Perhaps it was just our experience with this business but it was not a positive one. As parents, we…read morespend a fair amount of time researching and looking into different local programs. My son loves the water but is still learning to swim. I liked that there was a swim team and water polo potential here, so was excited to schedule lessons to start. I scheduled two lessons the following week with one of their coaches, Adam. Adam called 35 minutes before the lesson was scheduled to begin (on their books over a week) and informed me he could not do a lesson today because the pool was closed. After the lesson had already been confirmed by their office two hours before. He then called back 10 minutes later saying he can now do the lesson if it still worked. Um, so you mean you lied and the pool was not suddenly closed? We canceled remaining lessons and requested a refund. No one ever contacted us to try to make things right or offer another lesson/solution. We just got an auto refund. The whole process of booking was flawed and required a ton of follow up on our part to begin with. This should have been a sign. All contact was through email which I find frustrating. A dialogue, clearly dated these days, is much more effective and efficient. Terrible experience!

Patriot Aquatics at Beckman High School is such a hidden gem that not many people seem to know…read moreabout. The practices are at Beckman High, so it is an outdoor pool... but they have private swim lessons, age group swim teams, and water polo lessons. My son took private lessons here with Coach Noah last summer, and he improved so much in a few short weeks. Head Coach Duje is also very responsive via email, and was easy to communicate with. The private lessons are $195 for 8 lessons of 20 minutes each, which is super reasonable compared to other private lessons (ahem, Waterworks), and I think it's just as good because we did Waterworks for one summer too. Now that my kids are older and comfortably swimming, I've been wanting to put my kids on an actual swim team, but the practice times for most swim teams in Irvine are usually so early (around 2-3 pm). For two full-time working parents we would never be able to make that work. At Patriot Aquatics, their swim team practice times are 4:30 or 5:30 pm, which is much more doable! Their age group swim also operates on a rolling enrollment basis, so you can pretty much sign up any time of year. I've told countless parents about Patriot Aquatics, and most haven't heard of them. They definitely need some recognition, starting with their very own yelp page!

Good stretch, stretching, and exercise activity class. On these warm days....this makes you feel so…read moremuch better!!!

My kids took lessons here over 15 years ago and I loved it. The instructors are amazing and the…read moreattention to the children is great! I'm hoping to get my grandkids to start here soon.

We're about to start on our 2nd year with Coach Mike and this is the best investment we could make…read morefor our kids. Coach Mike is calm but firm and the after each lesson our kids are visibly better swimmers.

My sons took lessons with Mike almost 3 years ago. My youngest had been taking lessons at Lifetime…read moreFitness for almost a year with no progress. To put it into perspective, he was deathly afraid of the water and wouldn't even put his head in even if he was standing on the steps of the pool. Mike had him swimming in less than 2-3 lessons. He now does the 100 yard freestyle in 1:45 and is doing the Newport Beach Junior Lifeguards this summer.

After trying out 2 other swim clubs in Irvine - we are thankful to have finally found SNAP, located…read moreat Portola High School - and this is the place we want to be. My 9 year old is thriving here and his swimming is just getting better day by day. there are so many pluses here - I'll go into detail about each of them. 1) the coaches CARE about swimmers' well-being and growth in all aspects. they see each kid as a unique individual, not just another fish in a large sea, fighting an upward current. from the director to assistants because they are friendly, approachable and open to chatting - you'll always find them on deck coaching, talking to parents after practice and supporting one another. 2) coaches with decades of experience, impressive backgrounds but aren't afraid to get in the water to coach - I even have proof of coach Steve in the water, giving swim lessons! Here's a rundown of the staff Coach Steve - SNAP director and Portola HS Swim team coach (CIF division 1 high school swim) Coach Alex - Senior head and also Northwood HS Swim coach (CIF champs last year!) and previous nova coach, ISL coach Coach Bryan - head Age group coach - and also El Toro HS Swim coach/ age group coach of the year awarded many times and previous Natadores coach All of these coaches are so dedicated to the sport and the kids, they coach practically every day of the week. Besides the awesome head coaches, the team also has other wonderful coaches who are consistently there and experienced in swim coaching kids from age 5 to high school , many coaching ISL teams in the summer or other high school aquatics teams. 3) swimming is fun for the kids because the team emphasizes ENJOYMENT of the sport rather than being the fastest ! Their focus is on having fun, working hard to improve technique and personal bests- not on being the Winner. It doesn't matter if you don't have the fastest times, they still encourage you to swim in the meets and to try your best! Always encouraging the kids believing in them and cheering them on during a swim meet. 4) friendly families - this location being on the edge of Irvine, draws a diverse crowd from Irvine to Lake forest to mission viejo , its great to meet families from multiple neighboring cities 5) no CRAZY volunteering here, no mandatory hours and no unreasonable penalties. Yes there are plenty of times they will ask you to volunteer, but if you decline, they aren't going to charge you an arm and a leg or even OUST you and send threatening emails. When you do volunteer, you are not treated like you OWED it to the team. - there is more of the team feeling gracious and appreciated . Extra commentary but somehow when you impose a mandatory volunteering requirement its just chaos amongst the parents and people become more hyper-focused on getting the best job rather than just doing something for the greater good and then even if they can, they just won't. when people feel appreciated and happy, they will naturally volunteer when they can and they will feel good about it because they WANT to do it not because they HAVE to. 6) fun events for the kids- the team admin, Cristina has planned and organized so many fun events for the team, from fundraisers to social events including wild rivers, angels games, beach bonfire, photos- trunk or treat for Halloween. I am so impressed with how organized all of the events are! She really goes the extra mile to make sure everything runs smoothly. All in all - i really recommend this team if you have a beginner or advanced swimmer. They are supportive at all levels offering 6 practices a week with competitive pricing. meets 1-2x a month and fun events sprinkled in between.!

