|
 Jeff
Kelly was born in
Kansas City,
Missouri. He developed his love for water as an infant and began swimming
competitively at the age of seven. Preferring to swim in lakes and
oceans, he began competing in triathlons at age 15.
While
in high school, Jeff worked for a local YMCA as a lifeguard and swim
instructor. During this time, he studied the YMCA and Red Cross
swim instruction curriculums and became certified through the American Red
Cross as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI). After graduating from high
school in 1987, he created his own swim instruction business.
During his university years, he passionately
pursued his athletic ambitions, while continuing to develop his
business during the summer months. In addition to four top-ten
finishes at US National Championships, he won the 1988
United
States National Collegiate Triathlon Championships. In 1991, he
graduated from
Southwest
Missouri
State
University
with degrees in Psychology, Exercise Physiology and
Applied Social Research.
By the summer of 1991, Jeff knew that he would need assistance
to meet the growing demand of families and communities
requesting his Personalized Swim
Instruction©
services. He recruited competitive swimmers and elementary
education teachers, and taught them his methodology and techniques.
In
addition to leasing indoor and outdoor pools at retirement
communities and health clubs, Jeff routed these
instructors
to residences, homes association communities and country clubs
throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. Despite consistent, rapid customer
growth, Jeff
continued to limit all classes to a maximum of four students per
instructor; never compromising his vision of providing a
personalized approach to swim instruction.
In 1996, he expanded the company by creating his own swim league, providing
Swim Team Development, Coaching and Management services to local communities. For many
years, his customers requested that he provide other services related to
their community swimming pool facilities. In 1997, he responded to
these requests by further expanding the company’s services to include
Aquatic Facility Management
with the provision of Lifeguards
as a component of these
services.
With this expansion, Jeff Kelly inc. also began providing instruction
in the areas of Lifeguarding
and CPR \ Basic Life Support.
In 2003,
Jeff wrote and self-published his first book, “Amanda Panda Discovers the
Wonderful World of Water.” Since its publication in March of 2003,
he has dedicated much of his time to a world-wide
marketing effort.
Since
1987,
Jeff and his
team have:
-
Provided instruction in swimming, water safety, water aerobics, lifeguarding and basic life support to more than
54,000 students at
276 communities.
-
Developed, coached and managed
nine community and high school swim teams.
-
Provided aquatic facility management services to 31 communities, guarding the lives of more than
85,000
swimmers.
 Pursuing his
passion for studying other cultures and languages, Jeff began
traveling the world in 1992. Since then, he has traveled
extensively in 51 countries. Because the busy season in the aquatics industry is March
through September, Jeff is able to spend part of the other six months on the road. Many of his journeys
have been in pursuit of his athletic ambitions; such as competing in Ironman
triathlons and a four-month solo mountain bike expedition
through the islands of New Zealand. In addition to expanding his
cultural, linguistic and athletic horizons, Jeff also travels
extensively to promote his book. |
