Missouri Aquatics Training and Education Solutions

11/03/2025

The 2026 Training Season is coming!

MATES is conducting three American Red Cross Lifeguarding Instructor/Instructor-Trainer Recertifications during the first half of 2026!

Reach out if one of these dates work for you!

10/07/2025

Today we are pleased to announce our current schedule of American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor Courses for 2026. The Water Safety Instructor Course provides successful candidates with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to teach all elements of the American Red Cross Learn to Swim Program.

Since 2023 MATES has conducted two dozen such courses in the Midwest and beyond to clients far and wide. Many of our client-partners have used this course to regenerate and augment their community learn to swim programs, which have resulted in a considerable return on investment.

Here are the courses we currently have scheduled. We anticipate adding at least one more in April 2026, and more as demands require it.

Water Safety Instructor Course 2026-004
Location:
-Turner Aquatics Center
-Kansas City, Kansas
Dates:
-Thursday, February 26th to Sunday, March 1st.

Water Safety Instructor Course 2026-001
Location:
-Excelsior Springs Community Center
-Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Dates:
-Thursday, March 26th to Sunday, March 29th.

Water Safety Instructor Course 2026-003
Location:
-Eudora Community Center
-Eudora, Kansas
Dates:
-Monday, June 1st to Friday, June 5th.

Water Safety Instructor Course 2026-002 is for an internal only client-partner and thus not listed.

This course includes a blended learning component of six hours coupled with twenty-four hours of classroom and pool time. We often draw a diverse range of candidates with a wide variety of knowledge and experience.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out today.

Until next time . . .

We've got this!

We're MATES!!!

10/02/2025

American Red Cross Lifeguarding Instructor/Instructor-Trainer Recertification Courses for 2026.

MATES is pleased to announce our schedule of Lifeguarding Instructor/Instructor-Trainer Recerts for the coming 2026 Season. If you have any questions, please contact us via PM.

Lifeguarding Instructor/Instructor Trainer Recert 2026-001
Location:
-Turner Aquatics Center
-Kansas City, Kansas
Date:
-Saturday, January 3rd starting at 9:00 am.

Lifeguarding Instructor/Instructor Trainer Recert 2026-002
Location:
-Heckart Community Center
-Sedalia, Missouri
Date:
-Sunday, January 4rd starting at 9:00 am.

Lifeguarding Instructor/Instructor Trainer Recert 2026-003
Location:
-Excelsior Springs Parks and Rec Community Center
-Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Date:
-Saturday, March 14th starting at 9:00 am.

Lifeguarding Instructor/Instructor Trainer Recert 2026-004
Location:
-Eudora Community Center
-Eudora, Kansas
Date:
-August 2026. Final Date TBD.

Note. We are not conducting Basic Lifeguarding Recerts at these sessions. Experience has taught us that it makes for a very long twelve hour day, which for folks who travel, can be a challenge.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

Until next time . . .

We've got this!

We're MATES!!!

02/05/2025

Send a message to learn more

09/09/2024

Year 2025 Missouri Aquatics Training and Education Solutions Upcoming Training Courses:

At MATES we are already planning 2025 Courses. Here is what we have on deck for January.

American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor Course 2025-001
DATES: 01-02 to 01-05
WHERE: Turner Aquatics Center, Kansas City, Kansas.

NOTE: This course trains successful candidates to teach all levels of the American Red Cross Learn to Swim Program.

American Red Cross Lifeguarding Instructor Course 2025-001
DATES: 01-06 to 01-08
WHERE: Excelsior Springs Community Center, Excelsior Springs, Missouri

NOTE: This course trains successful candidates on how to conduct lifeguarding courses for the American Red Cross. Candidates must have a current full Lifeguarding Certification, to include deep water skills, and be seventeen years old.

There may be a Lifeguard Instructor Recertification course as well if there is sufficient demand for it.

Questions?

Contact MATES today!

09/08/2024

The MATES Aquatics Front - American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor Course 2024-007, Day Two:

We are doing the work. Two of four practice teaching assignments complete, and we continue to push through the material.

Cindy, my wife, and MATES Client Relations Officer, is on the hunt to upgrade her Basic Swim Instructor Cert to a Water Safety Instructor Cert. Turns out the program doesn't have a one day bridge for people who have the BSI cert. So MATES policy these days is that any classes we run are WSI courses that give everyone the eligibility to eventually become Instructor-Trainers like myself.

Which alludes to long term plans. Eventually we hope to send my wife off to IT Academy so she can become a WSIT like me. Then we can increase our training capacity, and I personally think she brings a lot to the table from her own life experiences.

On the long range planning front, we are currently in talks with another client-partner for a WSI course of their own. Internal candidates only, this will happen in late October and is currently classes as 2024-008. They will most likely be the last one for 2024, and the last actual class for the year as well before we go into the 2024 Operational Pause.

That said, Missouri Aquatics Training and Education Solutions is already blocking time off for the following:

American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor Course 2025-001
American Red Cross Lifeguarding Instructor Course 2025-001

Both in January.

Want to know more?

Contact MATES today!

09/02/2024

The Missouri Aquatics Training and Education Solutions Front - Water Safety Instructor Course 2024 - 007, Turner Aquatics Center:

MATES is spinning up for yet another Water Safety Instructor Course, which grants successful candidates a two year certification to teach all of the courses in the American Red Cross Learn to Swim Program.

