A child has been going here since before opened, when at NASA. Progress was slow for many many months but then suddenly started flying through the various level intermediate-advanced-beginer to advanced-beginer-intermediate ... Previously, at YMCA, made little progress though went to many. Classes are small to too small. Can get as much attention as need. read more

Background We have 2 children, 4 and 8 years old respectively when they started attending the school. Both were going to another swim school. The classes were only 30min and not really focused on technique, which is fine for the little one, but for the older one we wanted longer classes and something to improve her skills. Both child loved going to the old school and were very comfortable in the water. Flying fish recently moved to the indoor facility. It is clean and fairly good size facility. Being new, there are some things that are not quite working well, (like certain areas get a lot of water, making them slippery, it is more the fault of the parents if you ask me) At any given time (we go on weekends), there are classes with instructors in the water with the children and others where the instructors are outside by the pool. Our 4 years has the instructor in the water with her and 4 other children in her class, while for the older, the instructor is by the side of the pool. The bad The water temperature is cold. Apparently this is for couple of reasons. One some parents complained that the initial water temperature was too hot (after they transferred from the outdoor pools), making the indoor room uncomfortable. And second it is apparently better for professional swimmers to have the water at cooler temperature. My problem with this is the temperature is so cold that all the instructors in the pool have to wear full wetsuits and hats, while the children are only wearing their bathing suits. That's OK for the more advance classes where children are moving more, but for the little ones, who have to wait their turn sitting on the stairs, half immersed in the water, they are feezing, their lips turning purple. Our youngest one is so cold, she cries the all time during the class. It is so bad and her instructor does not care, that the instructor from the class next to hers has to come over and attend to the children in her class. Also, i don't know how many professional/olympic swimmers practice there that the pool has to be so cold, but over the weekend when there are dozens of children, I can tell you, there are none. The instructors obviously don't care. They make no attempt to get the children comfortable in the water or give them any attention when it is their turn. Literally, he grabs the child from the hedge of the pool, makes a loop and throws him/her back to get rid of her/him as soon as he can. It is clear he does not like children and obviously does not like his job. In the previous school it was all college students but at least they made an effort. In this school, they don't and don't even pretend to. This our experience with one instructor and the one from the class next to us who came over to attend to the children in our class is much better. But more on the other instructor in a minute. We have now been attending the school for several weeks. Because our 4 years has been crying at every lesson (remember I said she used to love to swim in the other school) I started to pay attention to the other students in the pool. Every week we have been there, I have not seen once at least one other kid crying somewhere or being yelled at (usually by a parent). It is so bad the last time we went there was a child in fetal position on the floor and the mother and the instructor trying to grab him to dump him in the pool. If they were trying to make the kid hate swimming I really don't think they could do a better job. In my opinion, any school, I don't care how famous is the head instructor is, who hires teachers that don't like to teach children and let them take their bad temper on the children, is an abusive school and should not be in business. Ultimately the manager/owner is responsible for everyone. The whole school is affected Another problem when the teacher is outside and with the room being so loud, the kids don't hear anything, so instructors are constantly yelling and because they are, the more noise, the less kids hear, the more the instructor have to yell, the less children hear, etc... Also since they are outside, they send one child at the time across the pool, and don't pay attention beyond the first 4 feet before calling the next student. No personal instructions, at the end they just make general statements, picking on random kids. The good The classes for the older one are 1 hour, so it provides better exercises and time to practice more. She does not like it much but in her case and at her age, I think it is better then playing around like in the other school The bottom line For older children, longer classes, more focus on technical skills and less play is good. For young children just starting out, DO NOT take you kids to this school, you might get lucky and get one of the good instructors, if you don't, you will jsut go there to let your child be abused by an instructor who is there just to take off his anger on your kids. read more

