Hydra aquatics has a very weak high school program 11-17yrs. Also head coach Tori needs some…read moresportsmanship lessons as I have seen him take the swimming life out of a child with so much potential that he missed coaching Olympic material in children. So it's a NO Way from a parent who knows the ropes and mental abuse is NOT a positive attribute to anyone. Look elsewhere for your winter swim program. . . If you are on Tuckahoe and have this Tori as your main coach. . . Karma has found him and won't forget where he works

We have had an amazing experience with Hydra Aquatics swim lessons. The time slots have been…read moreperfect for our schedule and the instructors are fantastic. My daughter started when she was 3 and is almost 5. She has shown tremendous growth and enjoys going to each lesson as they have accommodated to her abilities. We highly recommend Hydra!

I'm an adult who has had trauma with water in the past. I was looking to take swim lessons with…read moresomeone who would be mindful of that past trauma. I signed up for an adult beginner class, but it ended up just being me. The lesson were in the pool at Columbus Academy. I did an accelerated session on Saturday and Sunday for two weeks with Katie Goggin. In six lessons, I was able to do something I've never been able to do, go under water without holding my nose. By the end, I was swimming laps to the deep end, which I am afraid of. It was a short session and I can't wait to enroll in the next one. If you think it's too late to learn to swim, it isn't!

We signed up my three year old son for swim lessons with GCSTO. For the price, you cannot be beat…read more My only complaint is that they do work out of pools across the city, and St. Charles' pool is COLD. But the teachers are great! They are obviously experienced with working with small children and seem very experienced. He's been through two sessions so far and we have already seen progress.

We've had a great experience here. Coach Layla was amazing but moved on to other things. My…read moredaughter enjoyed Coach Blair & C0ach Daisy, but she really latched on to Coach Mohamed. He is so patient and encouraging while also pushing our 3yo to be brave and get out of her comfort zone (she hates going under... just like her mama)

6/29/2022 Update: Still bringing my daughter here 2-3 times a week, she absolutely loves it, and I…read morecannot explain how good she's become at swimming. My daughter is five years old and when we go on vacation, she can go into an adult pool on her own without any arm floats, a noodle, or anything else. She'll dive and get multiple rings from the bottom of a 5ft+ pool with no issues, she can tread water for minutes at a time, float on her back, and she's learned countless swim strokes. From a kid who was terrified of the water, to someone that is now confident and can swim independently, this has been worth every bit of it and then some!

I started coming here to swim laps. The hours are a little wonky and I really wish they would…read moreexpand their hours to include evenings. Facility itself is well kept. Locker room is spacious and there's a lot decent water pressure in the showers. Pool is not overly chlorinated which is really nice. I took lessons here too and the instructor was pretty great. Definitely nice to have this place to swim at when it's cold outside.

I started coming here to swim laps. The hours are a little wonky and I really wish they would…read moreexpand their hours to include evenings. Facility itself is well kept. Locker room is spacious and there's a lot decent water pressure in the showers. Pool is not overly chlorinated which is really nice. I took lessons here too and the instructor was pretty great. Definitely nice to have this place to swim at when it's cold outside.

Honestly, I don't know where to start, and most likely won't know when to end. So, if you're…read moresimply looking for the short, short version... Yes! Yes! Yes! This is a wonderful place that will support your child in their swimming journey. Now, the rest of this review is simply for me and the excellent staff members I've had the honor of interacting with during my son's time at Goldfish Swim School in Westerville, OH. First up is Molly. She was the first person I met at the school and has proven to be an excellent ambassador for the brand. Her overall knowledge of the business and understanding of how things work were obvious the instant I met her. She exudes kindness and confidence and is always willing to help or provide thoughtful answers to my silly questions. Next, I want to give a shout out to Katie (whom I didn't get a chance to speak with), Ethan, and Rider. They were my son's first instructors at the school as he progressed through the ranks. They all met my son with a smile and a sense of enthusiasm for swimming which was very much appreciated. However, the thing that won me over the most was the masterful care each of them took in instructing my son on proper swimming forms, while making sure to applaud any positive efforts and attempts he made. Hi fives all around. Before I finish, it would be a crime for me to write this review without mentioning McKenna. I can't quite express effectively how truly incredible she is. As I have gathered, her role as deck supervisor is a crucial one in monitoring and advancing the children's progress. That in itself must be such a monumental task. Still, while she absolutely fulfills the requirements of her roll in my opinion, she finds a way (much like the other staff members) to shine beyond it. From what I have witnessed, in a sky full of stars, McKenna definitely stands out. The energy she brings to even the shortest conversation feels focused and infectious. Her interactions with my son have been bright spots in his day that (as he later informed me) left him looking forward to his next class. This is a huge deal for me, being that my son is autistic and moments often require a significant amount of "something special" for him to even acknowledge their significance. In this scenario, I truly believe that McKenna, Molly, and the rest of the staff have proven to me (beyond a doubt) that the "something special" at Goldfish Swim School is its employees. I am certain that management knows this and is very proud to have such passionate men and women standing with them each day. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for showing my son and I that there is still kindness to be found in these often dark times.

