Water safety does not end when National Water Safety Month does. It is a year-round life skill that builds confidence, expands access, prepares families and can save lives.

At Reston Community Center, that work happens one swimmer at a time. For swimming instructor and head lifeguard Alfred Toussaint, it is also personal.

One memory sticks with Alfred. A mother stood on the pool deck, anxiously watching her daughter complete a swim team assessment at RCC. Alfred had spent months preparing the young swimmer for this moment. When she passed with flying colors, her mother approached Alfred with tears in her eyes. Her daughter, she shared, experienced a near-drowning incident the year before.

Then she smiled and said, “Just look at her now.”

For Alfred, that moment captures the heart of his work at RCC’s Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center, where he helps children and adults move from fear to skill, from hesitation to trust and from uncertainty to joy in the water.

Born in Haiti, Alfred did not learn to swim until college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where a campus requirement introduced him to basic swimming and water safety. After a successful career as a software developer and consultant, he returned to the pool with a new purpose as a lifeguard, instructor and advocate for safer communities.

“The rate of drowning for children of color is three to five times higher than for other kids,” Alfred says. “I am super passionate about doing my part in making a dent against this. I am proud to represent, so a little kid or an adult who sees that I look like them, that I love the water as much as they do but that I am also a proficient swimmer and swim instructor.”

His purpose deepened the day after he completed his first lifeguard training, when news of a two-year-old drowning in a home pool reminded him exactly why the work matters.

“This is why I am doing this,” he thought, “this is why I must represent.”

Representation is only part of the work. Alfred also knows access matters. In 2025, he launched the Black Marlin Swimming Academy, providing some 28 hours of free private swim lessons for children and adults who needed extra support but could not afford it. “I purposely chose the term Black Marlin, as they are the fiercest, strongest and fastest predator-swimmers in the open seas, to inspire our little ones that they too have the potential to be the fiercest, strongest and fastest swimmers in the pool,” he says. “Above all, I want all people to see that they too belong in the water.”

That belief shapes the way Alfred teaches. He listens first. He watches how they move in the water. He adapts to their strengths, fears and challenges. His goal is not only to teach technique but to help each person feel safe, capable and at home in the water.

In his adult classes, Alfred often begins with one simple question: “What is your relationship with water?”

The answers are powerful. Some students say they do not have one. Others say, “The water doesn’t like me.” Some carry memories of past scares or near-drowning experiences. Others want to swim with their children or grandchildren and want to be able to help if something goes wrong.

Alfred understands that fear in the water is often learned over time and sometimes shaped by deeply ingrained generational, cultural, religious or societal norms and expectations. He helps aspiring swimmers rebuild trust through the fundamentals: body positioning, buoyancy control, stroke mechanics and effective kicking.

When adults return to the pool on their own to practice skills they’ve recently learned, he says “watching their excitement and happiness doing things they never thought they could do is extraordinarily rewarding.”

RCC Aquatics Director Matt McCall says Alfred’s work reflects the deeper purpose behind water safety education.

“Alfred represents the very best of what year-round water safety looks like in practice,” McCall says. “He brings skill, patience and purpose to every lesson, helping children and adults build the confidence they need to be safer in and around the water. His work strengthens RCC’s aquatics program and the families we serve.”

As National Water Safety Month comes to a close, RCC is carrying its message forward: water safety is not a moment on the calendar. It is a daily commitment shaped by instructors, lifeguards, families and neighbors who understand what is at stake.

Alfred’s story shows how one instructor’s passion can ripple far beyond a single lesson. It is a story about representation, access, healing fear and building confidence. It is also a reminder that it is never too late to rewrite your relationship with water.

“I have had the good fortune of working for numerous global technology companies on assignments across all continents, along with my share of entrepreneurial and volunteer endeavors,” Alfred says. “None have been as personally rewarding and gratifying as aquatics. To get people to not only be proficient in the water but to swim competitively, that’s a blessing!”

At RCC, Alfred Toussaint is helping make the water a place where confidence begins and every lesson ripples beyond the pool.

Learn more about swimming lessons and water safety programs at RCC.

Connect with Alfred Toussaint via LinkedIn.

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