Nurturing skills and building confidence in the water
For more than 160 years, the YMCA has nurtured potential and united communities to create lasting, meaningful change. In each of our communities, the Y is in the service of building a better us. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is to teach youth, teens, and adults to swim, so they can stay safe around water and learn the skills they need to make swimming a lifelong pursuit for staying healthy.
Y swim instructors are nationally certified. Their training includes CPR, AED, First Aid and Oxygen Administration. Swim lessons provide important life skills that could save a life and will benefit youth and adult swimming students for a lifetime.
Infant And Toddler Swim Lessons
At the YMCA, our goal is to create a healthy respect for water to keep youth safe while creating a lifelong love of aquatics environments. Accompanied by a parent*, infants and toddlers learn to be comfortable in the water and develop swim readiness skills through fun and confidence-building swim lessons experiences. At the same time, parents learn about water safety, drowning prevention, and the importance of supervision.
Infants and toddlers will be introduced to the aquatic environment safely and comfortably to gain confidence and a healthy respect for the water. As students progress and grow, they begin to explore body positions, blowing bubbles and fundamental safety and aquatics skills.
*Parent must participate in the water with child during the class
Preschool and Youth Lessons: Strong swimmers. Confident kids.
New to swim lessons? The basis of Y swim lessons is water safety skills. Students learn personal water safety and achieve basic swimming competency by learning two benchmark skills: swim, float, swim—sequencing front glide, roll, back float, roll, front glide and exit—and jump, push, turn, grab.
As students progress, they are taught in swim lessons the recommended skills for all to have around water, including safe water habits, underwater exploration and how to swim to safety and exit in the event of falling into a body of water. Activities, games, and drills geared to reinforce learning are utilized heavily as students continue through this skill-based approach to swimming. After having mastered the fundamentals, students learn additional water safety skills, build stroke techniques, develop skills that prevent chronic disease, increase social-emotional and cognitive well-being and foster a lifetime of physical activity.
Preschool and School Aged Advanced Swim Lessons
After having mastered the fundamentals, students learn additional water safety skills and build stroke technique preventing chronic disease, increasing social-emotional and cognitive well-being and fostering a lifetime of physical activity. Students work on refining stroke technique and learning all major competitive strokes in swimming lessons. The emphasis on water safety continues through treading water and sidestroke. Students will learn about competitive swimming and discover how to incorporate swimming into a healthy lifestyle.
Teen & Adult Swim Lessons
No matter your age, water safety is important. Whether joining Y swim lessons to gain basic water safety skills, get over a fear of the water, or develop swimming techniques, we have options for teens and adults of all ages. Group swim lessons, semi-private, private and even Masters Swim programs are available through the YMCA.
No matter your age, water safety is important. For parents, your family is safer around water when you are comfortable around water and have the adult swimming skills to keep yourself and your children safe.
Private and Semi-Private Swim Lessons
Are you looking to refine a specific stroke, perfect your flip-turn, have a flexible swim lesson schedule and want quick results or individual attention? Private and semi-private swim lessons are perfect for you!
Private Lessons focus on increasing your child’s skill at any age.
- Lessons can be private one-on-one instruction or a semi-private lesson with two or more participants.
- Lessons are scheduled at the frequency, days and times that fit your schedule.
Private and semi-private lessons are not available or are limited during group lessons.
Specialty Programs and Classes
Swimmers who love the water and want further instruction for future aquatics activities enjoy participating in our Specialty Programs focused on leadership, competition and recreation. We continually develop our specialty swimming lesson program curriculum.
Stroke Development Clinics and Boosters
Stroke Development Clinics and Boosters are for advanced students ages five and up who wish to improve or perfect their technique.
- Stroke Clinics focus on mastering one specific stroke at a time, such as freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly.
- Stroke Boosters focus on refining all four competitive swim strokes: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. Swimmers work on improving endurance, technique and speed.
Trust Our Team
Parents can help establish trust between youth and their instructors by sitting back from the class and allowing the instructor to give guidance, help solve issues, etc. Talk with your child(ren) about their time at lessons and your role during this time versus the instructor. If needed, talk with the instructor about how to help establish boundaries.
Swim Regularly
Reinforce and practice swim skills taught at class by spending time together during a recreational swim at your local YMCA and visit our online resources on HTX+ on-demand learning platform.
Prevent Drowning
Safety is the number one priority around any depth of water. Find tips and information to help keep your family safe here.
Frequently Asked Questions
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