Why I Recommend ISR Reno Tahoe to Local Families

I’m Jessica Locke, owner of SBG Reno. I work with Reno children and their parents every week, helping young people develop practical self-defense skills, confidence, awareness and the ability to stay calm under pressure.

My work has made me particular about the programs and instructors I recommend to families. I look for knowledgeable coaches, purposeful training and skills that hold up outside a carefully controlled practice environment.

That is why I recommend Lynnette Bellin at ISR Reno Tahoe.

At SBG Reno, we teach children how to stay calm, make good decisions and use practical skills when something goes wrong. Those lessons matter on the mats, at school and everywhere else a child goes.

But there is one form of self-defense every child should begin learning as early as their family feels they are ready:

How to respond in water.

Reno and Tahoe families live around swimming pools, hot tubs, lakes and rivers. A child does not need to be planning a swim to encounter water.

I recommend Lynnette and ISR Reno Tahoe to parents looking for focused, private infant and child swim instruction.

Swimming is fun, healthy and confidence-building.

More importantly, it is a practical safety skill that a child can carry for life.

Why Water Competence Belongs in Every Child’s Safety Education

Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1–4 in the United States. For children ages 5–14, it is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury death.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the United States experiences more than 4,000 fatal unintentional drownings and approximately 8,000 nonfatal drownings each year.

Nevada’s own child-fatality data brings the issue closer to home.

In 2021, nine Nevada children died in accidental drownings. Six of the nine were between 1 and 4 years old. Seven of the incidents occurred in a pool, hot tub or spa, and six of the children were recorded as unable to swim.

Statistics cannot tell an individual family’s story, but they make one thing clear:

Water safety deserves the same serious, proactive attention parents give to car seats, home security, first aid and physical self-defense.

The best time to build a safety skill is before it is needed.

What Is ISR?

ISR stands for Infant Swimming Resource.

The official name of Lynnette’s program is Infant Swimming Resource Self-Rescue®.

Rather than treating early lessons primarily as recreational water play, ISR instruction focuses on age-appropriate survival-swimming skills.

For younger infants, that can include learning to roll onto the back, float and maintain access to air.

As children become developmentally ready, instruction can progress toward swimming, floating to rest and breathe, and resuming swimming.

At ISR Reno Tahoe, Lynnette works with babies and children beginning at six months old.

ISR strives to provide the safest lessons in the industry. Before lessons begin, its registration team of pediatric nurses conducts an in-depth review of each child’s medical history.

This enables Lynnette to personalize instruction to the child’s developmental capabilities and health history.

No swim program can make a child “drown-proof.”

Swimming ability never replaces close adult supervision, secure pool barriers, alarms, appropriate life jackets or caregiver CPR training.

ISR Reno Tahoe explicitly teaches water safety as a layered system in which survival-swimming ability is one important line of protection.

Why One-on-One Instruction Matters

Parents who train with us at SBG Reno already understand the value of focused coaching.

A skilled instructor can observe small details, adapt the lesson and give a student exactly the practice needed at that moment.

Lynnette applies that same principle in the water.

ISR Reno Tahoe lessons are private and taught one-on-one rather than asking an instructor to divide attention among a group of children.

Each child can work at an appropriate pace, receive immediate feedback and spend the lesson actively developing skills.

The program is structured as short, frequent lessons over approximately six to eight weeks.

That concentrated format is designed to help children build and retain a sequence of responses through consistent practice.

For families who value expertise and efficiency, this is a compelling model.

The commitment is concentrated; the objective is a durable skill with potentially lifelong value.

Why This Matters to Me as a Children’s Self-Defense Coach

I recommend Lynnette at ISR Reno Tahoe because swimming is one of the most important self-defense skills a child can learn.

The training required to teach ISR is extensive, and Lynnette’s lessons are private and one-on-one, so every child receives focused instruction and can progress at an appropriate pace.

SBG Reno and ISR Reno Tahoe teach in different environments, but I recognize the underlying philosophy:

Practical skills, learned through expert coaching and repeated until a child can use them under pressure.

That is why I see swimming and martial arts as complementary parts of a child’s safety education.

If we are serious about preparing children for the unexpected, water safety has to be part of that conversation.

The Return on Early Safety Training

Parents make countless investments in their children: education, sports, enrichment, equipment and experiences.

Some create happy memories.

Others build discipline or confidence.

The strongest investments do several things at once.

Quality swim instruction can give a child greater comfort in the water, better physical coordination, confidence earned through competence and a practical response to an aquatic emergency.

The value is not measured only by the number or length of the lessons.

It is measured by the capability the child carries away.

For safety-conscious families, a focused course of individual instruction can represent an exceptional return on time and attention.

Instead of waiting years and hoping water competence develops along the way, parents can deliberately prioritize it.

This is not about creating fear.

It is about replacing avoidable vulnerability with preparation.

Swimming Lessons Are One Layer, Not the Whole System

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends swimming lessons as one layer of drowning prevention for many children beginning around age one, depending on the child’s development and readiness.

Families considering lessons for a younger infant should discuss readiness with their pediatrician and instructor.

Even a capable swimmer needs protection.

A complete family water-safety plan should include:

• Close, attentive adult supervision whenever children are in or near water
• Four-sided fencing that isolates a pool from the house and yard
• Self-closing, self-latching gates, plus appropriate door and window alarms
• Properly fitted, Coast Guard-approved life jackets around open water and while boating
• Caregivers trained in CPR and emergency response
• Regular practice and refresher instruction as a child grows

The goal is not to depend on one safeguard.

It is to create multiple layers so that if one fails, another is already in place.

Who Should Consider ISR Reno Tahoe?

ISR may be worth exploring if your family:

• Has a pool, hot tub or other water feature at home
• Regularly visits Lake Tahoe, the Truckee River or neighborhood pools
• Spends time boating or vacationing around water
• Wants individual rather than group swim instruction
• Values a structured, skills-first approach
• Has a baby, toddler or young child who does not yet have reliable water skills
• Believes safety training should begin before an emergency occurs

Every child is different.

A conversation with the instructor is the best way to understand the lesson format, scheduling, readiness requirements and the skills appropriate for your child.

Build a More Capable, Confident Child

At SBG Reno, I see every day that real confidence comes from competence.

Children become more secure not by being told that nothing bad will happen, but by learning that they can listen, think, practice and respond.

Martial arts gives children tools for conflict, pressure and physical challenges.

Swimming gives them tools for an environment that demands respect from everyone.

Both help children become calmer, more capable and better prepared.

If you are looking for private infant swim lessons in Reno, toddler swim lessons, or focused survival-swimming instruction for an older child, I recommend learning more about Lynnette and ISR Reno Tahoe.

Learn about lessons with ISR Reno Tahoe

And if you want your child to develop confidence, awareness, resilience and practical self-defense skills on land, explore SBG Reno’s children’s martial arts programs.

About Jessica Locke

Jessica Locke is the owner of SBG Reno.

She works with Reno-area children and families to develop confidence, situational awareness, resilience and practical self-defense skills.

Her recommendations reflect her belief that children deserve serious, age-appropriate preparation for the environments they encounter — on land and around water.