After Years of Military Service, Sean Bailey’s New Mission is Teaching Water Safety
Sean Bailey’s 30-year Navy career included serving as a medic with the elite Marine Corps reconnaissance and special operations forces. His assignments included jumping from helicopters into oceans and swimming for miles in full uniform with gear on and under the water.
Now retired from the Navy, Bailey has traded those hostile aquatic environments for a calm community pool in suburban Orlando, Fla. His work no longer requires death-defying feats, but it does prevent the loss of life.
When a child gains the confidence to float for the first time or an adult overcomes a lifelong fear to experience the joys of water with his family, “I often get a bit choked up,” Bailey says. “It’s emotional when you see children learn the skills we teach them. They go from fear and apprehension to joy and excitement! That’s how I know we were put here for this exact purpose.”
A Family-Oriented Business
Sean and Alison Bailey (pictured together in main photo) own and operate a British Swim School franchise in Lake Mary, Fla., which they opened in July 2023. Sean’s primary role is instructing students and training staff while Alison, who has a background in business, focuses on marketing and customer service and also gives lessons. Their sons, Conan, 11, and Maverick, 9, are avid swimmers and often pitch in to help from the pool deck.
“Running the business allows us the freedom to be there for our children and watch them grow. This is something I never had the opportunity to witness while serving in the Navy,” Bailey says.
The parents and students who come for lessons are like family, too, he says. “It does not feel like work at all, but something we take great pride and joy in doing. Alison, our team and I are very honored and proud to be part of the British Swim School family offering a lifesaving and life-changing service for the surrounding communities.”
‘Survival of the Littlest’
Founded in 1981 and now owned by Buzz Franchise Brands, British Swim School emphasizes water safety as its top priority, and the program focuses first on water acclimation and survival techniques before proceeding to true stroke development. The program’s slogan is “Survival of the Littlest,” which resonated with Bailey, who was a swimmer and lifeguard in high school.
Lessons are available year-round to students of all ages and abilities in temperature-controlled pools leased in hotels, community centers and other locations that may be under-utilized during off hours.
Franchise owners have a variety of experience; they don’t need the proficiency of a Navy swimmer. The British Swim School team provides training and support in all areas.
“The staff and owners will do whatever it takes to ensure we are successful,” Bailey says. “They provided us with a coach who is there for us 100% of the time and provides help when we have questions or need to figure something out. We also have an annual conference where all the owners and staff come together to provide ongoing support and training. And the corporate office is very receptive to owners’ ideas and they’re always looking for ways to improve the business.”
Demand for Swim Instruction
Demand for swimming and water safety training has increased since pools re-opened post-pandemic. Parents increasingly seek to safeguard their kids, particularly after the summer of 2023, the hottest on record, when taking a cool dip was all but irresistible, even for those with limited skills. And for older adults, studies show swimming improves physical health and cognitive functioning.
The Baileys’ students have included toddlers, children with special abilities, adults and even a young man entering the U.S. Coast Guard as a rescue swimmer who sought to improve his time in the 500-yard freestyle, trimming it from 11 minutes, 45 seconds, to 9 minutes, 15 seconds with about two months coaching, Bailey says.
“Our greatest joy is coaching a child who is very fearful of the water and helping them feel safe. Then, on Day 1, they get in and start floating on their back. Their parents are astounded by our teaching techniques,” he says.
“Parents come to us because they know the value of what we are doing. Adults come to us because they are ready to learn and live a better, healthier life and enjoy the water with their families. It’s powerful, and we are privileged to be part of the process. Sometimes adult swim students feel they aren’t learning fast enough, but we reassure them that they are unlearning a lifetime of bad habits. And it works.”
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