How criminology graduate discovered success in swimming
Aurelia Wamalwa, a Criminology graduate, never thought she would end up as a swimming coach after clearing her studies in 2013.
After years of unsuccessfully looking for a job in her field of specialisation, she opted to venture into a different area to make ends meet.
She first landed a receptionist job at a sports centre in Nairobi.
As a receptionist, Aurelia earned Sh17,000 per month, an amount she says was not enough for all her needs.
She had an interest in swimming and the coach at the time was willing to teach her the skills and that’s when the passion of becoming a coach was born.
“We became friends with the owner of the swimming club. She taught me how to swim and encouraged me to pursue a swimming course. I went for it,” Aurelia said.
After finishing her course in 2018, she worked at several swimming clubs and familiarised herself with how to run them. She has been coaching since 2018.
“For a while, I had worked at several swimming clubs. I familiarised myself with the common procedures in running a swimming club."
But when Covid-19 hit the country in 2020, she was sent on unpaid leave for almost a year.
“Covid really affected me, hotels were closed, no leisure activities were going on, so you can imagine how tough it was. Sitting in the house for a whole year with no source of income was something I never imagined would happen to me."
As she pondered over her next move, Aurelia and her friend, Mildovine Otsieno floated the idea of starting their own swimming club.
“That was the turning point. My friend and I decided to risk it and start our own swimming club,” Aurelia said.
The two founded The Seals Swimming Club in 2021. Like any other start-up, the club faced its fair share of ups and downs.
Their first few clients were purely referrals from contacts she had established from the swimming club she previously worked for.
The Seals Swimming Club started with coaching two kids. It has two branches; in Parklands and Karen.
Aurelia says she diligently served her clients and referrals began streaming in.
For the past year, the club has witnessed growth after growth bagging the trust of an estimated 28 loyal clients.
She says tailoring their services towards the specific needs of clients has been key in achieving their goals.
She says most adults go for swimming to keep fit, others to lose weight and overcome their fear of water.
Parents also take their children swimming to practice for the Olympics, for leisure or to lose weight.
Some have gone to the club following advice from their doctors.
There was a time a client approached us and said her doctor had suggested swimming lessons in order to ease the pain of fibroids.Aurelia Wamalwa, Co-founder The Seals Swim Club
“There was a time a client approached us and said her doctor had suggested swimming lessons in order to ease the pain of fibroids. Another client who had breathing difficulties had been advised to enrol for swimming to build lung capacity,” she said.
The Seals Swimming Club co-founder says most of her clients are parents who want their children to lose weight.
According to her, an adult who has beaten fear of waters will need 25 lessons to become a professional.
For children, after 26 to 30 lessons, they should have mastered the art of swimming.
“While coaching kids, we start with basic water safety guidelines before we start the swimming lessons. But for adults, we go straight to swimming lessons,” she said.
Their income dwindles during the cold seasons because their clients stay away.
Heated pools are hard to find within Nairobi, the ones that are available, most of them, are poorly maintained.
As a coach, Aurelia says the challenge she has faced since becoming a swimming coach is that not so many people understand the mechanics of swimming, especially parents.
"Swimming is an expensive sport, people don’t understand the work that goes into coaching."
“A parent will accompany a child for a swimming lesson and start comparing their child to the other and feel like the coach is not doing a good job with their children,” she said.
Training female adults is easy compared to training male adults. It takes longer for them to learn how to float and coordinate in waters.
In a good month, Aurelia says the club makes a least Sh70,000 while in a slow month it's usually Sh25,000.
To cover up for losses in a slow month, they advertise themselves intensively during the high months.
For children, the Seals Swimming Club charges Sh800 per session, while for adults, it’s Sh1200 per session. BY THE STAR
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