June 18, 2025
No, you’re not seeing double or triple or quadruple at Harper Pool. That’s just the Hayashi family! Alex 20, Maddi 19, Bradley 17, and Jocelyn 15, work at the Rec Center Pool at Harper College.
Maddi and Alex were applying for a job at Palatine Park Distict when Maddi spotted the opening at the pool. Bradley and Jocelyn soon followed.
All the siblings are currently or have been homeschooled. “Our parents wanted us to be involved in a sport,” Alex explained. “We could choose whatever we wanted but we had to choose something.” They all started with gymnastics and swimming. All the siblings swim competitively, except for Bradley, who pursues competitive gymnastics.
“I wanted to be different from my sisters,” laughed Bradley who competes with Gymkhana. As the only boy sibling Bradley puts up with some good natured teasing. “With all us girls and my mom homeschooling us at least we got a male dog,” Alex joked. “We felt bad for him!”
And how does Bradley like working with his sisters? “It’s fun; I get yelled at a lot,” he smiled. “He gets to dunk us in demonstrations,” Alex added. “And he gets to play drowning victim,” Jocelyn interjected. And what happens when the two oldest girls go back to college? “It’s a lot more quiet in the house and I can get into the bathroom quicker,” Jocelyn said. She also said that the “noise level” goes down. “Bradley is pretty chill.”
Alex and Maddi both swim competitively at their colleges, Alex at Milligan University in Tennessee and Maddi at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Jocelyn swims competitively with the Patriot Aquatic Club (PAC).
The siblings credit swimming with meeting good friends and keeping them in shape. All are lifeguards and instructors. Both Maddi and Alex are managers and lifeguard instructors so they had the opportunity to teach Bradley and Jocelyn. All four teach morning lessons in the summer so it’s easier to carpool. “Otherwise, the scheduling can be challenging,” Maddi said.
One thing the Hayashi family agrees on is that working at the pool is a good place to be. “I always loved teaching,” Alex said. “I feel the work is more meaningful.” Bradley enjoys teaching kids and the pool environment. Jocelyn’s favorite day at the pool is the day after test day. “We get to have a lot of fun with the students playing games like Sharks and Minnows, jumping off the diving boards, and playing ‘catch the instructor’. The participants get to use the skills they’ve been learning in a fun way.” Maddi says the job is always interesting and working with her siblings makes it more fun. “We’ve always played in the pool since we were kids,” she said.
Despite the common sibling jibes – “you’re talking for me”, “you’re drinking all my tea” the Hayashi family enjoys their companionship and the pranks the go along with it. “The students will ask – is she your sister?,” Alex said. “The kids like to guess who is who. We also like to show our students that interacting with their siblings can be fun,” she added. “Our parents like all of us working together,” Jocelyn said. “They also say we can finally spend our own money now instead of theirs.”
They advise any family groups thinking about working together to do it. “It’s worth it,” Alex said. In fact, the family teamwork doesn’t stop with the Hayashis. Their neighbors, the Czosnykas – Anna 18, Alicia 16, and David 14, also joined the Harper Pool team after being recruited by the Hayashis.
Whether it’s Maddi, or Alex, or Bradley, or Jocelyn, at the Rec Center Pool at Harper College, family and fun go hand in hand! Just don’t ask who said it first!
