Working as a lifeguard is a traditional summer job for many teens. But the job pool is changing, thanks to some older applicants. CBS News correspondent Carter Evans has the story.

Popular swimming spots are coming up with creative solutions to combat a regional shortage of lifeguards.

“It’s a good little beach to go to,” Ronald McClendon, who went to Lake Ontario beach to spend time with his kids, said. “The people are good, they’ve got playgrounds around her, picnic areas, and houses, it’s nice.”

That’s why he and others we talked to were concerned to hear about the shortage.

“I think its important that there are people trained for those situations, in case there’s an emergency,” Beachgoer Brittany Distefano said. “I would hate to see a child drown, or hear about it in the news, just because there’s a shortage of life guards.”

It’s a trend Monroe County’s Director of Parks Larry Staub says they started noticing last year.

“In this competitive job market, you’re looking at students in college who tend to do more internships than things that’d be considered to be summer employment.” Staub said.

So Staub says they got creative, and got two of his employees certified to train lifeguards in house.

“We now can do the testing ourselves, and the training, so it makes it easier for us to do.” Staub said.

And they’re not alone. The Y.M.C.A is also having trouble recruiting.

“We have so many pools and water facilities throughout the Y, that we need to make sure every patron here is safe.” Y.M.C.A Aquatics Director Phil Baretela said.

That’s why they’re now offering free lifeguard certification classes that can normally be as expensive as $200.

See Spectrum News Rochester

Deputies say a 17-year-old drowned while trying to swim across a river in West Virginia.

Rescuers said it may take up to four days for the entire team to reach safety, depending on conditions inside the cave

Elite divers have rescued the first two of 12 young soccer players and their coach who have been trapped in a flooded cave complex in northern Thailand for more than two weeks, according to Kyodo news agency quoting Thai media reports.

The boys separately emerged from Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province between 5:30pm and 6pm local time, Kyodo said.

The boys, two of the “Wild Boars” team that has been stuck in a cramped chamber several kilometres inside the Tham Luang cave complex since June 23, emerged Sunday night after a dangerous mission to extract the group began earlier in the day.

Read South China Morning Post

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Jonathan, Todd and Zach explain some of the technical issues regarding the soccer team stranded in a cave in Thailand, and answer some viewer questions about the situation.

https://youtu.be/CIRC68Cv6eM

The “exact moment” that rescue personnel have been waiting for has arrived, as they begin their mission to extract the 12 Thai schoolboys and their football coach from the Tham Luang cave.

In the United States, “drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death in children aged 1–14 years,” according to the World Health Organization.

Being a child, male or a member of a minority group and lack of swimming ability are the major factors in drowning deaths. Whereas we strive to instruct our children to protect themselves via health classes, elaborate fire and perceived-threat drills, we provide insufficient education and practice to prevent this perfectly preventable tragedy.

[pullquote]To my knowledge, no one ever died from not playing football, tennis or hockey[/pullquote]Swimming is treated as a luxury whereas other sports are not. To my knowledge, no one ever died from not playing football, tennis or hockey, all very expensive sports in terms of training and facilities. The ability to swim, aside from saving lives, provides children with a refreshing and joyful activity and is a confidence builder. Many of us who have little prowess in sports thrive in the water.

Recently, I looked at the Santa Fe public pools’ schedules and saw a preference for lap swimmers. I am one, but I feel strongly that teens and children should have priority in the daytime. I found that Fort Marcy Recreation Complex is under construction (“Rec center work limits access,” June 12) and was directed to the Salvador Perez Recreation Complex pool, where I had the privilege of swimming in a full lane while all the children were confined to a corner of about 20 feet by 20 feet.

Read Santa Fe New Mexican