FARGO — Learning to swim often brings a mix of excitement and fear, from awkward doggy paddling and struggling to float to finally feeling comfortable in the water. Many can recall the early days of clinging to the pool’s edge or feeling overwhelmed without the help of a pair of arm floaties.
But on Sundays at the Hulbert Aquatic Center, traditional whistles and drills are replaced with laughter, patience and encouragement — thanks to AquaFun.
AquaFun is a free, weekly swim program designed to make swimming enjoyable and less intimidating for kids. It is a volunteer-run, youth-led initiative founded by Davies High School senior Justin Jiang, with fellow Davies swimmer Helen Wu serving as a head coach, alongside assistant coaches and sisters Sunisha and Nashatawn Tangpong.
As Jiang puts it, the goal is simple: “to make the water fun.”
Justin Jiang and Helen Wu, pictured on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, at the Hulbert Aquatic Center in West Fargo, are swimmers at Fargo Davies and instructors with AquaFun, a youth-led non-profit organization that teaches youth essential swimming skills.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Inspired by their own memories of learning to swim, both Jiang and Wu are committed to encouraging kids of all skill levels to give swimming a try — especially those who are “scared to even put their feet in.”
Jiang has been swimming since he was 8 years old, participating in club swimming and now swimming competitively in high school. He started AquaFun about three and a half years ago after a family friend asked him to teach their children how to swim.
Word spread quickly, and what began as lessons for two kids soon grew into a community program helping dozens of children.
Using their years of experience in the pool, Jiang and Wu’s aim to create a welcoming experience — enjoyable for all newcomers and swimmers developing new skills.
Helen Wu and Justin Jiang, pictured on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, are swimmers at Fargo Davies and instructors with AquaFun, a youth-led non-profit organization that teaches youth essential swimming skills.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
AquaFun typically works with up to 15 kids at a time, ranging from about 6 or 7 years old to 11 or 12, and split into groups by age and skill level with Jiang teaching the more advanced swimmers and Wu and the sisters assisting the younger or less experienced children.
“We take all levels,” Wu said, noting Jiang’s observation that “some kids show up and they don’t want to get in.”
Unlike traditional swim lessons, AquaFun instructors embrace a more relaxed atmosphere, focusing on the fundamentals like floating, kicking and comfort underwater before progressing to strokes and harder skills like flip turns and diving techniques.
‘There’s no like yelling or drills,” Jiang said.
“I don’t like yelling,” Wu added with a laugh.
Lessons typically begin with a name game to help the kids feel comfortable with their instructors and fellow swimmers, followed by a group demonstration and skill practice — and always a snack break provided by the coaching crew.
The two are quite the pair — the type of teenagers that are seemingly chill in nature and just looking to have a fun time — and both say that teaching their lessons has made them better swimmers themselves.
“Teaching the little kids like reminds me to do stuff that I don’t do, don’t usually do,” Jiang said.
“Yeah,” Wu agreed. “You think about it more and then you’re like ‘Oh wait, I should work on this too.’”
The program operates entirely on volunteer time and grant funding. Jiang has raised thousands of dollars through science competitions and company grants which cover the lane rentals and snacks and allow AquaFun to remain completely free for families.
Alongside their happiness to volunteer, the pair say the most rewarding part is seeing the swimmers grow and become more confident.
“I remember this one student … at the start she couldn’t like put her head in the water,” Jiang mentioned, “But now, she just went off the high wall.”
“I was so proud of her,” Wu added. “She started when we first started teaching.”
Helen Wu, a state champion swimmer at Fargo Davies, discusses being a teacher on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, with AquaFun, a youth-led non-profit organization that teaches youth essential swimming skills.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Parents are encouraged to watch, especially if their children are new, but many grow comfortable enough to sit back — or run errands — as their kids gain confidence. Over time, the coaches often see swimmers “graduate” from AquaFun and move on to club teams.
“Most stick around for a while,” Jiang said. “Some of them, after taking AquaFun for a while, they try out a club, and that’s when the intensive training starts.”
The youth swimmers typically transition to club programs around ages 11 or 12, with Fargo-Moorhead being home to several clubs, including the F-M Gators Swim Team at the YMCA, West Fargo Flyers, Moorhead Marlins USS Swim Club and Red Dragon Swimming.
Wu,15, has been swimming since she was 7 years old. She swam in club and has been swimming competitively for the Davies High School girls team since seventh grade. A sophomore, she recently concluded her swimming season in November by claiming the individual 50-yard freestyle state title, as well as claiming third in the 100-yard freestyle.
