Dear SEASTARS Family and Friends

 

It is with both deep gratitude and a heavy heart that we share news we never imagined we would have to write: after 22 years of serving our community through swim lessons, our inclusive swim teams, and specialized programs for individuals with special needs and families with financial challenges.

Our Swim Team will come to an end on August 7th, 2026.

SEASTARS will continue offering swim lessons until the end of the year. Our final day of swim lessons will be December 29, 2026.

SEASTARS was born through the dreams of our co-founders, Robin and Chaz Heller. Since our founding in 2004, their mission has become OUR Mission and has been simple yet powerful: To promote and foster the success and growth of children who are economically, physically, and mentally challenged by providing individualized attention as a part of a structured competitive swim team program. To improve the quality of life for challenged children by developing successful student-athlete skills. These skills help aid their pursuit of higher education and achievement of life goals.

Over the years, we have welcomed hundreds of swimmers into our pool, each with their own story, goals, and dreams. We have celebrated first strokes, personal bests, and championship finishes. We have witnessed children who once feared the water grow into confident swimmers, and we have seen friendships blossom between teammates who might never have met outside our program. Our work has always been about more than swimming. It has been about building confidence, fostering inclusion, and creating a space where every person feels valued and supported. For many families, our pool became a second home—a place where challenges were met with encouragement, and where victories, big and small, were celebrated together.

The decision to close was not made lightly. In recent years, we have faced increasing challenges in sustaining our operations—rising costs, reduced funding, and the ongoing difficulty of securing the resources needed to maintain the quality and accessibility of our programs. Despite our best efforts, including fundraising campaigns, grant applications, and community partnerships, we have reached a point where continuing would compromise the standard of care and support our swimmers deserve.

SEASTARS will not be taking additional swim team members beginning immediately and the SEASTARS Swim Team will be dissolved after August 7, 2026.

SEASTARS will continue to offer Swim Lessons through the end of 2026. We will take a break starting August 17th and we will resume swim lessons Wednesday, August 26th.

Please know that our priority during this transition is to support our swimmers and their families. Debbie has compiled a list of local programs, swim teams, and adaptive aquatics resources that may be able to continue your journey in the water. You can reach out to her at purplehaze33310@gmail.com or click this link: Programs offering Swim Lessons/Teams for both Neurotypical/Neurodivergent Needs – SEASTARS Aquatics | Making a Difference One Stroke at a Time.

To our swimmers: thank you for your courage, your determination, and your trust. You have inspired us every single day.

To our families: thank you for your unwavering support, your patience, and your belief in our mission.

To our volunteers, coaches, and donors: thank you for giving your time, energy, and resources to make our vision a reality.

Even though our programs are coming to an end, the legacy of SEASTARS Aquatics will live on in the lives we have touched, the skills we have taught, and the community we have built together. We hope you will carry forward the spirit of inclusion, perseverance, and joy that has defined our work.

While the SEASTARS Aquatics Program will be ending soon, there are new things on the horizon! The mission moving forward will continue to serve students with both Special Needs and Financial Needs — carrying on the inclusive values that have guided SEASTARS all these years. An official announcement will be shared once everything is set in place and ready to go! We are extremely excited about this new chapter and hope to see familiar faces when we get there.

On August 8th, starting at 12:00 P.M. SEASTARS will be hosting an End of Summer/End of Era Party at the beach strip just before Cafe Nola on Pensacola Beach. ALL SEASTARS members, present and past are invited to attend! We would love to see you all there!

Many tears have been shed in the making of this decision, but we are confident in this transition. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being part of this incredible journey. We are proud of what we have accomplished together, and we will cherish these memories always.

With deepest gratitude and warmest regards,

Gracie Miller (Executive Director) graceisast@gmail.com

SEASTARS Aquatics, Inc.

WHO IS SEASTARS?

  SEASTARS’ Vision Statement

To promote and foster the success and growth of children who are economically, physically, and mentally challenged by providing individualized attention as a part of a structured competitive swim team program. To improve the quality of life for challenged children by developing successful student-athlete skills. These skills help aid their pursuit of higher education and achievement of life goals.

SEASTARS’ History and Mission Statement

SEASTARS is an acronym that stands for Supporting Education and Athletic Skills Through Amateur and Recreational Swimming

SEASTARS Aquatics is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and fostering the safety, success, and growth of children who are economically, physically and/or mentally challenged by providing individualized attention and education as a part of a structured competitive swim team program.

Programs span grades 1-12, with performance-appropriate curriculum designed to teach the skills necessary to prepare swimmers for key competitions. Within each program, SEASTARS educates swimmers on issues such as proper nutrition, healthy lifestyles and the negative effects of drug use. All programs are designed to keep the coach / swimmer ratio at a minimum.

SEASTARS is an incentive-based program in which children have a chance to earn their own equipment and swim gear through five basic areas of reward: sportsmanship, meeting or exceeding personal goals, academics, attendance, and community service. 

SEASTARS is offered as a year-round United States (USA) swim team and mentoring program. The team practices are held at The Salvation Army Pool, North “Q†St., Pensacola and any child that qualifies for free/reduced lunch, qualifies under the guidelines of the Proof of Income/Assistance Requirements, and/or has Special Needs is eligible to participate. Tryouts are every Wednesday at 4:45pm.

