She added: "A lot of kids are so unaware of the conditions in the water."
The 23-year-old said she loved working with the kids.
"Its so enjoyable just seeing them progress and getting their confidence up."
Miss Duffy said the beach was fairly safe but it depended on the surf and it could get a few rips and holes.
There hadn't been any incidences so far but the lifeguards were all qualified, prepared and worked hard on preventative actions such as keeping people swimming between the flags, she said.
Miss Duffy advised people to be sun smart, know how water confident they were and for children to always swim with an adult.
"Some people don't understand how to read the surf, sometimes they may just go out of their depth or they don't understand their swimming ability."
She had her first rescue experience last summer, taking out the inflatable rescue boat to save a man who came off his jetski.
Miss Duffy has just finished university at Canterbury, studying commerce and human resource management, and said being a lifeguard and Nippers coach was a rewarding role.
The Nippers programme runs until January 22, from nine to noon and people can come along and sign up their children up on the day.