My son has been with Swim Nation program from past 2 years. Everything about the program is great…read moreand the swim coaches are highly focused and motivate students to give their best. My son had a wonderful learning experience and a great exposure with the swim team. 200% recommend this swim program to whoever is new and want to learn from the best. Last but not the least, Miss Christina, always make sure each student and parent is taken care of while at the pool. Go check them out. We will definitely miss SwimNation.

Safe Swim was a fantastic environment and a great place to get certified as a WSI. Melissa was a…read morefantastic instructor who was very pleasant and supportive to the other students, as well. I highly recommend this class and course!

Another check off my bucket list! I signed up with safeswim because it was the first thing that…read morepopped up when I googled "lifeguard certification." There are several training dates: generally two each month in the summer, then one each month in the winter. Classes are two days from 8am to 5pm on a weekend. +Price: $175 ($75 online, $100 in cash on first day) + $15 if you don't already own a CPR mask + Bring: Registration forms, swim suit, towel, CPR pocket mask (or $15) to first day of class +Location: At a private facility in Irvine, which can become an inconvenience if resident swimmers all decide to swim at the same time. All the lifeguards-to-be sat waiting for a good 15 minutes for a lane to clear up so we can perform our pre-requisites. + Swim Pre-reqs: able to swim 300 yards (12 lengths) without stopping using front crawl and breaststroke, tread water for 2 minutes using legs only, retrieve a 10-lb weight from 7 feet deep and swim 20 yards with weight, using legs only and exit the water without using a ladder or steps within 1 minute 40 seconds. Anyway, the pre-reqs were a joke; don't bother practicing. + Class Pre-reqs: 15 + years of age, and finish an online lifeguarding course which takes about 4 hours (or 9 hours if you have snail-pace internet) + Atmosphere: So many younguns. The median age of the swimmers was about 17 years old, with most kids in high school and comparable mentalities, note taking habits and dirty jokes. Our instructors were Autumn and Frank: Autumn was more serious and got to the point, Frank liked to lighten the mood. I think they did a good job getting through the material. For the most part, class was fun and I think everybody had fun playing drowning victims. There can be a lot of waiting, especially since we had 40 participants and only so many mannequins and equipments. + Instruction: Part re-watching the online pre-req videos, part practicing on baby and adult mannequins, part practicing on "drowning" victims (how to backboard, escape from a victim who grabs you, stride jump, head splint, etc), part practicing scenarios + Final written exam: this is 35 multiple choice test (80% to pass) and everything is common sense. Don't bother studying. For the pre-reqs I observed a girl half-drown her way across the pool with the brick, with NO WAY she could have finished in even 3 minutes, then half drown/half backstroke during the 300 yard freestyle/breaststroke only swim, and the instructors let her pass. She is one of those people lifeguards should keep an eye on because she is such a distressed, sloppy, weak swimmer. I can't believe she is going to be a lifeguard! *facepalm* I've got to say, if you aren't a strong swimmer and want to be a lifeguard, come here to get your certification. At any rate, I had fun and now that I have a CPR mask I was required to buy, feel free to drown - I'll save ya. -Yours truly, your newest Los Angeles lifeguard

