Junior Lifeguards get extra attention

Kids and parents surrounded the pool at Edison High School Saturday — a typical scene of tryouts for Junior Lifeguards. But this wasn’t for the well-known city program, with its national reputation and more than 1,100 participants.

These youths were hitting the water for the Huntington State Beach Junior Lifeguards, a smaller program whose organizers try hard to stand out in crowded Southern California.

The program’s director, Chris Egan, said he recognizes the challenge of standing out next to “the behemoth of the city program,” a phrase that describes both its size and its reputation: The two sessions of his program have 140 to 170 students each, he said. But he plans to promote his program the old-fashioned way.

“Word of mouth is a huge manner of getting noticed,” he said. “You know how moms get around and talk. Parents can say ‘Hey, I know your kids do really well there. Maybe I’ll sign ours up this year.’”

The summer ocean safety program does focus on safety and swimming skills for youths ages 9 to 16, but the state program has some different focuses from neighboring junior guards, Egan said.

Some of that means a focus on their surroundings.

With its headquarters in the shadow of the AES power plant and surrounded by a wildlife preserve, the program adds in lots of instruction about the natural world as it runs up against a city the size of Huntington Beach.

“It’s a good lesson for everybody on conservation, and biologically what the animals face with mass urbanization,” he said. “We have a sizable least tern preserve. I’m a bird biologist by trade, and we do a great deal of ecology.”

At the same time, lower demand leads to slightly easier requirements to get in, and the smaller classes offer some extra individual attention, Egan said.

Rather than a drawback, he called those factors an opportunity to boost the skills of swimmers who need a little extra help.

“We spend a little more time especially with the younger kids who need a little more to develop,” he said. “That’s just as important, getting kids to be proficient and overcome their fears at the earliest age.”

For more information, go to www.hbstatejg.com. Upcoming tryouts are on May 3, 17 and 21.