ABOUT US

Hi,

I am Cheryl Rountree

I love swimming and what swimming and water therapy can do for a person.

I have been involved in competitive swimming on and off since becoming age group swimmer with the Amateur Athletic Association. Although my favorite strokes are butterfly and back stroke, I swam breaststroke, freestyle, and backstroke at the Masters National Competition in May of 2010.

I have been coaching the Rountree Recreation swim team for 28 years. My other interest are sports, music and riding horses. When I was a child, I also played softball. I pitched ( not like girls do now) and played short field. I played trumpet in HS. and still kinda do and am learning the guitar. I grew up riding horses and still do if I can find time. The horse thing I passed on to my daughter Kimberly. I enjoy all water sports and physical challenges.

  I am certified as a USA Swim Coach and hold a level 2 certification under the American Swim Coaches Association. I have been teaching swimming since 1972 and first became a Red Cross certified water safety instructor in 1978. I had maintained my certification with an organization that is well structured and respected.  I also have my NSPC Certified Pool Operator license, Current Emergency First Responder, Red Cross First Aid, CPR. Swim Coaches and American Arthritis Association certification. I am a certified Open Water Scuba Diver (with PADI)  and hold an international Sail Boat license. In October of 2015, I earned enough hours driving large boats and took the courses and past all the tests to earn my Captains license with a tow endorsement.

I have enjoyed teaching swimming and water safety for a very long time.  This has been a love and a passion that I have had the honor of doing. I teach about 700 people per year with a large range of skills and fears. I am very good at teaching all levels and can accomplish a lot quickly due to a great deal of experience and knowing how to read kids. People also need to practice to learn so the kids STAY IN THE WATER during classes - not sitting on the walls. I recommend most to continue swimming to build on and reinforce the skills that they are learning.  I hope that I can encourage people to take swimming further than barely survival and learn to enjoy the benefits for a lifetime.

 I look forward to helping your child learn to enjoy all that the water and sports has to offer.

Family:  My oldest is Chloe. She fixes all that I break and loves to weld, runs the saw mill, and the outdoor pools. Next is Kimberly, she is married to Jeff Whitehead. They are looking to start building a home in the back pasture during the summer of 2024. She works on movie sets. Travis, my youngest child, is helping to run the sports building. This is a large place to run and a very hard job. Travis has given me 2 grandchildren - Harper-4 and Ender is one in Feb. 2024.

I have many, many grandchildren - my swim team and students that I have watch grow to adults. I feel like I am getting old as I watch generations grow up here.

The families have watch many of my dogs live their lives here - Bandit, Pete, Airhead, Snowball, Log Dog (below), Geri, Freaki, and Abbi. And many horses and other animals.

Motto : Practice beats talent when talent does not practice.  Please - Don't give up.