Destinee has been the best investment for my kids! We have a pool, which is a constant worry with…read more3 little kids. She has been working with my kids (3 and 5 yo)and just this week has my 3 year old (birthday 4/29) completely safe in our pool and able to swim from one end to the other. He can grab the wall and pull himself out. My daughter is swimming laps doing the freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. Destinee is the nicest person there is and truly loves the kids and they absolutely love her. She knows when to push them, love them and have fun with them. We had tried lessons at a number of different places and the results are not comparable. Not to mention the convenience of her coming to our house and ensuring the kids know our pool and where they can get out easily! I couldn't be happier that my kids can swim and love the water, something that will benefit them for the rest of their lives! I have been recommending Destinee to all of my friends (and the strangers that ask where my kids learned to swim)!

Destinee is amazing! She did lessons at my home with my 9 and 5 year old. My 5 year old was in…read morefloaters and by the second lesson she ditched them and has been swimming like a fish! Destinee is patient, kind and caring. My kids loved her and were so sad when their lessons were over. I will be using her again next summer for sure!

Michelle at Little Swimmers in Laguna Niguel came highly recommended by a high school mom whose…read morevarsity swimmer she taught nearly 20 years ago. She has been working with my son, now 5, for the past two years. He has some sensory needs and she's consistently patient, caring, and understanding and moves at the pace that's right for him. She balances genuine care with a strong focus on safety and helps him build a real love for the water. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for private swim lessons for their child.

Coach Michelle is the best thing that has happened to my child. She is largely found by word of…read moremouth and we have now run into countless families that have worked with her over the past 20 years (with nothing but amazing things to say). When my son started with her we had tried several group classes and he hated water and wouldn't even get his head wet. She warned that he would cry the first couple classes (both before booking and as the session started) but that it would get better. He screamed so bad the first class, I thought she was going to ask us not to come back. She reassured us that it was normal and sure enough by class 3, maybe 4, he was obsessed. Classes are 15 minutes/ twice a week. it's just long enough to keep their attention and learn something. Although if Michelle's next client is late or she has a free few minutes she'll extend the session, if the child is having a good time- this is truly her passion and not her job and it shows. We've been going for over 9 months and I have tried to move him to a group class setting just for maintenance because he can swim now but he won't leave coach michelle and honestly I can't blame him. Coach Michelle is kind and gentle. She explains absolutely everything to the kids so they know what is happening and they aren't scared. She's patient, kind, and understanding. She has built a personal relationship with my son and talks about life outside class and he talks about what he is going to tell her at his next class. We're beyond swim class at this point and i'm not sure how we'll ever leave her. luckily I have a 1 year old we'll be starting soon.

Nemi and the entire swim coach staff at British Swim School in Woodbury Town center in Irvine, have…read morebeen very cordial, professional, and knowledgeable when it comes to swimming. Our 6-year old has a newly found passion for swimming thanks to British Swim School. He is getting better by every visit, and is laser-focused, and it certainly helps to be indoors especially during the fall and winter months. We have seen our son blossom into an avid swimmer for his age, learning back and front strokes, butterflies, and that "dolphin" swim :). He is progressing and is taking swimming very seriously. We recommend British Swim School at this particular location, due to the level of support we receive and facility and amenities (easy rinse-off after the swim lesson). It is also worth noting that no gym membership is required to partake in this activity! -Arjan, Molly, and Raj B.

My son started at BSS early this year, around springtime, to strengthen his swimming skills and…read morework on his form. They assessed him as a level Sharks 1 and he has been steadily working towards Sharks 2 since. I was skeptical at first when I saw that the swim school operated out of LA Fitness's pool. But that quickly became a non-issue once I saw how they utilized the lanes and the kids were able to focus on the small group(s) that they are in. I love that the ratio for my son's group is 5:1 or less. That definitely gives each student the kind of attention 1:1 lessons provide but aren't necessary when they have pre-existing skills. My son has really enjoyed attending and all the instructors have been pleasant. They have an app that makes it easy to cancel/reschedule make-up lessons and any questions or concerns I've had have been addressed quickly. I highly recommend BSS for your kids for any age and skill level!