Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Strauss. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Professor Robert Strauss, M. Ed. (U of Miami ‘75-’77), has dedicated his professional career to aquatic safety in, around, and underwater. Through Aquatic Education, Coach Strauss has enriched the lives of babies, toddlers, school-age children, teens, and adults, assisting them to discover how to be safer and stronger swimmers. Coach Robert is well known for the development of instructional skills based on soft touch and soft voice; these skills have been taught to 1000s of teachers around the world. In May 2019 Coach Robert was awarded the most prestigious award in the learn to swim industry, the Virginia Hunt Newman Award, by the International Swimming Hall of Fame, ISHOF. In September 2019, was awarded the NADI Water Drop, the most prestigious award in the swimming industry in South America recognizing trajectory, innovation, and relevant contributions to the field of swimming. 

Robert and life partner, Jennie, founded swim gym in 1984 and re-invented the swim school business in a warehouse, nowadays commonly found in strip malls and warehouses, across the country. In 1997, swim gym relocated to the Dave & Mary Alper JCC in S. Miami and made it their headquarters until the end of summer 2018. In the spring of 2012, swim gym was invited to restructure and operate the Aquatics program at MAR-JCC in Aventura; the program was turned around from grossing $150K to surpassing $450K, in the fall of 2012, the Swim Gym Swim School opened its doors at the Galbut JCC in Miami Beach, its present home and only location. 

The 3-lane pool & V shape at the MB-JCC improved conditions to teach and coach people of all ages and turned Swim Gym into one of the Top 50 Authorized Providers of the American Red Cross in Florida Chapter, this includes certification of water safety instructors and lifeguards, as well as the learn to swim program, that teaches an average 300 children per week during the school year and approximately 600 children per week during the 10 weeks of summer. At present, Coach Robert spends time travelling lecturing on the art and science of discovering how to swim, sharing his experience and knowledge gained since the ’73-’74 school year of teaching and administration. 

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