The following review applies to adult classes. It's clear that offering swim classes for adults is an afterthought for Flying Fish, so adults wanting to strengthen their skills will want to look elsewhere. However, I had a particularly bad experience trying to get a refund for a class that was not at all what it was advertised as. I enrolled in a class that was advertised as being for beginner, intermediate, and advanced adults, thinking that there would be separate instructors for beginning and more advanced students. On the first day, I found that the instructor paid almost no attention to all but the most beginning students. I don't blame him for that, but spending most of my time being ignored isn't a good use of my money; it's not much better than going to the pool to swim by myself. On the way out, I asked for a refund. The woman at the desk said she didn't have anything to do with refunds, which is strange, given that I was asking for a refund from the business that she works for. She said I would have to send an email in order to get a refund, which I interpreted to mean that I would never receive a refund. In the meantime, I discovered that Flying Fish hadn't cashed my check yet, so I asked my bank not to honor it, since I was never provided any of the services that I paid for. I received an email demanding payment for a nonrefundable "registration fee", for the first lesson, and for a "returned check fee" (though the check wasn't returned for insufficient funds; I asked my bank not to pay it). I consider this fraud and false advertising. It's fine if Flying Fish doesn't want to teach adults at all, or only wants to offer classes for adult beginners; if so, they should simply say so in their advertising and not lie about what is being offered. Edited to add: I received the following email response, which came after an email threatening to sue me for fraud. It is odd that if they were planning legal action, they would bother to argue; in that case, it wouldn't be relevant. This is looking like a shadier and shadier operation; if you don't want to be accused of "unprofessionalism" by a business that can accept your money immediately but not give a refund immediately, probably it's best to stay away. Email response: Dear Tim, Since I am just working during the weekdays, I were not aware that you spoke to someone over the weekend regarding your cancellation. Like I have mentioned in my previous email, we will honor your cancellation and would gladly offer your refund on the rest of the tuition (usually people just get 50% refund on their remaining classes with reasonable excuses). I would like to let you know that since our accountant is not in house, the refund process usually takes upto 2 weeks. In addition, we always ask customers to email to request the refund or cancellation because we have to have it on record for our accounting/administrative purposes. However, it was unprofessional for you to cancel the check before we have a chance to work things out. I'd also like to remind your about the policy, the registration fee is non-refundable, and there is no refund or cancellation after the first day of the class. Please go to the below link for more details. http://www.flyingfishswim.com/school_policy.htm. Thank you, Stephanie --- Edited to add: You might not want to take your kids here either. From a mass email I received on 1/15/2015: Dear Parents/Guardians, As a health concern, we would like to notify you to pay more attention to preventing contamination in the swimming pool. On 1/15/15, we had discovered feces in the pool. Because of this, we had to close the pool immediately and cancel the scheduled classes for the day. In addition, we had to call professionals to immediately treat the water. This accident wasted other students and parents' time and interrupted class. In addition, it wasted thousands of gallons of water since it involves draining and replacing the entire pool water. While we understand accidents do happen, for your child's health and to prevent such accidents from happening again we ask you to do the following: 1. We strongly encourage you to have your child go to the restroom BEFORE they come to swim class, especially Beginner or Tot/Alpha Level swimmers. 2. If your child has symptoms of feeling ill, please keep your child at home to rest. 3. Keep reminding your child to go to the restroom before class. If your child still needs to go to the restroom during class, please tell him/her to immediately notify the instructor and they will be excused. Please help us prevent these accidents from happening in the future. Thank you for your support Flying Fish Swim School read more

I don't have much experience with other swim schools, but I find Flying Fish instructors to be friendly and good. My son has gone to three-twelve week sessions at Flying Fish. He's now five years old and is swimming freestyle. He is still learning to take breaths as he swims, but when he got here last year, he wouldn't put his face in the water. Jerrell is his current instructor and he is SOOO patient, kind and fun. My son has really responded to his quiet, easy-going style. I didn't give five stars because every time we shower after a lesson there are wads of long black hairs in the shower drain and twice I've seen them around the pool deck. I've told them and the hair is still there. Since there is more than one person sitting and supervising (lifeguarding) lessons, that second person could make the rounds to clean this up. read more

I took my son to this place for a trial class. The class seemed un-oraganized. The instructor seemed new. I would have come back. The problem is the management and front end staffing. These people just kept on insisting on money. They cared more about the money than they did about the swimmer. I would never recommend this place to anyone that is interested in swimming. Horrible customer service! read more

My 4 year old son was very scared of the water. His instructor Jerell is fantastic! He is very patient and makes the class fun. My son looks forward to his swimming class. Thank you coach Jerell, my son is not scared anymore. read more