Jiang, 17, has been swimming since he was 8 years old. He started competitively swimming in high school and has been a captain on the Davies boys swim team since his junior year. His senior season started at the beginning of December, but last season, he qualified for state in the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard individual medley.
Sunisha and Nashatawn Tangpong, both swimmers at Fargo Shanley High School, joined AquaFun through their connections with Jiang and Wu in club swimming and now serve as assistant coaches.
Justin Jiang, a swimmer at Fargo Davies, discusses being a teacher on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, with AquaFun, a youth-led non-profit organization that teaches youth essential swimming skills.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
With Jiang preparing for college next year — and hoping to attend someplace warmer than North Dakota — leadership of the program will largely transition to Wu, with Jiang returning to help during the summer.
“I am excited, but a little scared,” Wu said. “I haven’t done it by myself, but I feel like it’ll be good.”
Both coaches hope AquaFun continues to grow and welcome new volunteers. For both Jiang and Wu, fun is at the heart of the program.
“If you’re curious, just try it,” Jiang said. “It doesn’t cost anything. You can show up and see how it feels.”
TEXARKANA, Texas — Last January, hundreds of kids packed into Pleasant Grove’s indoor athletic facilities, trading a cold Saturday morning for a shot to run drills with professionals, high school standouts and three siblings who grew up just down the road.
The Wacha Family All-Sports Camp is coming back to Texarkana on Jan. 10, and if last year’s turnout was any indication, this event has outgrown the label of just another fundraiser.
What started as a grassroots idea — three siblings offering a few hours of sports instruction to local youth — has grown into a major community effort. It now draws support from multiple school districts, professional athletes and a long list of volunteers who carve out time each winter to give something back.
Michael, Lucas and Brette Wacha, all former athletes at the college or professional level, lead the camp. Along with coaching support from schools like Texas High, Liberty-Eylau, Arkansas High, Pleasant Grove and others, the siblings will help kids rotate through stations in baseball, basketball, football, volleyball and soccer.
Last year’s event brought in more than 200 kids, despite freezing temperatures and widespread power outages across the region. The PG gym and indoor field stayed buzzing throughout the day, with Michael’s Kansas City Royals teammate and fellow pitcher Seth Lugo and former Liberty-Eylau and Boston Red Sox standout Will Middlebrooks among the guest coaches.
While the camp focuses on skills and fun, the bigger win is what happens off the field. Proceeds from the event go directly to the Salvation Army. In 2025, the camp and its banquet raised nearly $50,000, money that funds scholarships for those who can’t afford after-school care or summer programs.
According to the Salvation Army, the need is real. Most of the kids in the program rely on some form of financial assistance, and leaders say events like this help keep doors open and services running.
The camp’s impact also extends beyond youth athletics.
Last year, Texas A&M University-Texarkana joined as a partner, offering scholarships to students or returning adults who show a strong track record of community involvement. Two recipients shared their stories during the banquet, including one who had spent part of his childhood living in the local Salvation Army shelter.
The camp started as a way for the Wacha family to give back to their hometown. It’s grown each year with help from local coaches, athletes and volunteers, and organizers expect another strong turnout this January.
Wacha recognized for philanthropy
In June, Michael Wacha was named one of the 2025 season’s Most Valuable Philanthropists by the MLB Players Trust.
The award, given to six players throughout the season, honors those who showed a strong commitment to charitable work and positive social impact beyond the field. In recognition of Wacha’s efforts, the Players Trust awarded a $10,000 grant in his name to Make-A-Wish Missouri and Kansas.
Wacha has supported a range of charities during his career, with much of his focus on helping kids and families.
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(This article is part of a continuing series that will spotlight the Wacha Family and Friends All-Sports Camp before it returns in January.)
After initially suspending the case due to lack of evidence, Petaluma police arrested a suspect who was allegedly caught on video surveillance tracing racial slurs and swastikas onto the dusty windows of local youth mentor and former Harlem Globetrotter William Bullard’s SUV.
As KRON4 reports, the Petaluma Police Department reviewed a week’s work of surveillance footage from early December, which was obtained from the garage where Bullard’s SUV was parked, and identified Corey Newman, 20, of Petaluma, allegedly defacing Bullard’s windows.
As SFist previously reported, the police department initially dropped the case before reviewing the footage, claiming there wasn’t sufficient evidence. The case has since been reopened, per the Chronicle, likely due to Bullard’s posts about the incident, shared to his large following — not to mention the subsequent media coverage.
