As the summer sun blazes above, children across town have signed up to learn how to make waves in the water.

Vicksburg City Pool offers swim lessons every summer in three two-week sessions, five days a week, three 45 minute classes a day at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 5:45 p.m.

Three longtime swim instructors, Brayden Williams, Matthew Cardwell and Nicholas Jones, have come back for another year to teach children, from beginners to advanced, the safest way to move in the water.

“Really it’s a peaceful job,” Williams said.

Jones agreed saying the people bring him back year after year as well as the serene environment of the pool.

Williams and Jones’ day jobs, at Wesley B. Jones Electrical Inc. and Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) respectively, also contribute to their enjoyment of getting into the pool at the end of the day.

“This is where we come to unwind,” Jones said.

In their third year, Williams is teaching Level 3 lessons and Cardwell is teaching Level 4. Jones has Level 5 and 6 swimmers in his fourth year teaching.

Levels, which run from one to six, are based on the swimmers skillset.

“You progressively do more and more types of strokes and farther distances as you go up through the levels,” Jones said. “If you can pass Level 6 you’re probably ready for swim team or lifeguard training.”

Jones focuses on making sure students think on the little details in their stroke, like fingers closed or feet together, to prevent them from getting tired too soon.

“Don’t worry about going fast or getting to the other side, just focus on your form,” Jones said.

Williams said at Level 3 he is teaching his students the front crawl, the backstroke, breathing while swimming and to be more confident in swimming on their own. At Level 4, Cardwell said the students should already know their strokes and spend class time perfecting those strokes and swimming longer distances.

While typically the higher the level the older the students, it isn’t always the case and the instructors have taught all the way up to adults.

“It’s mostly skill-based, its not age-based,” Cardwell said. “We also have an adult class.”

One day of class is dedicated to learning safety and students learn how to help a distressed swimmer: recognizing an emergency, reaching assist and throwing assist, Cardwell said.

Each of the instructors has between 10 and 15 students in their classes. Their biggest challenge as teachers is getting the students to focus more on swimming than playing.

There is a little sense of pride when their hard work pays off and the student takes off swimming correctly.

“You’re like ‘Wow, all this work and they’re starting to be good little swimmers,’” Williams said.

To become instructors, several extensive certifications had to be obtained like the lifeguarding certificate, water safety instructor (WSI), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid.

“You’d’ be surprised how many certifications lifeguards have,” Cardwell said.

While obtaining the certifications, the instructors have to enhance their own swimming skills, learn how to teach and aid those with disabilities.

Becoming instructors was an easy decision for each of these three teachers because they already enjoyed swimming enough to become lifeguards so it made sense to also lead the classes.

“You can also do private lessons,” Jones said.