They offer no continuity in instructors for private and semi-private classes. If you have a young child who gets used to a particular instructor's style of instruction and personality and they want to continue, the swim school cannot assure you that you will have the same teacher for the next session.. quite disappointing actually. And if you leave messages for the owner (who has trouble understanding basic English), don't fret, you will not receive a call back even if she promises you that she will look at the options and call you back. The customer service upfront and from the owner are not optimal. read more

Hm, it's interesting to read the reviews on this place. Maybe we just lucked out, but my kids really like it and their instructor is good. My kids had been going to the YMCA for 1.5 years and still couldn't swim at all, so I asked around and heard some recommendations from friends for this school. My 6 and 4 year olds started swimming this fall and within 2 months, both can swim across a lane independently. They can't breathe yet, but they can kick their legs and by pointing their arms in a V, they can basically go as far as they can hold their breath. I was concerned about the pool water temperature as well, but my kids say that it's warm, as warm as bath water, and judging from the steamy temperature inside the facility, it seems to be true. I don't know whether this is simply because they turned up the heat, but I haven't seen any shivering kids so far. Perhaps it really boils down to the instructor, because the teacher they have (James) is very kid-friendly. We go on weekdays when it's probably less crowded, which might make a difference. Because my kids are in the beginner class, I sit by the pool through the whole lesson to observe. Of the 4 kids in their class, one child in particular really doesn't want to swim, hanging onto the side of the pool, and splashing the instructor, getting out of the pool and wanting to go home etc. This child is pretty young and probably not ready to swim yet, but the teacher has always been kind, patient, and playful. I also like the fact that he always corrects them, e.g. reminding them to straighten their legs when they kick etc. My kids look forward to swim class, which is a big difference from the YMCA. For those interested in checking out the school, perhaps a weekday class and observing the instructors might help in making a decision. There are also other swim schools in the area about which I've heard good things, e.g. Betty Wright. read more

Swimming school is great - big pool with 5 lanes, lots of classes for different levels, and administrative staff is helpful in case you need to switch classes/times. Teacher Jarelle is liked by his students and teaches something new in each class. He's newer in the school (I have no problem with new teachers esp when they are qualified) and teaches his students well. All is on par with my expectations although I do hope the water gets warmed up a bit more since there are lots of little kids and they can get sick easily. read more

Not a place for adult lessons. First of all, this place is very slow in responding emails. It takes 2-3 days to get a response. 2nd, the woman answers the phone does not seems to understand what she is talking about. She does not understand what "flip turn" is. 3nd, the woman work works at the dest over the weekend does not seems care of any prospect customer visits. She was busy on her own things behind the computer ! read more

My 3 year old has always been fairly comfortable in the water and we've always wanted to be sure he could swim well. We enrolled him in a fall session of the alpha bubbles lessons and I could not be happier with our experience. Jerrell is his instructor and he's great with our son, age appropriate and encouraging him to do things that he feels uncomfortable with, like put his face or ears in the water. I'd definitely recommend this school and Jerrell as your instructor. read more

I echo the sentiment of many reviewers about lack of continuity and care. My 5 year old started out liking the teacher in the semi private lessons, however that teacher stopped showing up and the replacements were too pushy or just let my kid sit in the sidelines, basically not learning anything. I had signed up for the summer intensive but withdrew our application because my kid now dislikes swimming. The staff is also particularly indifferent and unresponsive. Parks and rec does a better job at making sure parents and kids are enjoying themselves in the pool. read more

My son was never very interested in learning to swim so to have his first swimming class at 8 seems a little late but his Dad signed him up for the summer intensive classes. My son has had an amazing experience learning to swim at Flying Fish Swimming School. In the last three weeks we have seen so much progress. He's much more comfortable in the water and the smaller class size keeps him engaged in what the teacher wants them to focus on. I would highly recommend this school. read more

My four year old daughter started swim classes at the YMCA and had an awesome happy instructor. But two days a week became too much with her other commitments so I found Flying Fish. I phoned in to see how we can set up a trial class and the person on the phone was difficult to understand. I ended setting up a time and when we arrived, I was not impressed. The lady who presumably answered the phone was disorganized and forgot our appt. My daughter ended up with a nice teacher who was in the water with her (beginner class) but I noticed that the instructors in the advance level are NOT in the water with the students. He yells out instructions from the side of the pool and I believe he talks to them in another language( the majority of the teachers, owners, and students were of asian decent which is totally fine but I don't want my daughter to feel left out if she doesn't understand the language). Also, the lifeguard on duty wasn't even paying attention to the kids have the time and looked bored. Didn't make me feel like the chldren were being watched at all. Not coming back. read more