“I’m doing this for awareness. I’m doing this to educate people, and I’m trying to let them know don’t be afraid to speak up for yourself if something happens like this,” he said, per KGO earlier this month. “Like, what’s the worst thing that can happen? It can be ignored by the police, OK, but at least you spoke up.”
“The Petaluma Police Department takes all hate-related incidents seriously and remains fully committed to conducting thorough and impartial investigations,” said the police department in a press release. “Crimes motivated by bias have a profound impact not only on those directly affected, but also on the sense of safety and well-being of the entire community.”
Police arrested Newman during a traffic stop on Christmas Eve. He was booked into the Sonoma County Jail for the commission of a hate crime and vandalism, per KRON4.
Image: NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 19: William ‘Bull’ Bullard of The Harlem Globetrotters Ring The NASDAQ Closing Bell at NASDAQ MarketSite on December 19, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Steve Zak Photography/FilmMagic)
Previously:Hate on the Rise: Ex-Globetrotter’s SUV Defaced in Petaluma, San Jose Teens Form Human Swastika
Jewel Annette Devall Rodgers was born on September 29,1954 to Harman and Marcy Devall in Beeville, Tx. She entered Heaven’s gates on December 26, 2025, with her mother, sisters, and children by her side. She was 71 years old.
Jewel grew up in Pettus and attended school there, graduating in 1973. She married her High School Sweetheart, Robert Rodgers, on June 8, 1974. She, like both of her sisters, was an LVN, working in home health after years of working as an ER nurse. Jewel was also a licensed beautician. She took great pride in her family and loved staying involved in everything she could to spend time with her kids and grandkids. She was a fixture for years at her kids and later her grandkids’ sporting events, whether it be a youth sports organization, or her favorite team, the Pettus Eagles. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Pettus.
She loved camping and often shared her cherished memories of times spent at the lake in Mathis or from her times on the Frio River. There were trips to Louisiana and Cancun she spoke of often. It was time she spent with her entire family, often sharing her RV or renting a cabin, enjoying time away from reality as she called it with those she loved the most in life. You could always count on a game of dominoes or Yahtzee at her campsite, clean up to the time everyone else at the table either started cheating or conspired to keep her from winning. If nothing else, she always was competitive, even after she retired.
Jewel was someone who loved and truly valued each of her many friends that she made over the years. She held each of them close to her heart. She would do anything for anyone and give anything she had to anyone in need. Whether she had it to spare or not. She spent countless hours listening to and sharing with anyone who’d listen along with her, her music from the 60’s. It was nothing to have her ask you to download a certain song because she had someone on her heart and that song reminded her of that person. Music and the joy it brought her accompanied every memory she had with every single person she encountered in life.
She was preceded in death by Maternal grandparents Ray and Francis Crepps. Paternal grandparents Harman Leavette and Jewel Devall. Her Father, Harman Devall, her husband, Robert Rodgers, a granddaughter, Victoria Lyssy, and two grandsons, Gavin Rodgers and Richard Gomez III.
Left to cherish her memory are her mother Marcella Devall of Pettus, sister Carman (Johnny) Gisler of Pettus, sister Fran (Bobby) Pargmann of Pettus, daughter Shannon (John) Hodge of Pettus, son Robert (Jena) Rodgers of Beeville, and son Michael (Misty) Rodgers of Mineral. Grandchildren John Robert Hodge, Marcella Hodge (Shonn), Chris (Kristen) Lyssy, Maddisyn Rodgers, Robert Rodgers, Darryn Rodgers, Savannah Rodgers, Stephen Perez, Brandy (Kiara) Perez, Dara Gomez, and Krystal Gomez. Great Grandchildren Patton Lyssy, Hayden Lyssy, Kinsley Gomez and Richard “Little Pops” Gomez. Many nieces, nephews, cousins and her many friends she loved like family.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, December 30, 2025 from 10am until 11am at Eckols Funeral Home in Kenedy, Tx. A service will be held at the funeral home chapel beginning at 11am, with a graveside service to follow at the San Domingo Cemetery in Normanna. Pallbearers are John Robert Hodge, Robert Rodgers, Darryn Rodgers, Stephen Perez, Chris Lyssy, and Matt Helford.
will host youth swim lessons at various times Feb. 2-April 15, at the Bemidji State University pool in the Gillett Wellness Center, 1801 Birch Lane NE.
Lessons are scheduled for the following times:
Mondays/Wednesdays Feb. 2 – March 2
Level 1 swim classes will run from 6:15 to 6:50 p.m.
Level 2 swim classes will be held from 6:55 to 7:30 p.m.
