Lifeguard Michael Heaney stands at his station, keeping a sharp eye open on swimmers at the Lawrence Outdoor Aquatic Center, 727 Ky.

It’s considered a glam job. The holy grail of summer gigs. A great way to get a tan, show off your six-pack abs and score points with the opposite sex.

But for local lifeguards, the work isn’t all fun in the sun.

“They have to have their rescue tubes with them at all times while they’re on the stand, whether in a standing position or in the chair,” says Lori Madaus, aquatics supervisor for Lawrence Parks and Recreation department. “We require that they have sunscreen, sunglasses, hats and shirts. They’re required to wear their fanny packs, which have their pocket masks and gloves in it, in case they have to do first aid.”

The work, with wages starting at $7.25 per hour, can be physically taxing, especially when temperatures climb well into the 90s. And it’s not just hard on the body.

“It’s very mental because they’re always thinking, ‘OK, now this could happen and what would I do? How would I react?'” Madaus explains. “A lot of people think, ‘Oh yeah, you’re just getting a tan out there,’ but, no, it’s a lot of mental work, too.”

Melissa Hornbaker, 21, a Kansas University student and summer lifeguard for Lawrence Parks and Rec’s aquatics division, says there are misconceptions about what she and her colleagues are doing behind those Foster Grants.

“What I hear every now and then is — I’ll be on the stand and maybe there aren’t a lot of swimmers in the water — and someone will come up to me and say, like, ‘Are you awake?'” Hornbaker says. “That kind of bothers me. People having the idea that we’re asleep, that we’re not doing anything or focusing at all.”

Hornbaker, a veteran with six years of experience, says the 30-hour training course required by all lifeguards teaches techniques for staying alert in the blazing sun, in addition to life-saving skills.

“The Red Cross style says you’re supposed to start at one end of the pool and scan to the other end,” she explains. “It should take about 20 or 30 seconds. You can also count the people. It’s just a way to focus.”

Lifeguards rotate from one station to the next — every 20 minutes at the city’s outdoor pool, for example — to help keep them on their toes.

“We’re usually out for an hour, then off for 20 minutes,” Hornbaker notes.

Taylor Gustafson, 21, a KU student and guard at Lawrence Country Club, says she and her fellow lifeguards are on 15-minute rotations.

“I’d say the hardest part is just trying to get every kid to follow the rules,” Gustafson notes. “There are always the kids who try and bend the rules, then go a little further and further.”

Gustafson says that, fortunately, she’s never had to save or resuscitate anyone while on duty at the country club.

“Sometimes a little girl will go too far in the baby pool and you’ll have to grab her, but that’s about it,” she says.

At the city pool, Hornbaker often has to jump in to assist weaker swimmers who get in over their heads, but she has yet to perform a real “save.” She acknowledges the child care component to the job can be challenging.

“It depends on the parents,” she says. “Some are really active, and they like getting in the pool with their kids. Then, there are parents who think ‘this is my break,’ and that’s when it gets a little bit more like baby-sitting because I’m whistling at them and they don’t know me. They’re not going to listen to me as much as they’d listen to their parents.”

Despite its minor annoyances, Trevor Donnelly, 21, KU student and Parks and Rec lifeguard, says the job still holds plenty of appeal.

“I like to swim. I like being outside. I really like the staff,” Donnelly says. “It’s always a good thing to like the people you work with, especially for the whole summer. And we’re all about the same age, which makes for a good time.”

As for scoring points with the ladies?

“I don’t think life-guarding has the same prestige or whatever as it did a few years ago, like in the ‘Baywatch’ era,” Donnelly laughs. “You know, like with Pamela Anderson and that whole Hollywood thing.

“It may come up in conversation and someone will say, ‘That’s awesome,’ and another one will say, ‘Cool. Now what?’ But, I don’t use it nightly as a pick-up line.”

Twelve-year-old Andrew Slimmer, of Lawrence, a regular at the outdoor aquatic center, says while he respects the lifeguards, he doesn’t aspire to be one.

“Not really,” Slimmer says. “Because you watch other people swim, but you can’t.”