I've been taking adult swimming lessons here for the last 3 quarters. I absolutely enjoy coming to this place. The instructors are very good and patient. I've learned proper swimming skills and developed confidence in my swimming. I started as a total non swimmer to being able to do laps around a pool. The facilities are very good and I appreciate the indoor pool setting (especially taking winter classes). Other reviewers mention the water being cold. I have never experienced this in the 9 months I have been taking classes. read more

Super unhelpful staff and really don't seem to want my business. Slow response times and a generally bad attitude.

I have two children, ages 5 and 8, enrolled in swim lessons here. The five-year-old has always loved the water and jumps right in. The eight-year-old is more timid, and used to cry before swim lessons at another facility. But she loves Flying Fish, and both kids are progressing. I am confident that they will both be swimming by the summer. They are in a semi-private class, and are the only two children with one instructor, so they do get plenty of attention. The water is warm; another reviewer complained about the cold temperature, but that must have been corrected before we started. The facility is clean and new, but very bare-bones (other than the pool area). The waiting area is a large empty space with a handful of folding chairs, and it is cold! I find the employees to be cold, as well. Other than the instructors, they are less than helpful. But the kids love the place, and if they can learn to swim, I can put up with unfriendly support staff. read more

I'm a fan at the precomp level, but the lower levels, I'm not so sure about. I recently took one of my kids to try out at the santa Clara swim club and they said they were really impressed by her technique. They thot she learned with instructors in the pool and were surprised to hear that she was coached from the deck. Anyways, they've had alot of turnover in the last 2 years for the younger kids so the consistency is not there nor is the recent quality of instructors. The two older men, Mr. Do and don't know the other guy (but he coaches the comp team) are really good. They give kids feedback the whole time. read more

My son took a couple swim lessons in JCC when he was 2 and 4 but did not learn how to. This time when he tried Flying Fish at 5 and a half, we did a semi-private lesson with my friend's kid. It may be a combination of factors, his age, taking lessons with a friend, appropriate inventive, but we definitely feel that the instructor, Martin, was a big help to get my son to be able to swim and love it. Martin was patient, friendly and amiable. He played with both kids and made it a fun learning experience. Both kids loved swimming with him, highly recommended! In terms of almost all other things, JCC is better, staff, changing room, showers, etc. read more

My daughter bounced around to a number of swim schools before we settled here. The instructors are very motivated on progress. The kids feel it. At least my daughter really thrives with their environment. Her teachers don't constantly change the way they did at DACA, which we hated. We just started my son in the preschool classes. I hope he clicks as well read more

A great environment conducive to learning. The flow, feedback, and correction are improving every day for the students. The instructors seem to have a genuine concern for their students progression as well as providing a safe environment at the same time. The front desk is also very helpful with concerns in scheduling and information about the swim school when we call or come in and speak to them in person. I would highly recommend this swim school to anyone who is looking for a safe, clean, well-maintained facility with warm friendly knowledgable staff to not only teach our kids how to swim, but also teach life lessons about overcoming adversity and focusing on the objectives of Flying Fish Swim School. read more

After spending years taking swimming lessons at JCC and making little progress while impacting my son's confidence, we switched to Flying Fish. Since then, he has advanced to the Pre-Competitive level - well beyond our original goal of being "water safe". The difference is that the teachers here are mostly professionals - not students teaching swimming as a part-time job or just for fun. Yes, the teachers here do push the kids a little harder than JCC, but sometimes that's what it takes for them to overcome fear and barriers. Yes, sometimes the staff isn't super friendly. But, I do see some really difficult parents giving them a hard time too (just to be fair). The facility is not quite as nice as JCC, but better than some of the other places I've visited. It's usually relatively clean. The parent waiting area is nice and roomy, with free Wifi. read more

