ANNUAL MEMBER BENEFIT! Priority registration and lower class fees.
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SWIM LESSONS
YOUTH Group Lessons
Private Lessons (Ages 6 months and up)
Nurturing Skills & Building Confidence in the Water
No matter where you are in your swimming journey, the YMCA has a program designed for you. From water exploration for little ones to skill refinement for teens and adults, our lessons focus on safety, confidence, and lifelong skills in the water.
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Parent & Child – Comfort in the water and early safety skills.
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Preschool – Float, glide, and basic stroke movement.
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School Age – Build fundamentals and stroke skills.
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Teen & Adult – Learn to swim, improve form, or train.
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Adaptive Lessons – Tailored support for all abilities.
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Private Lessons – One-on-one or small group coaching.
Swim Lessons for All Ages
Swim lessons are grouped by age to help you find the right starting point. Each stage builds safety, confidence, and technique. The most important thing is placing your swimmer where they will be safe, confident, and challenged appropriately. If the first class shows that they need a different stage, our aquatics staff may recommend a move, so they get the best experience.
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Current
GROUP Lessons & PRIVATE Lessons
SUMMER SESSION II
June 29, 2026: Annual Member Registration Opens
July 6, 2026: 3-Month & Non-Member Registration Opens
Parent & Child: SWIM STARTERS
(ages 6 months – 3 years)
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.
A / Water Discovery
Parents accompany children in stage A, which introduces infants and toddlers to the aquatic environment through exploration and encourages them to enjoy themselves while learning about the water.
Preschool : SWIM BASICS
(ages 3 - 5 years )
Students learn personal water safety and achieve basic swimming competency by learning two benchmark skills:
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Swim, float, swim – sequencing front glide, roll, back float, roll, front glide, and exit
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Jump, push, turn, grab
1 / Water Acclimation
Students develop comfort with underwater exploration and learn to safely exit in the event of falling into a body of water in stage 1. This stage lays the foundation that allows for a student’s future progress in swimming.
2 / Water Movement
In stage 2, students focus on body position and control, directional change, and forward movement in the water while also continuing to practice how to safely exit in the event of falling into a body of water.
3 / Water Stamina
In stage 3, students learn how to swim to safety from a longer distance than in previous stages in the event of falling into a body of water. This stage also introduces rhythmic breathing and integrated arm and leg action.
Swim Strokes
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.
4 / Stroke Introduction.
Students in stage 4 develop stroke technique in front crawl and back crawl and learn the breaststroke kick and butterfly kick. Water safety is reinforced through treading water and elementary backstroke.
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School Age : SWIM STROKES
(ages 5 - 12 years)
Students learn personal water safety and achieve basic swimming competency by learning two benchmark skills:
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Swim, float, swim – sequencing front glide, roll, back float, roll, front glide, and exit
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Jump, push, turn, grab
1 / Water Acclimation
Students develop comfort with underwater exploration and learn to safely exit in the event of falling into a body of water in stage 1. This stage lays the foundation that allows for a student’s future progress in swimming.
2 / Water Movement
In stage 2, students focus on body position and control, directional change, and forward movement in the water while also continuing to practice how to safely exit in the event of falling into a body of water.
3 / Water Stamina
In stage 3, students learn how to swim to safety from a longer distance than in previous stages in the event of falling into a body of water. This stage also introduces rhythmic breathing and integrated arm and leg action.
Swim Strokes
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.
4 / Stroke Introduction
Students in stage 4 develop stroke technique in front crawl and back crawl and learn the breaststroke kick and butterfly kick. Water safety is reinforced through treading water and elementary backstroke.
5 / Stroke Development
Students in stage 5 work on stroke technique and learn all major competitive strokes. The emphasis on water safety continues through treading water and sidestroke.
6 / Stroke Mechanics
In stage 6, students refine stroke technique on all major competitive strokes, learn about competitive swimming, and discover how to incorporate swimming into a healthy lifestyle.
PRIVATE LESSONS
(any age, 6-month and up)
For any age, 6-months and up and any ability. One on one instruction tailored to your abilities. Tell us your needs and we can connect you with an experienced instructor to best meet your goals.
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Building Strong Swimmers & Confident Kids
For more than 160 years, the YMCA has nurtured potential and united communities across America to create lasting, meaningful change. Everything the Y does is in 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.
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FACT: Children between the ages of 1 - 4 years old have the highest drowning rates.
FACT: Drowning is the 2nd leading cause of death for kids (ages 5 – 14).
FACT: In 88% of drownings, an adult was present but that was not enough.
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At the Y, our goal is to do our part in changing these statistics by continuing to build strong swimmers and confident kids. This is why we have adopted the YMCA’s Safety Around Water & Swim Lessons curriculum. We are committed to helping youth improve new skills while building friendships and feeling confident in water environments. These lessons are built on a foundation of two basic skill progressions that all people need to be safe around water, swim-float-swim, and jump-push-turn-grab while continuing to build stroke technique, safety skills, and a sense of achievement, belonging, and relationships.
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Y swim instructors are nationally certified and are trained in CPR, AED, and First Aid. Our dedicated instructors know how to create a fun and exciting learning environment for your child! Their roles will range from assisting parents/guardians with familiarizing their child with water in our Swim Starters (Parent & Me) lessons to being their child’s instructors in our Preschool and School-Age lessons.
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Swim lessons provide important life skills that could save a life and will benefit students for a lifetime.
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Click here for information to join the Waldo County Y and belong to a purpose.
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