your assignment is, before you get there. You should have plenty of time to prepare for it by getting your materials, going through, reading through it a couple of times, and also if you are confused as to what's going on, email and ask those questions. Because it's very common for people to go but I thought I was teaching this part. Verify. Send them your highlighted notes and here's what I'm doing. Am I on the right track? And then that way, if you're not, and trust me, the educators love seeing that. You're not being like a goody two shoes. They like knowing that you're processing the material in advance. They like knowing that you care about it. So that way, if you do cause a misstep, they're like, we remember this person and that they are trying and they are processing to the best of their ability. You get a little bit of grace if you are showing that initiative in trying to prepare and then if you have questions please ask them.

David Kotz:

Let me just echo what you're saying. If you're given an assignment to teach a topic, whether it's one rescuer CPR or whatever the case may be, finding that exact spot in your instructor manual or the IT guide and going through that can be confusing because there may be a skill drill that deals with one rescuer CPR. There may be a putting it all together drill. There may be the initial training for it. So just understanding where exactly that takes place can be confusing. Get to the right spot. Verify it with your educator. This is where you want me to start? This is what you want me to cover from this part to that part? That demonstrates a very good effort and will be much appreciated by everyone.

Anna Unruh:

And then on the WSI side, the WSIT side, you will be expected to create lesson plans, so if you are doing- because part of the setup is that somebody does their practice teach and you evaluate them, so we get down to, there's layers upon layers, we'll see if we can get a visual to help it out. But if you are in a WSIT academy, if you are acting as a WSI candidate, you have to create a lesson plan for your little tiny skill. Do that because it helps the person that's the WSIT candidate evaluating that to accurately show their skills, as well. And it shows your professionalism to fully create that and not just do I'm doing this and this is the one thing that came before and this is the one thing that came after. No, full lesson plan, make it look pretty. it can be handwritten. It just needs to be fully done with realistic times and things because that's the type of feedback that you'll want.

David Kotz:

That's one of the key differences between the two academies, the WSIT versus LGIT. The LGIT, the lesson plans are all there. If you try and create your own lesson plan do that. It's happened. It happens in almost every academy. Do not write a lesson plan at LGIT. They're all there. We did it for you.

Anna Unruh:

It does say to create lecture notes, so I will let you know in the current packet, it says to create lecture notes. That's just a reminder for you as to what you're teaching. It's trying to get you so that you're so familiar with your stuff that you don't need your nose in the book, but you still need to follow the book. You'll want to also be prepared and know what the skills are supposed to look like for every level, because you will be evaluating somebody on if they're teaching the appropriate skill, the appropriate level, if their holds are appropriate to the skill being taught, because I've seen some creative people do that. Lessons where it's okay, I'm going to do this. And you're like, no, they're brand new shiny. They can't- they're a level one and you're teaching at a level four. So have your reference points of what should be expected in each level for the skills you're evaluating. So that way you can give feedback to that person and show your attention to detail by pointing out like, Oh this is a level, whatever. They're able to do this, and this about this time.

David Kotz:

This challenge for water safety instructors- because not every water safety instructor in their normal course of business teaches all different levels. Some may be focused on mommy and me type of stuff, basic swimming instruction, and others may be competitive coaches that don't do mommy and me. So there's a wide variety, but you need to have that broad exposure to be successful at WSIT academy.

Anna Unruh:

We'll get into the practice teaching in a little bit, but being aware of what you are teaching and also what you are observing. So you need to be prepared for both because there will be a feedback thing where you watch someone else teach and you need to be able to follow along in your manual, in the manual that they are using to teach or in the WSIT, the lesson plan that they're following along to teach, but you still need to know those skills and what levels, so you're still looking at a lot of manuals. I use a waterproof clipboard, so I can store all my materials when I'm not teaching. I highly believe in either Ziplocs or page protectors that are taped at the top. So that way I can see and do things. I'm also probably the biggest proponent of I like grease pencils. That's correct. I have this many. That is how fan big of a fan I am. These are reusable ones too. So I have a plastic case one that I can refill. I can make notes on the laminated one, and then if I need to transfer that to something else. Also, if somebody has a jump in component, step back. Because your sheet's about to get splashed. So make sure that you are mobile. That when you're observing someone, you're not seated on the deck, that you can move, see, and hear everything. And again, we'll touch more on the practice piece side when we get there.

David Kotz:

Hey folks, it's Dave Coates from the National Safety Training Center. Wanted to say thank you so much for watching episode eight of the life saving chronicles standby, where we continue this conversation in episode nine, so we learn more about taking a lifeguard instructor, trainer, or WSI instructor trainer academy from the American red cross. Remember, please like share and subscribe to our channels. Appreciate all your help. Look forward to seeing you on episode nine. Thanks!

People on this episode

Head Shot

David Kotz

Host