UW-Milwaukee is offering beach sports and beach volleyball classes at Bradford Beach all throughout the summer semester.
The one-credit courses are taught by Dean Thompson, who is an associate lecturer for UWM’s Zilber College of Public Health. The classes are 50 minutes each and meet twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at Bradford Beach.
Thompson ensures the classes are beginner-friendly, with a focus on co-ed reactional play. They dive into the basics of beach volleyball and other beach sports, like flag football, soccer and ultimate Frisbee. The classes are geared toward getting people comfortable with the games that are taught and providing a fun environment for students to get exercise outside.
“The main fun is just when we get really good games going,” said Thompson. “Throughout the course of the term, you will get a lot of students that really have no experience in any of the classes. Then, once they start to pick up some of the basic skills and get more comfortable, then the games become more fun.”
The class is also occasionally paired with the Milwaukee Public Schools’ M-Cubed program, which “connects Milwaukee’s youth to clear pathways for higher education”, according to their website. High schoolers joined in on the classes and had a chance to connect with UWM students about their experiences in higher education at UWM and in Milwaukee as a whole.
“Most of the UWM kids are at least familiar with Bradford and the lakefront, but a lot of the MPS students had never even been to the beach before,” said Thompson. “So it was super cool to give them that kind of a beach experience and get them acclimated to being in the sand for the first time. That was a great experience for me.”
Students interested in these classes can sign up through PAWS from now until May 28. The classes are listed in PAWS as FITWELL 295-107, and FITWELL 295-109.