The reviews for this place seem like a mixed bag so I thought I'll give my 2c. My kids are in pre competitive and in beginning. They're learning well and the instructors are no nonsense. My a whole lot of touchy feely stuff, but the swimming and workouts are good. For the precomp it is an hour of back and forth laps with minimal breaks, with a variety of strokes. The lifeguard on duty pays attention. The important things are covered and I like it. but it's not your five star feel good place, so if that's what you are expecting i wouldn't consider it. read more

We have had two of our boys (now 7 and 9) participate at Flying Fish's Summer classes in the past 3 years. This year, our 7 year old was in the Delta class taught by coach Andrew. Having seen many swim coaches, I have to say Andrew is superb! He seems to have a way with young kids to help them learn the skills and keep them engaged during the lesson. Our boy was really struggling with the back stroke and kicks and coach Andrew helped him overcome his struggles. He was very encouraging and helped my boy gain the confidence he needed to become a better swimmer quickly! I highly recommend the intensive summer sessions and especially coach Andrew. Steve, the manager of Flying Fish was also super helpful in answering questions I had about the various levels. The woman receptionist is also very helpful and friendly. Overall, we have had a very positive experience and I would recommend this place to others. read more

It's good that they have an indoor pool. Staff is friendly. Coach Andrew N. is a great instructor. He knows how to best use the teaching time. Kids were challenged by him in a just right way and had a lot of fun. My kid was really encouraged by him. Like his coaching style. I hope they can get as many teachers as possible as him. read more

I have been so impressed with Flying Fish. My son has made huge progress since starting around a year ago - no other swim school has managed to get him so far along. Highly recommend. read more

They have their own swim program that is different than that of the Red Cross. It is a good program for kids who are about 5 years old and above. My child started there at 3 years of age, she knew how to float, swim short distances (not freestyle), and was comfortable putting her head in the water. Maybe it was just the instructor she got but he was nice and a bit on the reserved side, I did not think he had the energy, playfulness and silliness to teach young children. He would tell kids to kick, and then float, and glide, and make physical corrections (ex. lift chin up on the back float), however, when it comes to young children, whether a child will be able to execute an exercise has as much to do with their ability to understand instructions clearly than their physical ability to do the exercise. So the teacher has to be able to explain in a way that a young child can understand. For example, my child did not kick hard enough on the streamline kick exercise. First, they alternate the streamline glide with the streamline kick, so it gets a bit confusing for a young kids as to which is which if you just say a word or two. I went swimming with my child and explained how to kick harder, then showed it to her, then when she was holding the side of the pool, I took her feet and helped kick harder. When I explained it, I used my fingers to show a person walking, and then I showed a person running, the fingers were going a lot quicker, so I told her it's the same when she kicks, she has to "run-kick", and she understood, when I told her to "run-kick", she kicked her legs faster. I did not see that kind of teacher so far, just teacher who would say, "OK, let's kick" or something like that, with no further attempt to explain differently if the young kid did not get it. Secondly, the progression on their program does not take into account the physical development of a young child. They insist on a quasi perfect and strong kick before showing any arm motion. Young children's motor skills develop first on the upper body, so refusing to show any arm motion to a 3-year old is wasting their ability to learn arm motions (ex. threading and rowing drills) while insisting on leg motion which they are not as developed for. As a former professional ski instructor with over 10 years of experience, I remember very well that when teaching young kids the snowplow, which requires to rotate the tip of the feet inward and push the feet outward, the young kids' first reaction was to do it with their arms while their feet barely rotated. I took my child skiing for the first time recently, and she did the exact same thing. It is entirely normal in their progression to do that, this is why it is common to use a little rubber tool to keep the ski tips max 4 inches apart or so when teaching young children. So when teaching swimming to young children, refusing to teach any kind of arm motion until their kick is exactly the way the teachers want it makes no sense at all. So if you have a young kid, they recommend having them do the 12-week kicking class all over again, but the other factor that they neglect is that for a young child, it is important to keep them stimulated, so if they do the same little things over and over for 10+ weeks, they start getting bored and they don't want to go to class anymore. Plus the kids would end up kicking the right way whether they take the class or not, just by virtue of getting older and having better developed lower body motor skills, so just taking them to the pool, play with rings and toys and do some kicks now and then would achieve the same results and would be more fun for a young child. There are also swim schools that teach a different progression that is more appropriate for children under 5. So we may try again when my child is closer to 5, but for now, based on her comments on the last few classes, I'm afraid she'll get completely bored with those classes to the point of not wanting to go back. Oh and I second the many comments in other reviews about how they could clean up better, even my 3-year old made comments about the floor of the shower and locker room being disgusting, she was wearing her sandals in there, which is a good thing, and refused to touch the floors with her bare feet. But to me, that's minor (assuming the pool water is properly maintained and clean... maybe I should ask to see the testing logs :-0) if they have a strong swimming programs with good teachers. read more

