Trainor: 6
ESF Episcopal

Whether your camper has discovered a new interest, met a new friend, bonded with a counselor or considered ESF a home away from home, every summer has a story. 

“On Trainor’s first day of camp, I told the ESF team members that I didn’t think they’d ever get him into the pool. We had taken multiple swimming classes at our local pool. I could rarely get him off the wall, and when I did, he clutched onto me for dear life.

Trainor lives and breathes ESF. It’s all he talks about. He absolutely loves it, and it was that love that got him into the pool the first time. The aquatics staff worked really closely with him. They all knew his name, and every day when I came to pick him up after camp, they’d be there giving him high fives and saying how great he did in the pool that day. When Trainor came home and told me he had practiced bobs one day, I honestly couldn’t believe it. Not only did he get off the wall, but he put his head underwater!

I didn’t really notice the difference until my family went to the pool at the end of the summer. My husband ran up to me and said, “Trainor’s in the pool! Did you know he can swim?!” We were blown away. He had gone from a boy who wouldn’t go near the pool to a confident swimmer who could do different strokes across the pool, and it was 100% thanks to ESF.

Trainor was diagnosed with hypotonia as a baby, which means he has low muscle tone in his legs and core. His coordination is off because of it, and it’s a little harder for him to get around. The doctors said swimming would be the best thing for him to help build muscle and stamina, but I worried he’d always be too scared. Now he loves being in the pool, and he’s so much stronger for it.

ESF’s swim program has been an amazing experience for Trainor. It made the world of difference that campers got in the pool every single day. That routine made him accustomed to the water. Swimming is really scary for kids like Trainor, and I truly think he conquered that fear through the special bond he formed with the aquatics staff. Knowing that he can trust that person to guide him and keep him safe was really important.

Trainor has been really in tune with this process. He can tell you the exact moment he learned how to swim and the name of every staff member that helped him along the way. He’s able to vocalize that swimming was something he used to be really afraid of, and now he’s really proud of himself for conquering that fear. This has given him the resiliency he needs to overcome any other fear he faces in the future, and that’s huge.

The doctors always said with his hypotonia, he’d be able to run around at recess, but he’d never be the varsity football captain. But now, Trainor is talking about joining a swim program this year. Because of this experience, he might be able to find a team and an activity he can be a part of without anything holding him back. As a mom, I can’t explain how much that means to me.”

– Leah, ESF Episcopal Parent

This summer, let us be a part of your story.