My son has THRIVED as a swimmer in Goldfish Swim School. In less than a year, he has gone from a…read morefear of water to learning to master the butterfly stroke! Goldfish Swim School has done wonders for my son, who can now swim and play in the water with confidence and joy. It is NEVER too late to give your child the gift of being able to swim. Thank you, Goldfish Swim School for your patience and kindness. We are so grateful!

Limited equipment. Nice people. Good parking. Usually clean and safe. They are located very close…read morefor me which is very convenient; just wish they had more equipment

For a place that is supposed to be family friendly, this place is not. We joined so that our…read more4-year-old triplets could do swim lessons there and to use the pool to help strengthen their abilities in the water. When signing them up for lessons, I was unable to get all three of them in to one class so I have 2 on Tuesdays and 1 on Thursday. A couple of weeks ago, a lady who identified herself as the head lifeguard told the lifeguard closest to us to tell us that my son (who was waiting his turn to practice floating) wasn't able to be in the water because I was not holding him. I explained that my dad and my husband were working with my other two and I was sitting on the bleachers (typically I do get in the pool but was not feeling great that day) but could stand on the stairs with him. She said, "I'm so sorry in advance but she is coming over to talk to you." She said that I needed to be with my son in the pool (my husband and my dad were standing at the bottom of the steps at this point) - to clarify, each "step" is about 9 ft by 2.5 ft with railings that separate the 3 different sections, so they were not blocking anyone's way in or out at all. I also explained that our entire purpose in being there was to work on their skills since they are new swimmers - but she said that any time they are in the pool they need to be HELD and are not allowed to be on the stairs at all. I asked her if we were able to have them sit on the side of the pool (like they do while they are waiting for their turn in swim lessons) and was told no. I then asked her what we are supposed when it just my husband and me and we have three kids? She said that we would just not be able to have all 3 of them in the pool with us at one time or they had to wear puddle jumpers the whole time. We do not use puddle jumpers or flotation devices with them because we do not want them to gain that false sense of security when in the water and IF it is the two of us, one of us will stay with the two who aren't practicing. I explained this and also tried to explain again that we are there solely to work on their awareness around water and to teach them to swim/float. At this point, we were feeling very targeted because there every time we have been there, there are always people who are playing/waiting on the steps. The next time we went back for our Thursday kid's lesson, my dad got in the pool with 2 out of 3 kids (my husband was changing in the locker room) and my lesson kiddo went in a few steps because he just wanted to show us how he could hold his breath under water. Within a few seconds, a male walked over to us and told us that he couldn't be on the steps. Again, feeling pretty targeted since we had only been there for a few seconds. He said that my kids weren't allowed to be on the stairs because they could walk off the bottom step and cause an event where they needed to be rescued. I explained to him that my kid has a lesson and he just walked in for a second to get wet and we were going to be on our way to the lesson as soon as my husband was out of the locker room. Since he was still standing there mansplaining to me about water safety, I asked him point blank, "So, my husband and I are two people who happen to have three kids... you are telling me that we are not allowed to be at this pool unless we are holding them the entire time?" and he said that is correct and then proceeded to tell me that he is a twin so his mom had to go through this and how because of this he understands my frustration? My husband was there now so I told him ok, I get it, we joined so that we could practice water skills but since you're telling me that with our family situation, that is not possible. In any case, I need to get my son to his lesson now and walked him down. Apparently after that, he decided to continue with my husband. Two minutes later, I see my dad, my husband, and my two other children walking toward us. He told my husband that they HAVE TO put my kids in puddle jumpers and made them all get out of the pool to walk to get them. I intervened at that point and told him that we are NOT going to be using flotation devices and that is NOT what he told me -- my husband and my dad each have a kid and therefore they are not breaking any rules. He said, "well, we strongly advise they have these on". I told him no, absolutely not ONLY purpose here is to teach them to swim -- we have a pool at home that they play in -- this one is for learning. I told my husband and my dad to go ahead and take the other two back so they could work on their skills and that if he had anything else to say to me, he could wait until after my son's lesson. I realize this is a very long review but we joined the Y with the understand that it was a great place for families and that has not been our experience at all. It also isn't enforced across the board which is another big reason for the negative review.