Hop into the pool and it’s almost as if you can feel all your worries wash away. The combination of your warm-blooded body and coolness of the pool water feels refreshing. Feeling yourself gracefully gliding through the water as if you are a mermaid is therapeutic. When swimming, you worry about nothing else but the technique of your strokes and the counts of your breaths. This is the feeling most swimmers feel, including the swimmers at the YMCA in Freeland. 

The YMCA is a great place to get some fitness in, too. They offer a wide variety of different programs and classes to take that cater to different age groups, including the swimming program. The Freeland YMCA swim program is coached by Megan Miller, who says she “grew up swimming and loved it”.  The program accommodates swimmers ages 6 to 21. Coach Miller explains why she was inspired to start coaching in the first place. “I love watching people realize they can do things they couldn’t,” Coach Miller says.  

Not only is the swimming program at the YMCA a fun thing to participate in, but swimming in general is also a good form of exercise. It’s a full-body workout that improves your strength, stamina, and flexibility. It’s also beneficial to your cardiovascular health. Feeling like a mermaid while also getting your cardio in is a deal you can’t turn down! 

I am a new swimmer myself. I had no idea how to swim until November 2023. As soon as I learned how to, I automatically fell in love with the sport. I started feeling the benefits of the exercise. I had gained more stamina and strength. I started to lose body fat and I felt as if my mental space was cleared every time I got into the water. There was nothing else I’d rather do in my free time. So, to anyone out there who is interested in learning how to swim or swimming as a form of exercise, you will not regret it.