Dylan Wilber certainly knows how to swim.
He better know how to swim, given that he’s currently the head lifeguard working at the Cottonwood Recreation Center.
Last Thursday, the indoor pool wasn’t being used that heavily and there fortunately didn’t seem to be anyone there that needed the immediate services of a lifeguard.
Still, Wilber has a job to do, making sure that the pool is running smoothly and that it gets shut down properly when it’s closing time.
Wilber said that there are several lifeguards who work at the pool.
When the outdoor pool the city operates next door is open in season, Wilber said that the same group of lifeguards work at both pools.
“There’s a lot of cleaning and maintenance,” Wilber said.
Wilber said he’s been the head lifeguard for about six months, but he’s not new to the lifeguard job.
Wilber worked as a regular lifeguard at the pool for about three years, after he saw that there was an opening and applied to the job.
“That’s really all there was to it,” Wilber said.
Well that, and being able to swim.
Wilber said he took lessons when he was a little kid.
It’s little kids that often end up needing the assistance of a lifeguard, Wilber said.
“All kinds of stuff can happen here,” Wilber said, who works to make sure everyone has a safe experience when swimming in the municipal pool.
Overall, Wilber said it’s a pretty great job.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Wilber moved to the Verde Valley when he was 8 years old.
Wilber’s grandparents were running some convenience stores here in the area and needed some help to keep them running.
The family moved out to Arizona and went to work.
That included Wilber and his siblings, Wilber said, who all pitched in to help run the stores.
At first, the 8-year-old Wilber wasn’t exactly keen on uprooting and heading off into the desert.
As time went on, however, the place really started to grow on him.
Today, Wilber said he loves it out here.
When he’s not working at the pool, Wilber said he likes to get out and about in the great outdoors as much as possible.
“We try to get out every other weekend if we can,” Wilber said.
That means a lot of camping and a lot of hunting whenever possible.
Wilber said he typically goes after the larger game.
“Elk, mostly,” Wilber said.
As for the future, Wilber said he doesn’t expect to be working at the pool forever.
He’s not entirely sure what he wants to end up doing, although he has been leaning somewhat toward a possible career as a firefighter.
He took a class in high school and liked it, Wilber said, but still would need more training if that’s what path he decides.
“I’m still not 100 percent sure,” Wilber said.
