Making waves in the mountains: Kurt Edwards’ story

This article was in the top three winners of Lookout’s 2026 Journalism Scholarship challenge, which invited high school students to highlight an unsung hero in their lives. For placing in the top three, students were awarded a $500 scholarship. Learn more and find all of the winners here.

We’ve all heard the saying “water is life,” and water has made an undeniable impact on Santa Cruz County: surfers, beach enjoyers, marine biologists, sailors and more are all influenced. For many, the beach goes hand in hand with Santa Cruz, but it can be difficult for some to access. Thus, there is another option: a pool. Whether you prefer the beach or a pool, there are two links connecting us and our experiences with the body of water we hold dear to our hearts: the crucial knowledge of how to swim and the remarkable activities water can host. Kurt Edwards, business owner, teacher, employer, sportsman, coach and friend to all, found his calling through cultivating community at a beloved, local and inclusive staple of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the San Lorenzo Valley High School (SLVHS) community pool .

Kurt Edwards has had no shortage of career paths, and he chases what he finds fulfilling in life. He notes, “I love recreating myself. It’s so much fun. It’s a challenge.” His careers span from teaching for eight years, coaching for 46, parks and recreation for 15 to being a business owner for over 15 years. He currently coaches the high school water polo and swim teams, and oversees the pool at SLVHS. He finds coaching life-giving, and no wonder, as he states, sports “taught me about character and the ability to work hard for achievement and not give up anything. The first effort can always be improved upon, and in sports you have to learn in progressions as you have to do in life.” He elaborates that, “sports taught me that … competition, not only an external competition between myself and whoever else … but internal competition to make me better. … I guess the other way to say it is stick-to-itiveness.”

In 2006, Edwards’ past experiences with the school district all came together. He mentions, “They knew my history of coaching and park and recreation and teaching, and they thought I would be the perfect person to build a community swim program … and they wanted to develop a lesson program for the community, so I was handed two hats.” Cougar Swim School (Edwards’ business) has taught around 9,000 students to improve their swimming abilities. Edwards says, “I’m really proud of it. I’m actually more proud of the people that I’ve hired to work with me – not for me – with me.” Edwards has provided a safe environment for thousands of kids to learn to swim under the protection of hand-picked staff, all personally lifeguard-trained and certified, with most originating from the SLV aquatics teams. He has provided a first job, working experience and touched the lives of hundreds of high school students.

Edwards himself and his lifeguards have performed successful water rescues of all ages and have aided paramedics in saving the lives of many. He cares deeply about the community, and it shows: He purposely keeps the water at a particular temperature to cater to the requests of many older swimmers and to be inclusive. The best part? The community loves him back. One pool patron, a member since 2004, mentions that Edwards “can’t walk into a grocery store without someone coming up and talking to him about the pool. So, he’s a gift to our neighborhood, and we appreciate that.” She further adds that “I wouldn’t be able to walk around the way I do if I didn’t get into the water.”

Unfaltering devotion to keep the pool open for those who love it as much as he does, no matter the weather, is impressive. The pool patron states that once, there were only two people in the pool, “and he came in full gala rain gear, the hoodie, the everything, pouring down rain, stood right at the end of our lane and watched us. I go, ‘You know what, we can get out, if you want, and you can go home,’ he goes, ‘I’m all wet now, I didn’t even have a heart to ask the guards to show up,’ that’s how devoted and he stayed until 8:30 [closing time]… You can always count on the man.” Finally, she mentions that she will remember Kurt by “his kindness, most of all.”

He is a significant, special and loving influence in my life, and in everyone’s lives that he meets. In the end, it’s about the community he fosters and the irreplaceable impact he makes in people’s lives.

Brady Clark is a student at Coast Redwood High School