I cannot teach all the lifeguards
in the world, but I can make a list of tips and habits that may help them out.
It’s pretty random. Some of them don’t even apply directly to life guarding,
but rather working in general. As a new guard you might not be able to relate to
some of them quite yet, but you will in time.
1. If you don’t
know, go
2. Make it work
3. You are in charge, not the guest
4. If the number of people in the water
makes you uncomfortable, call for another guard
5 Your whistle is your best friend
6. If something someone is doing makes you
uncomfortable, blow your whistle at them
7. Parents do not always watch their
children
8. Children will test you
9. If someone keeps breaking a rule after
being warned several times, give them a timeout
10. Chlorine
kills pee, but you have to clean the poop
11. Children are
tough
12. Call a supervisor
if a guest gets too sassy with you
13. Build on
stone from the very beginning. Make good skills habits
14. It can happen
anytime, anywhere, and to anyone
15. Minimum wage
to save lives doesn’t always rock, but the job pays in other ways
16. Give
misbehaving children the ‘eye’. Sometimes that’s all they need.
17. Flatten out
the hair on a child’s head while measuring them for the slides
18. Have the
child stand up straight with their feet together for measuring
19. Don’t drop
your radio down the slide. At least try not to
20. A belly flop
counts as a dive
21. Properly wrap
and put away your tube
22. Find the
person with the muddy shoes and ask them to take them off
23. Mops spread
dirt. Squeegees clean
24. Beware the
orange bucket
25. Scan your
water
26. Corners are
killers
27. Children will
beat each other with the equipment
28. Parents will
complain about anything and everything
30. Sometimes
singing along with the music helps
31. Better get
over any phobias of blood
32. Fox40
whistles can’t be overblown
33. Don’t let the
early shifts bring down your awareness
34. Lots of
lifeguards fail Vigilance Awareness Tests. Sometimes they need it
35. Do not slack
36. Yes, it is possible for you to do a
better job than guards who have been working there longer
37. Don’t let anything go to your head in the
wrong way
38. Just because you learned CPR doesn’t mean
you are going to know it months later
39. Practice saves, CPR, and first aid on a
monthly basis
40. You are a professional. Act that way
41. The more stories about emergencies you
hear, the better
42. The trainers should scare the crap out of
you
43. Don’t let the bad slacking habits of
another guard rub off on you
44. Go beyond
45. A trauma bag is a crash bag
46. Always treat the water as if someone has
put a hundred little kids in the pool who can not swim
47. Its saves, not rescues, but everyone will
know what you are talking about
48. Don’t scrape the Velcro on the backboards
to get the water out. That wares it out
49. Try not to drown your coworkers
50. Never tell a kid they are too short for
the slides. Say they are not tall enough
51. Don’t be surprised when you catch
yourself saying ten four to someone in person outside of work
52. You will find yourself scanning random
bodies of water and flat surfaces
53. Free admission to the pool whenever you
want is pretty awesome
54. Swim in the pools every once in a while
to see the lifeguards from the swimmer’s point of view
55. Lifeguard in the water means potential
VAT
56. Its amazing what a bunch of teenagers can
do
57. Know the difference between leadership
and sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong
58. Take the opportunity to help out new
lifeguards
59. Win your coworkers’ respect
60. Life guarding is a privilege. Don’t abuse
it.
61. Doug is awesome!
62. Not all your coworkers are going to like
you
63. You aren’t going to like all your
coworkers
64. Don’t let good looking swimmers distract
you
65. Don’t get into any personal detail on
incident/accident reports
66. Just wait its coming
67. Take a dip in the pool on your break
while working outside
68. If the flow is going the wrong way, then
don’t go with it
69. Never ever let people in the pool if it
is unguarded for any reason
70. Lifeguards are supposed to fallow the
rules while swimming at the pool
71. Sometimes you have to tattle on your
coworkers
72. Your probably going to get weird tan
lines
73. Get a watch
74. Use your visor or hat while working
outdoors
75. Your whistle can be a good prank (outside
of work)
76. Make friends
77. When a guest asks you to do something for
them while you are on stand, call a supervisor to help and explain how you can
never stop paying attention to your water
78. Its okay to have a mini heart attack on
your first save
79. Don’t wear your uniform to bed. At least
not every night
80. Never trust the radio bags
81. Get fin socks and avoid athlete’s foot
82. Enforce swim lesson rules to the child
who breaks them while the instructor isn’t looking
83. Its a good thing to be whistle-happy
84. Hold your tube with two hands
85. Try not to get a whistle chewing habit
86. Get an insulated water bottle
87. Children sometimes listen to the
lifeguards better than their parents
88. You can still be a good lifeguard without
being obsessed with the job
89. Shoot for Golden Guard
90. Never trust any flotation device with a
child. Not even life jackets
91. Do not, do not, and do not pick at your
tube
92. Always make sure your seal easy is blown
up and your butt pack has gloves
93. Health violation means poop, throw up, or
anything else gross
94. We don’t swim in your toilette, so don’t
pee in our pool
95. Saying “no running” is more affective
than “walk”
96. Our goal is to keep the guest safe and
happy
97. You will be audited
98. Go to in-service
99. Lifeguard training is only the beginning
100. Life guarding is a ton of fun
Love it, using it to make a 'training' life guard book for my guards to read when no one is in the pool
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