Have you ever wished you could take a summer off from your career and try something different? A 42-year-old attorney did just that and became Rehoboth Beach’s oldest-ever rookie lifeguard.
Ben Schweers has become an inspiration for his far-younger colleagues, and he’s even saved two lives.
“This is the best office anybody could have,” he said as he surveyed the ocean.
For the past 15 years, Schweers’ office has been a courtroom. The Pittsburgh attorney decided he wanted to take a summer off and work on the beach after a visit a few years ago.
“Just fell in love with the area. Knew I wanted to come back for an extended stay, so here I am,” he said. “I felt like I needed to kind of recharge my battery.”
So Schweers applied to become a lifeguard.
“There was a preseason tryout where we swam in a pool, did some running, did some push-ups and all those things, and I was accepted based on my performance during that and I thought, you know, ‘That was a breeze. I’ll be fine,’” he said.
But joining the Rehoboth Beach Patrol hasn’t been as easy as he thought it would be.
“I got down here and I learned that we then had a six-week boot camp for the rookies. And I will say, again, I’ve been an athlete my whole life. It was by far the most difficult thing I’ve done physically, ever. I was completely exhausted every day for the six weeks. We’d go home and just kind of crumble over,” he said.
Nico Caceres is the beach patrol captain and said he’s seen Schweers’ impact on the younger lifeguards.
“He’s an excellent role model for the 18-year-olds, the 19-year-olds and 20-year-olds coming up. It’s like how you should be composing yourself as a professional lifeguard and as a professional lawyer,” he said.
As you might expect for the patrol’s oldest rookie, Schweers’ young colleagues gave him a nickname: Uncle Ben.
“Most of my coworkers here, my fellow guards, are probably half my age, but I think that I’ll be friends with them for as long as I’m alive,” he said.
‘It’s OK to break out of the mold’
Sitting atop his lifeguard chair, he reflected on what his summer job has taught him.
“I’ve been surprised by how much my story has resonated with other people. But I think the big takeaway is that change is OK. And it’s OK to break out of the mold, so to speak, even if it’s for a little bit,” he said.
All the training that left him exhausted has paid off: Schweers has made two rescues so far this summer.
“My first one was a couple weeks ago. A young boy was caught in a rip current; he was on a boogie board and getting swept out. I whistled at him to try to get him to paddle back in. It was clear that he wasn’t gonna be able to do that, so I went out and I brought him in. It was really a great feeling,” he said.
“There’s something about diving into the ocean and pulling another human being who’s in trouble out and making sure they’re safe. There’s nothing quite like that,” he added.
A lot of the beach’s lifeguards are headed back to college. Schweers is sticking it out through mid-September and holds out the possibility that he might return, if his caseload permits.
The beach patrol accepts rookie lifeguards as young as 16, if they can pass the physical. There’s no limit on how old you can be, so it’s never too soon to start thinking about next summer.
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