This is a great swim school. It's indoor, excellent coaches. We tried several swim schools around, and have stayed with this one for 7 years. It's their head coach who encouraged my kid to go to the first swim meet at age 6, and opened a new door to us. Already recommended this swim school to several friends. You learn great skills here. read more

Great school. My son has great experience with coach Ian. He is nice and professional. He plays games with kids and Help kids overcome fear of water. My son can float after 4 classes. So far so good. read more

My son has been swimming for 9 months and he loves it. I really like their instructors and they were very good with all kids. Also my son's instuctor focus on technique a lot to make him handle skills. I was really impressed with how much he learned. Looks like they hired full time professionl janitor to do clean few months ago, now all floors/windows are very clean. Free WIFI is wonderful for all waiting parenets. Improvement: Shower space is close to pool and walkway is crowded after class done. read more

I installed yelp and signed up just to be able to leave this negative review here ! My 3 year old son has been here for 3 months, and we all like all the teachers here. However, their management is such a mess, and the manager here is extremely rude. My son was in the 5:30pm class, and one day a lady told us to move to the 5pm class since that class was less full and the level would fit my son better. We prefered 5:30pm but because that lady was quite serious, we agreed. We continued the 5pm class for two weeks, and went out for a 2 weeks vacation. Today we came at 5pm again and saw 5 kids, where the limit was 4. Parents began to complain, and the manager almost shouted at me for showing up at 5 instead of 5:30. I told him that we have been moved to 5pm and the teacher also confirmed, but the manager said the teacher had no idea who she had taught, and insisted that I was lying about reschduling. In the end, I took out my son just to make sure he and other kids could still take their classes, and had to exlain to my son why we had to wait for half an hour whereas other kids could swim. After a long argument, the manager had to admit they may have made a mistake, but the experience was bad enough for me to never bother to deal with him anymore. I am glad this is our last class, and i wont come back any more ! read more

My 6 year old son started swimming lessons at Flying Fish about a month ago. Jerrell has been a FANTASTIC coach! My son has become more confident in the water and has made huge improvements with swimming since working with Jerrell. Jerrell makes the lessons fun and has lots of patience with the kids. A+! read more

My first time entering Flying Fish Swimming School did not disappoint. the facility was clean and spacious and the employees were all very nice and helpful. The instructors were very diligent in teaching my 4 year old and my 10 year old. They learned faster in 3 weeks here then they did at the YMCA. Although many of the reviews don't talk about the teaching ability and facility in itself and instead are making racist comments towards the employees I 100% recommend this school because they genuinely care about every child there and they are determined to teach and make my 4 year old and 10 year old feel comfortable in the water. The instructors that my kids have are really passionate at teaching and have allowed them to thrive in the water. I have recommended this school to all my friends and they love it too. I truly believe they offer the best swimming lessons in the bay area. read more

i would recommend you avoid this school. i enrolled my 4 year old there and regret it. the water temperature is very cold. instructor is not nice to kids at all. 4 kids in the class, 30 min lesson. do the math. 7.5min for each kid to swim and 22.5 min to sit in the cold water. by the way they will not return your fund. read more