Utilizing swimming as a vehicle to accomplish this goal, our programs are offered at no cost to the children or their parents. SEASTARS provides insurance on the pool deck and in the water, in addition to all expenses associated with swimming, such as suits, caps, goggles, and t-shirts. 

SEASTARS is the first program of its kind in the United States, SEASTARS has grown 625% since we opened our doors in 2005. We believe that our mission to introduce competitive swimming to children with mental and economical needs is an important one—and not just because swimming is an important lifesaving skill. Competitive swimming teaches children goal setting, responsibility, time management, the importance of nutrition, and fosters a love of physical fitness. For children with special needs, swimming is an important therapy, helping them gain balance and coordination, improve movement, overcome anxiety, and gain confidence. SEASTARS fosters an inclusive atmosphere and teaches acceptance of all children, regardless of disability or economic status. 42% of Caucasian, 70% of African American and 60% of Hispanic children cannot swim nationally. Drowning is the 2nd leading cause of child accidental death. On average 9 people die from drowning in the US daily. In September 2019 Coach Robin Heller was honored with The National USA Swimming Disability Swimming Service Award. The purpose of this award was to recognize significant contributions over several years by an individual or group to the inclusion of swimmers with a disability in USA Swimming programs or in the sport of swimming.

There were 352,528 USA Swimming registered athletes in 2019; SEASTARS had 88 swimmers registered in 2019. SEASTARS is composed of 27.27% African American, 15.9% Mixed races, and 4.5% Hispanic swimmers. According to USA Swimming statistics, SEASTARS services 25.94% MORE African Americans, 9.85% MORE Mixed races, and 1% MORE Hispanics. SEASTARS was also comprised of 36.36% or 32 Special Needs swimmers. We are the ONLY team in the country with demographics that provide the program for free. For the 2019 season, 75% of SEASTARS swimmers were at or below the poverty line which means that SEASTARS, a program that is free for all swimmers, introduces swimming to children who might otherwise be unable to participate due to financial limitations.

SEASTARS is made possible through donations from caring individuals and Private and Semi-Private Swim Lessons. This community support has a positive impact on ALL our youth. We value our relationships with each of our supporters, donors and sponsors.

We would like to personally invite you to review our updated website and scroll through our stories. We have a Video Gallery to help familiarize you with our programs. Meet our Instructors and Coaches on The Swim Lessons and Swim Team pages and set up your lessons or join our swim team! The Team Schedule is always updated, and we have a great Sponsor Page with various Sponsorship Opportunities. Thank you for supporting SEASTARS. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter through social media.

Thank you for visiting our website and your interest in SEASTARS. We also invite you to join us at practice. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to call Gracie Miller (Executive Director/Head Coach) at 850-586-0969 or Debbie Taylor (Lesson Coordinator/Controller) at 850-418-0644.

SEASTARS’ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR and FOUNDERS

GRACIE MILLER

SEASTARS’ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/HEAD COACH

Gracie Miller has been deeply involved with SEASTARS Aquatics since she was 10 years old. Her journey with the organization includes starting as a swimmer, transitioning to coaching the Special Needs Swim Team at age 16, and then coaching novice swimmers in the financial needs program once she aged out of the team herself. She has worked with every age group, from infants to advanced swimmers. Recently, she has taken on greater responsibilities in running the nonprofit swim program holding the titles Executive Director and Head Coach. SEASTARS remains an integral part of her life, and she is excited to continue growing with the organization. 

ROBIN HELLER

CO-FOUNDER

Robin Heller- Co-Founder, is a professional swimming coach with a degree in Psychology from Florida State University and has taught swimming lessons for 31 years. She has been a part of the swimming community since 1985. Coach Robin spent 3 years coaching with GPAC (Greater Pensacola Aquatic Club) where she headed the Summer League Swim Team and coached the 12 and underage Group. She coached with Area Tallahassee Aquatic Club for 4 years, where she coached all age groups including the High School Developmental Program and the Pre-Senior Group. Coach Robin also coached the Leon High School swim team and their State Winning Breaststroker. She is a life member of The American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) and is a certified level 3 Age Group Coach, Level 1-5 Disability Coach. She is also certified in Teaching age group developmental sports psychology and Dryland Training through ASCA. Coach Robin was honored to be in The USA Swimming Fellows Class in 2007. She Coached SEASTARS Special Needs Groups and is the Head Coach and Co-Founder of SEASTARS Aquatics. She also served for 20 years on the Southeastern Swimming Board of Directors and holds the Adaptive Chair. In 2019, she was awarded USA Swimming National Service in Disability Award. In 2024, she was awarded ARC Gateway Pearl Nelson Advocacy Award and had a Paralympic Triathlete place 7th in Paris.

CHAZ HELLER

CO-FOUNDER

Chaz Heller – Co-Founder, is a professional swimming coach with a degree from Tallahassee Community College and FSU. He has been a part of the swim coaching community since 1994. He coached the Leon County Special Olympics Swim Team for two years and coach with ATAC Swim Team for six years.