Pods Swimming Facility Serves the Area

“Just as every child needs to learn to read by the proper progression, every child should learn to swim and be safe in the water by building upon the proper progression of skills like breath control and body position,” says Susan Pascale-Frechette, founder of Pods Swimming, a swim school and aquatic center – the first privately owned ground-up-construction of its kind in the State of Rhode Island. Pods celebrates 11-1/2 years in business and two years at its aquatic center this March. Her vision: to create a facility where swimmers can start at 6 months and grow to participate in swim team and swim laps as adults, all under one roof.

Located in East Providence near the Seekonk line, the 11,900 square foot facility offers two pools – a warm 20 x 40 foot teaching pool for lessons and aquatic therapy, and a 25-yard long, six-lane lap pool for swimmers and swim teams. The facility boasts efficiently laid out locker rooms, a viewing area for parents to watch their children’s lessons, a snack bar, swim equipment store and office space. From the initial two teachers in 2007, Pascale-Frechette and her business partner, Jamie Pascale (who happens to be her sister), the staff has grown to nearly 40 employees, including Susan and Jamie’s mother, Marguerite, who wears many different hats at Pods.

Pods partners with several local organizations: The Autism Project, Elite Physical Therapy, Mt. Hope High School, Performance Physical Therapy, Russo’s Racing, Seacoast Swimming Association, Providence Country Day School and The Wheeler School. Pods Swimming is a member of the United States Swim School Association (USSSA), the East Providence Area Chamber of Commerce, partners with Providence Community Heath Centers, and provides swim lessons to inner city swimmers.

More Than Swim Lessons for Children
Pods provides swim lessons to children ages six months to twelve years of age and follows the USSSA curriculum, which includes teaching infants and toddlers to learn to swim forward and roll to their backs for a breath and swim forward again. Pods teaches advanced swimmers all four strokes and prepares swimmers to compete in meets. Lessons are also offered for adults and special ability swimmers. There are currently waiting lists for most classes.

Additional activities include water aerobics, lap swimming, family swim and birthday parties. The store offers towels, goggles, swimsuits and other gear.

Pascale-Frechette says, “People enjoy being at Pods. It makes me happy knowing people are enjoying the facility. We’re not here for fame and fortune. We want to serve the community and create an environment for swimmers to grow.”

A Passion for Teaching Swimming
Pascale-Frechette has been teaching swimming since age 16, and while earning her BS in Dental Hygiene at the University of Rhode Island in1996 became an entry-level swim coach for the Ocean State Squids. She found her true passion; providing families with life skills both in and out of the water. Sister Jamie, having taught with her since age 14, joined her there in 1999, and the two have worked together ever since. At Pods, Jamie Pascale serves as Program Manager in charge of curriculum, scheduling, parent communication, and graphic design. Pascale-Frechette says, “This is both of our vision. We are true partners. Nobody has your back like family.”

They developed Pods after working as swim instructors and coaches in the Brown University pool. Eventually, the sisters took their lesson program and coaching on the road, working out of their cars for the next decade.

Beginning in 2007 with forty students, they rented time at fourteen pools throughout Rhode Island, growing to 1300 swimmers in 2016. Using their cars as office space, the Pods team taught lessons on a mind-boggling schedule at the fourteen different pools. They spent many hours in wet bathing suits setting up and breaking down equipment and commuting from one pool to another, teaching lessons seven days a week.

Creating a Community Resource
Pascale-Frechette’s dream was to bring the Pods Swimming program, known for water safety and proper stroke technique, to its own full service aquatics center as a resource for the community. She wanted to do it right and consulted Ethan Sluter at New England Construction to plan the construction. Her husband, Marc Frechette, an entrepreneur himself (owner of Minuteman Press in Seekonk) has been a staunch supporter and advisor.

She overcame many challenges with hard work and sacrifice, identifying a location, developing plans, and securing the necessary funds to build the aquatic center. Pascale-Frechette retired from her other job as a dental hygienist upon breaking ground for the building. In 2017, after much scrimping and saving, the dream became a reality as the Pods partners opened the doors of their own facility. Their Italian immigrant great-grandparents would have been proud of this continuation of their legacy of education, hard work and perseverance. The business now serves 1700 swimmers. Pascale-Frechette says, “What gives me joy is that this is a place for the community to enjoy swimming.”

For more information, visit the Pods website at http://www.podsswimming.com/, call 401-337-5678 or email Jamie.pascale@podsswimming.com. Pods Swimming Inc. is located at 111 Commercial Way East Providence, RI 02914.