My 5 year old has attended FF for two sessions. Twice I had to ask for a change of teachers. First time, they had this old school, military style instructor who started to yell at the 3-5 years old and asked them to go underwater and the one who remained longer under water will WIN and the one who could not breath and pull his/her head out will LOSE. That was during the first class of the session. I also saw him pushing my daughter's head under the water not very carefully. On our way back home, she told me: Mom : I don't want to come back ever again!. I complained to the director and she was switched to a very kind instructor named Tim. He was great to the kids and things went well until he had to leave after the first class of session #2. His replacement was the worst I've could never imagine. A complete novice with zero experience with kids! He could not teach style, did not know how to grab the kids and twice I saw a kid almost drowning under his care. Fortunately, the parents have to watch over the little ones. I requested a change again and we end up with this guy who understands technique but does not have any kind of touch with the kids. He does not seem to be enjoying his job. So, that was it for us! After half year at FF I've seen very little improvement on my daughter and got to the conclusion that the best swimming lessons in MV for kids are the ones the City offers during the Summer. What a difference! I also believe that FF should give a chance to instructors who are not from that particular country of the world. They could test more applicants and pick the ones who are really qualified for the job because of their skills not for their country of origin. Facilities: Great! Brand new indoor, warm water pool. read more

Like the other parent, I am speaking only in comparison with YMCA. I have a 5 and 7 years old. Both were at YMCA before. Both started out as beginner. The 7 years old boy really has a good learning so far. He had to repeat once in the beginner section, where the teaching is slower because the instructor is in water and has to attend each of the 5 students 1x1 while the other 4 are on the sideline. The 30 minutes class time seems too short to be effective. Some parents pay extra for add on ( not advertised but need to ask I assume). That aside, as he moves on, classes are longer. My kid really looks forward going there. My younger girl did not overcome her fear so we pulled her out after a season. The teachers seem great at correcting technical mistakes with in or out of the water teaching. More so than YMCA where teachers are more attentive to students' emotional being or maybe easier on students. The big negative for us is the shower. YMCA has private shower with great amenities. The shower here is public and scarce . Often time kids have to wait in line for their turns. My kids often are shivering during the wait. read more

Avoid this school if you can. It is very crowded. By the time you want to change, They will not return your fund.

Good - safety and children learns fast with correct stroke. Bad - too many kids in one class for the older; too short a class for the younger I have 2 children, 5 and 8. Both of my kids learn how to swim with teachers from Flying Fish. It is true that the classes for the beginners are short (30 mins), and they are more expensive. However, the teachers do teach swim technics and do not fool around. The owner also makes sure that all the teachers teaches the same way as to technic, which is the most fantastic part. I have never seen a teacher being angry with the children. They play a lot with the Beginner 1 class children who can be 2 - 3 yr old. They try to make them comfortable in the water. Children cry at that age, and sometimes it is because it is a different environment, or they don't know what is going on. The teachers who teaches Beginner and Pre-Intermediate are always in the water. Starting from Intermediate, the teachers are out of the water. At first, I didn't know if teachers being out of the water would work, but my 8 year old did learn that way. Since the intermediate class already knows how to swim, the teacher looks at the technic and correct them. My 8 year old learned how to swim breast and butterfly as the teacher looked on, and got pulled out of the water when the teacher needed to show him the correct stroke. Now that I think about it, being in the water with children who knows how to swim does not work. I think of times when I am in the water with my child, and I can't see if he is doing he legs correctly. The teachers who are in the water teaches the younger children wears a swimsuit because they do not move that much and they have to stay in the water for 3 hours at a time with almost no break. My 5 year old does not think that the water is too cold. My 5 year old knows how to swim the width of the lane using freestyle with side breathing and back stroke. She has been here for less than a year The place is crowded during the weekend. The advanced class has 10 - 12 children in one lane. We went to other swim schools as well. I felt that the other swim schools are delaying my children's progress, by teaching them doggie style. Just takes a lot longer to learn how to swim correctly. My kids never learned doggie style, but they know how to swim and loves it. I guess it's hard from one to switch swim schools when you are so used to another one already. The most important thing here is I feel safe leaving my children here with these instructors. I didn't feel the same way at the other swim school we went to. The life guard here do sat in fron of the beginner lane and watch the children. He does not talk to parents and he does not leave his seat to talk to the other instructors. The life guard at the swim school walks around, and talks to people which made me nervous. Also, even if the instructor is teaching another child, they would notice the other children as well, and make sure that they are safe. read more

Both of my kids have a semi-private lesson with coach Jerrell. He is a great coach, very patient, fun and very technical. Kids had a great fun with him, as well making good progress. Highly recommend! read more

3 year old class too short at 30 minutes with 3 other kids going one on one. Water is too cold for little ones sitting around. No hot showers. Brrrr. read more