Who I Am - Seahorse Swim School

Seahorse Swim School, Inc. emphasizes water safety in order to build water confidence and over all fitness. My name is Tiffany Harmon and I am the owner and operator of Seahorse Swim School, Incorporated. I have enjoyed teaching individuals to swim for over 20 years and I consider myself a resource to the Santa Cruz community in Aquatic Safety and Swim Instruction.

I have been swimming since I was a toddler and am truly grateful for the life saving skills I have learned. I had my first swimming lesson at age 4. At age 7, I joined my local YMCA swimteam. Since age 7, I swam with a few different YMCA's in Southern California until high school. During my teenage years, I also participated in Jr. Lifeguards at Will Rogers State Beach in Santa Monica, California. At age 13, I took my very first first-aid class. At age 17, I took my first Lifeguard Training and Water Safety Instructor certification class through the American Red Cross. I have been teaching swimming lessons ever since!

I worked as a lifeguard and swim instructor for the City of Los Angeles for almost 7 years. The Water Safety Instructor class provided me with the fundamental tools and solid foundation that I needed to start out with. With over 20 years of teaching experience under my swimsuit now, I have been able to add my own unique style while continuing to utilize the fundamentals that the Red Cross has taught me.

In 1993, after many years of teaching group lessons, I began teaching private swimming lessons out of backyard pools in Los Angeles. I was a traveling swim instructor, bringing all of my equipment with me. Our lessons focused on water safety and learning new swimming strokes.

From 1993-1995, I swam competitively for Santa Monica College. College swimteam was a lot of hard work, which included MANY hours of swimming, up to 4 hours a day, 6 days a week and over 10,000 yards a day! In 1995, I was ranked 8th in the 50 yard backstroke in the Southern California Conference Championships.

In 1998, I completed my Bachelors Degree in Psychology at UC Santa Cruz. I focused my studies on Child Development and Social/Organizational Psychology. For over 15 years now, I have been an instructor for the American Red Cross teaching many different lifesaving classes, including: Lifeguard Training, CPR for the Professional Rescuer, Water Safety Instructor, Adult, Child, Infant CPR and First Aid.

As an American Red Cross Instructor Trainer in Water Safety Instruction (WSI), I'm authorized to train and certify up-and-coming Water Safety Instructor Candidates who want to teach American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim programs. It is my goal to mentor new and seasoned swim instructors in the Monterey Bay Area to ensure high quality swim instruction for our aquatic population.

It is my pleasure and my joy to teach you and your children to swim. Feel free to call or email me with your questions.