The dates are September 6th to the 8th.

We still have an open seat or two if anyone wants to hop aboard at the last minute.

In the meantime we'll be switching over to inservice training support for a couple of client-partners over the next couple of months. Our next scheduled course at the moment will not take place until January 2025.

We wouldn't be opposed to running one or two more instructor courses between now and our 2024 Operational Pause, which is tentatively scheduled to run from November 1st to December 26th.

Reach out if you are interested.

Also, you can do MATES a real favor by liking our FB page, commenting on your previous positive experiences with us, and sharing this with your own followers.

Thank you.

08/17/2024

The Missouri Aquatics Training and Education Solutions Front - Upcoming Water Safety Instructor Courses:

We have two WSI courses on deck. These courses train candidates to teach all aspects of the American Red Cross Learn to Swim Program.

Water Safety Instructor Course 2024-006 is an Internal Candidate Course only taking place on August 22nd to August 25th.

Water Safety Instructor Course 2024-007 is open to external candidates. It is taking place on September 6th to the 8th at Turner Aquatics Center in Kansas City, Kansas.

If you are interested in earning your Water Safety Instructor Certification as part of your professional development, contact me as soon as possible.

08/16/2024

The MATES Aquatics Front - This Week's Action:

No saves, only training.

Wednesday and Thursday of this week saw MATES conduct two American Red Cross Lifeguarding Instructor/Instructor-Trainer R.24 Recertification Courses. One in partnership with Bonner Springs Aquatic Park and Bonner Springs Parks and Recreation, the other with the City of Prairie Village at the Prairie Village Swimming Pool.

Overall, MATES recertified two instructor-trainers and twelve lifeguarding instructors for multiple organizations.

The weather mostly cooperated on both days, though it looked grim on Wednesday when we decided to start with the classroom instead of the pool.

This marks the third and fourth of these recerts I have conducted, meaning I am starting to iron out the kinks in teaching them. I imagine more opportunities will present themselves over the next few months as we approach the end of the year.

In the meantime, I have the weekend off starting tomorrow. I'm headed to campus to prep syllabi for the Foundations of Western Civilization Courses. I'm personally hoping to pull one more good pool day before summer comes to an end for me on Monday with the start of classes.

MATES is a very small organization, but we punch well above our weight, I believe. We do more training in six months than many organizations do in a year. We are flexible, can deploy on short notice, and we are constantly adapting to new challenges. We have a team of instructors and a community of client-partners that understands the challenges of operating aquatics facilities.

I think best of all is that many of us who would otherwise be completely out of aquatics, perhaps myself included, are still able to contribute in meaningful ways.

For me, it is better than being chained to a desk doing admin work, or worse, being siloed in one aquatics facility.

Onward.

08/12/2024

One of our team members visited Redding Recreation's Aquatic Center while on vacation on Sunday, August 11th.

While he was there to swim laps, he took note of the professional appearance of the lifeguards and staff. Scanning and rotation were on point, and the facility was clean. Redding Aquatic Center Troops were doing the work!

Plus our team member really enjoyed the diving board.

Send a message to learn more

07/29/2024

Want to know the number one thing we hear every time we post about the danger of puddle jumpers and other flotation devices in pools?

“Well, my children all used them and they can all swim just fine now. Nothing bad ever happened to any of them.”

We humans have a strong cognitive tendancy to be influenced by the luck of those who tried something (later found to be risky and dangerous) and who didn’t have anything bad happen to them when they did it.

It’s called Survivor’s Bias. It’s a thinking bias-an error in thinking that we can all easily slip into. This is when a person mistakes a visible successful subgroup with the entire group. It’s when we assume that because one person or a few people was/were successful or didn’t have a bad thing happen, that no one will have anything bad happen and the practice is safe, even when it’s not or may not be.

We ignore those who had a bad outcome, assuming and excusing away that outcome as having to do with something else unrelated to the thing we want to do.

Success, or coming out of the situation unharmed, puffs up the influence of those who didn’t have anything bad happen and downplays or even ignores the ones who did.

But no one understands the risks of a dangerous practice better than someone who actually had the worst thing happen to them. So don’t just listen to those who never had anything bad happen when doing something risky. Balance that information with the warning and plea for caution that those who have experienced the consequences of risky behavior have for you.

Just because the bad outcome didn’t happen to you doesn’t mean that your actions were safe. The fact that you survived a dangerous practice just means that you were lucky that nothing went wrong.

Why do we believe survivors bias is happening in the case of using flotation devices in pools? Because the evidence is mounting that these devices do cause false sense of safety in young children, making it more likely that they will go back into water at a time when they aren’t supposed to be there, without their device on because they think they can swim on their own ability, and then drown.

Why do we know this?

Because we have testimony after testimony after testimony of it happening this way.

Because we have more and more video surveillance catching kids doing this very thing.

Because we have kids testifying that that’s why they went back to the water alone and without their devices.

Because the fact is that 70% of young child drownings happen during a non-swim time, usually when kids are taking a break from swimming and parents are trying to manage multiple kids at one time.

When it comes to safety, we urge you to listen to those who have had the bad thing happen. Don’t ignore them or discount them. Learn from them. It could save your child’s life!