Changing of the guard

Alex Coolman

Nancy Robertson jokes that her daughter’s feet are like flippers.

It’s not that 11-year-old Leah has particularly large feet -- only

size 8 1/2. It’s just that they do such an effective job of propelling

Leah through the water.

They’re so effective, in fact, that they recently kicked Leah into the

“Lifeguard of the Year” slot for her age group at the national Junior

Lifeguard competition in San Diego.

Leah posted better results than 500 other junior lifeguards in Newport

Beach alone, and more than 15,000 across the state.

Pretty good feet.

On a recent afternoon, sipping a cup of water in the kitchen of her

Newport Beach home, the fair-haired wunderkind speculated on the forces

-- other than those at the end of her legs -- that have driven her to

perform so well as a junior lifeguard.

“I’ve always like going in the water and going to the beach,” Leah

said. “I surf in Hawaii” on visits to grandparents in Oahu.

“She started in our Jacuzzi when she was 3 months old,” Nancy chimed

in. “By the time she was 2, she was swimming the length of the pool.”

Being naturally aquatic is one thing; becoming Lifeguard of the Year

is something else altogether.

To capture the title, junior guards have to score well in relay races

in swimming and running, distance races, and relay rescues.

Then, to top it off, the serious contenders have to do something that

doesn’t come naturally to all members of the lifeguard family: write an

essay.

Leah’s essay states her aspirations in terms that are as forceful as

her feet.

“I am convinced that I would be a good candidate for this honor,” she

says.

The lifeguards who coach her agree with that assessment.

“She’s probably one of the best athletes I had in my group,” said

James Newton, a Newport Beach lifeguard and instructor for the Junior

Lifeguards.

Newton said he thought Leah’s strength as an individual and as a guard

comes less from an overt posture of leadership than through the example

she sets.

“With her positive perspective and attitude she becomes a leader, and

a lot of the other kids aspire to be like her,” he said.

The division that Leah dominated is the “C” class, for kids ages 9 to

11. She admits that she was probably at an advantage over some of the

9-year-olds competing in San Diego.

Next year, however, she’ll move up to the “B” class, where she will be

challenged by 13-year-olds.

Leah sounds concerned about it, but not too concerned. If there’s

anything she’s learned from the heaps of medals and plaques she won in

her junior lifeguard career, it’s that she is, in her words, a “good

candidate” for success.