Churning out Olympians isn’t the goal at Blue Buoy Family Swim School, a Tustin organization that emphasizes swim safety above all.
That hasn’t kept the school from doing just that, having trained nearly a dozen Olympians over the decades.
That figure increases when factoring in former Olympians who have enrolled their children in classes at the school, which prides itself on family ties.
The organization was founded in 1956 by Mel and Doris Maxwell with the goal of teaching children how to swim and providing a safe foundation for future success.
That family and safety-first vision is continued by Johnny and Cindy Johnson, who joined the school’s ownership team in 1977 and became sole owners in 2007.
Three generations of Johnsons are currently involved in the swim school, and those family ties extend even further when considering the generations of families that have been involved with Blue Buoy since its inception.
“Several of our teachers have been former students, and their children now swim with us,” Johnny said.
The company was one of five honored at this year’s Family-Owned Business Awards, held on Aug. 26 at the Irvine Marriott. The swim school was honored in the Small Business category.
Swimming Foundation
By providing a safe swimming foundation for children, students can come into their full potential with learning and honing their swim stroke and style.
“Our goal is not to produce Olympians, but we give our students that foundation that so many kids are missing in their early lessons,” Johnny said.
It doesn’t hurt that the company’s original founder was recognized by Olympic coaches for his teaching abilities.
“I was lucky enough to train under him,” said Johnny, who first joined the Tustin swim school as a student in 1959.
School for Olympians
The first Olympian with ties to Blue Buoy was Amy White, who won the silver medal in the 200-meter backstroke event at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
That trend continued with several other former Blue Buoy students moving on to compete as swimmers or water polo players in the Olympic games.
Other notable swimmers include Milorad Cavic, known for being edged out for the gold in the 100-meter butterfly to Michael Phelps by one one-hundredth of a second; and Jason Lezak, famous for participating as the anchor, or final swimmer, in the 4×100 freestyle relay in the Bejing Olympics. Lezak carried the team to win the gold medal, and the race is still considered one of the greatest relay performances in the history of the sport.
“Jason was a bit of a troublemaker as a kid,” Johnny said with a laugh.
Lezak still lives in Orange County; Blue Buoy has taught all three of his children.
Local Work
Blue Buoy counts 22 employees, including 11 teachers.
The organization differs in its hiring approach from other swim clubs in the area by requiring a two-year commitment from teachers, rather than hiring on a seasonal basis.
“Trust is the most important thing between a teacher and a student,” Cindy said. “We want our teachers to get to know the kids and help them grow as a swimmer and as an individual.”
Johnny and Cindy’s youngest son, Eric, has been a teacher at Blue Buoy for about three decades, and runs the bulk of the operations there; his wife, Jennifer, manages the office.
This has helped to pick up slack as Johnny and Cindy focus more of their time on philanthropic work and community initiatives.
The two have served on the board of directors of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, and also co-founded the Stop Drowning Now nonprofit organization in Tustin that works with water safety advocates by providing educational tools to combat the epidemic of drowning.
“It’s about creating consistent messaging about water safety around the world,” Johnny said.
