Sarah Kemp likes playing with the kids.

As manager of the Coplay Parkway Pool, you could say this is a part of her job.

Of course, it's not required. It's just the best part, she said.

This is Kemp's first year as pool manager. She started June 7, about a week before the pool opened for the season. She will work until the pool closes for the season, after Coplay Community Days Aug. 22-24.

The biggest challenge of the job is scheduling, she said.

"It is a puzzle when you do scheduling, especially when people request days off," said Kemp, of Lehighton.

The goal, she said, is making sure everybody's happy. That means dividing up the hours evenly along with accommodating special requests.

"Sometimes work comes home with me," she said.

Kemp said she has a total of seven employees, all of whom are lifeguards. She is not certified to be a lifeguard yet but she is working on it. She completed first aid and CPR training and is now looking for a lifeguard training class.

It's Kemp's job to make sure everyone gets out of the pool in the event of thunder or lightning. They must stay out of the pool for at least 30 minutes, she said. She doesn't close the pool for rain or even a thunderstorm. Patrons are allowed to hang out in the locker room though most go home and come back, she said.

Last summer, Kemp, an LCCC student, did painting with her father, a contractor. She has been accepted at Lock Haven for athletic training and will start there in the fall of 2015.

Kemp said she saw the ad for a manager for the Coplay pool on the college website, she said.

"I like to be outside a lot. I always enjoyed maintaining my pool at home," she said.

As manager, Kemp also is in charge of the money swimmers pay for pool admission. Often, she will collect the funds, but sometimes lifeguards will.

"I count the money at the end of the night and I take it to the police station," she said.

In the morning she picks up $75, to serve as change, from the police station.

She said the most difficult thing about the job is the long hours.

"I'm here from open to close all 7 days," she said.

She actually arrives an hour before the opening and cleans the pool.

She said the difficulty of the long hours was her biggest surprise about the job.

"The time away from my family has been pretty tough," said Kemp, whose family includes parents, an older sister, two cats, two dogs and two ferrets.

"I'm not required to be here open to close but I like to be here for my lifeguards," Kemp said.

Putting in extra time also gives her a chance to play with the kids.