There will be no class on Feb. 16 due to President’s Day.
Registration opens at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 5.
Tuesdays/Thursdays Feb. 3 – Feb. 26
Level 3 swim classes are set for 6:15 to 6:50 p.m.
Level 4 and 5 swim classes will be held from 6:55 to 7:30 p.m.
Registration opens at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 5.
Mondays/Wednesdays March 23 – April 15
Level 2 swim classes are set for 6:15 to 6:50 p.m.
Level 3 swim classes will be held 6:55 to 7:30 p.m.
Registration opens at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 3.
The cost is $72 for the series. Class sizes are small with two instructors. No more than 8-9 participants age 5 and up are allowed in each level.
To register and for additional detailed information regarding each level, visit
www.ci.bemidji.mn.us.
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Tesoro Coach Steve Garrett and his players congratulate St. Anthony after the loss Saturday. (PHOTOS: TIm Burt, OC Sports Zone).
Tesoro’s boys basketball team has had a remarkable season so far with a 14-3 record.
But the Titans, coached by Steve Garrett, weren’t able to finish Saturday, losing to St. Anthony 64-55 in a second round game of the Ringo Bossenmeyer Holiday Classic at Tustin.
Tesoro had a six-game winning streak snapped.
To see additional photos, click on the first picture:
Tesoro players warm up before Saturday’s game.
St. Anthony players head to the sidelines during a timeout after a big run.
St. Anthony (2-0 in Pool A) appears headed to the championship game of the eight team tournament Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. vs. Servite. Tesoro dropped to 1-1 in pool play.
“We weren’t consistent enough to earn a win tonight, that’s the main thing,” said Tesoro Coach Steve Garrett, now in his 25th year as head coach. “There were four or five defensive possessions in a row where we didn’t stick to our principles, four or five possessions where we had good drives to the lane and didn’t take it up strong, we didn’t earn the fouls, didn’t finish.
“We went away from the defense, we got to earn wins and I just didn’t think we were consistent enough.”
Tesoro was led by sophomore Owen Hatch, who had 17 points and his brother Carson Hatch, a senior, who had 12 points.
Jamil House led St. Anthony (6-5) with a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds. House, the only Saint in double figures, had 18 of his points in the first half to help the Saints move out to a 22-16 halftime lead.
St. Anthony led by five points after three quarters. Owen Hatch made a 3-point play with 5:26 remaining before the Saints regained control and finished with a win.
“There was a stretch where we were down two and we have five of our seven possessions at the rim and I just thought they weak takes,” Garrett said. “You got to put pressure on the refs with a strong drive and finish the play and then the couple we missed, we missed our free throws. We were seven of 17 from the line, we should have gotten to the foul line at least 25 times, not because of the refs, but because of us, that’s a big factor.”
Max Draper and Dean Mika added nine points each for Tesoro.
“The kids are great, all these guys have literally played together since fourth grade,” Garrett said. “They all know each other, they’re extremely close, they count on each other for their success. Tonight, I just know we could have been overall a little bit more consistent when we needed to.”
Tesoro plays another pool play game Monday vs Beckman at 1:30 p.m.
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Lawmakers from the 18th Legislative District are taking steps to protect children in youth sports programs with new legislation.
House Bill 2180, sponsored by Rep. John Ley (R-Vancouver) and endorsed by Rep. Stephanie McClintock (R-Vancouver), would require youth sports organizations to conduct background checks via the Washington State Patrol. It also prohibits hiring anyone with convictions for crimes against children.
It also instructs the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to create mandatory training on reporting child abuse specifically for youth sports coaches.
Ley emphasized the importance of these measures, stating that the bill was prompted by a concerning incident.
“This legislation was prompted after concerned parents encountered a convicted sex offender who failed to disclose his conviction while seeking to coach their children,” said Ley. “By requiring background checks — paid for by the individual or organization — we give parents and program administrators better tools to protect kids.”
McClintock expressed her dedication to child safety, stating her support for the bill.
“Protecting kids will always be a top priority for me,” said McClintock. “As a mom, this legislation closes dangerous loopholes and helps ensure youth sports remain a safe environment for kids and families.”
Ley also extended gratitude to the community member who raised the issue.
“I also want to thank the constituent that brought this matter to our attention,” said Ley.
The 2026 legislative session is set to begin on Monday, Jan. 12.
Jewel Annette Devall Rodgers was born on September 29,1954 to Harman and Marcy Devall in Beeville, Tx. She entered Heaven’s gates on December 26, 2025, with her mother, sisters, and children by her side. She was 71 years old.
