Nurturing skills and building confidence in the water
For over 100 years, the YMCA has been one of America’s favorite swim instructors and a leader in water safety. Our proven curriculum and friendly environment enhance skills, all while having fun. At the Y, swimming is a life skill. We offer a wide selection of parent & child, preschool, school age, teen, and adult swim lessons that build strong and confident swimmers. All age groups are taught the same skills but divided according to their developmental milestones.
Swim Starters
Accompanied by a parent*, infants and toddlers learn to be comfortable in the water and develop swim readiness skills through fun and confidence-building experiences, while parents learn about water safety, drowning prevention, and the importance of supervision.
Swim Basics
Recommended Skills for All to Have Around Water
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
- Jump, push, turn, grab
Swim Strokes
Skills to Support a Healthy Lifestyle
Having mastered the fundamentals, students learn additional water safety skills and build stroke technique, developing skills that prevent chronic disease, increase social-emotional and cognitive well-being, and foster a lifetime of physical activity.
Teen & Adult Swim Lessons
The YMCA Swim Lesson Curriculum is a core group of aquatic skills every person needs to be safe around water. As the foundation of our program, these skills allow students to learn correct swim stroke techniques. Students begin with and build upon skills they are ready to learn, helping them to celebrate their successes, build self-confidence, and enjoy learning to swim and water safety.
