Full Circle: From Junior Lifeguards To Full-Time Lifesavers

Corinna Castillo can remember when she was a junior lifeguard at 9 years old — petrified of getting on a paddleboard in the ocean. One of the tiniest guards in the group, Castillo had a hard enough time just staying on the board and could just barely reach her arms in the water.

Castillo, now 18 and a full-time lifeguard at Atlantic Avenue Beach, recalled how veteran lifeguard T.J. Calabrese helped her get over her fear of the paddleboard, one of the many tools used by ocean lifeguards in the event they need to save a distressed swimmer.

“I finally got over my fear by T.J. Calabrese pushing me in the waves and telling me, ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen? You fall off? That’s okay, you can get right back on.’

“Paddleboards is now one of my favorite events to compete in,” Castillo added.

Castillo’s story is like the stories of countless others who have recently gone through East Hampton Town’s junior and cadet lifeguarding programs and are now patrolling the same beaches as full-time guards, making sure everyone is safe out on the water in what is the busiest time of the year on local sands.

East Hampton Town Chief Lifeguard John Ryan Jr. explained that those relationships between a senior guard such as Calabrese and a young guard such as Castillo, is what makes the lifeguard program what it is today.

“These kids just idolize the older guards, some of which are really hands on with the younger new lifeguards,” he said. “The younger guards, they want to be nurtured and mentored by the older guards, they want someone telling them, ‘You’re going to pass that test and be successful at this.’’

One of the biggest challenges young lifeguards face, Ryan said, is being able to communicate with people, being able to explain to them the dangers of the water, such as rip currents, and the more seasoned guards help the younger guards in that aspect. And now those younger guards are passing the torch — many of them work as in instructors in the junior lifeguard program.

“When I go down there and these young guards are working with these kids, the parents are just so happy with the transformation they’re seeing in their own kids, overcoming their fears and challenges,” Ryan said.

And that’s what a large part of becoming a full-time lifeguard is all about, overcoming fears and challenges. Kyli Parsons, 17, who lives in Westchester the majority of the year but lives in Springs with her family during the summer, has been certified the past two years and works at Atlantic Avenue Beach. Like Castillo, she entered the town’s junior lifeguard program when she was 9, and prior to that she was afraid of the ocean. Even though her father himself was a lifeguard and she knew eventually she’d follow in his footsteps, she had a legitimate fear she knew she’d have to overcome.

“I wouldn’t really want to go into the water, but the junior lifeguard program year to year exposed me to the dangers and to be aware of the ocean, and now I’ve grown quite fond of the water and I’m doing something that I completely wouldn’t have expected myself to do even just a few years ago,” she explained. “When I first joined the program, I would only do the simple things. I wouldn’t go far into the ocean. I’d do the shorter distance swims, and I would compete in a lot of the land-based activities, all of which help us learn the different components of being a lifeguard. But it wasn’t until I was 14 or 15, when you’re in the cadet program and you learn all of the requirements of the ocean test, when I became completely comfortable.”

Parsons explained that the certified ocean test isn’t the glitz and glamour of the lifeguard competition events like paddleboard races and beach flags, but it’s what makes you a lifeguard. And without the help of the full-time guards, she wouldn’t be where she is today.

“I basically grew up on the beach that I lifeguard at. I would go there every single summer, and I knew every part of that beach and every lifeguard. But it’s a really cool thing now that’ I’m at the same level as them,” she said. “Now, I’m an instructor in the junior program, and we’ll see what happens with them. I’ll probably see them on the beach doing my job in a few years.”

Ryleigh O’Donnell, 16, just became a full-time lifeguard this year after passing her test. Like Castillo and Parsons, she works at Atlantic Avenue, and like the both of them, never thought she’d get over her fear of the ocean. Eventually she did, though, with help from her instructors — and now she is one.

“I took the cold water lifeguard test this past spring, and it was rough. I don’t like to admit when things are hard, but this test was hard,” O’Donnell said. “It tested not only your physical strength, but your mental strength as well. We trained for three weeks — from the end of May up until the 18th of June — which is when we took our test. On the day of the test, I was nervous for the physical and mental strain that my body was going to go through and whether or not I was going to be able to handle it. But right before I ran into the water, I knew I would be able to handle it because I knew that I had not only three weeks of training behind me but a whole seven years worth of training that has helped me get to this moment.”

Melina Sarlo, 16, who, like O’Donnell, just passed her certification test this spring, said she’s noticed something right away about the Hampton Lifeguard Association, which encompasses lifeguards on the East End as a whole.

“The HLA community feels like one big family, and I have been lucky to become friends with people that I was able to meet through junior lifeguarding,” she said.

O’Donnell feels the same way.

“The junior program has been a part of my life for so long and I am so grateful to have been a part of it as I have gained a family through it and I have learned so many important lessons,” she said. “Every weekend, I get very excited as I am able to share my knowledge of the ocean with my juniors as well as help them get past their fear of the ocean. Because of the junior program, my many instructors, and the new family I have gained, I am a lifeguard for life.”

With guards working into their 40s, 50s and even 60s, many of the guards, such as Parsons, look forward to being on the beach for a long time.

“It’s really awesome. It shows how much people love this job, and it’s not even about sitting on the beach,” she said. “Once you’re in it, you don’t want to leave.”