YMCA AQUATICS
Youth Swim Lessons
Sherman Lake YMCA offers swimming lessons for all ages and stages. Our progressive swim lessons teach swimming skills, stroke technique and water safety while encouraging a lifelong love of the water. Private and semi-private lessons are also available.
Not sure which lesson is the right fit?
Use our Swim Lesson Selector (PDF) to assess which stage the student is ready for, or contact our
Recreation Director, Hadley Hill at hadleyh@ymcasl.org or 269.409.3043.
Parent & Child Swim Lessons
The class introduces infants and toddlers to the aquatic environment through exploration.
Water Exploration
Ages: 6 months - 3 years
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
Fridays, 4:10pm - 4:40pm
Saturdays, 9:00am - 9:30am
Hop in the pool with your child and help them learn to be comfortable in the water. Parents learn about water safety and drowning prevention. Focus on exploring body positions, blowing bubbles, and fundamental safety and aquatic skills. One parent or guardian must be in the pool for each lesson.
Preschool Swim Lessons
This progressive program teaches kids ages 3 to 5 water adjustment, basic swimming competency, and benchmark skills. Preschool students can progress through four stages of classes.
Water Acclimation (P1)
Ages: 3-5 years
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
Wednesdays, 5:00pm-5:30pm
Saturdays, 9:35am-10:05am
Preschoolers develop comfort with underwater exploration and are introduced to basic self-rescue skills performed with assistance.
Skills Practiced:
○ Bob to submerge in water
○ Front and back glide to wall for 5 feet with no help
○ Front and back float for 10 seconds with help
○ Roll from back to front and front to back with help
○ Jump, push, turn, grab with help
○ Swim, float, swim 10 feet with help
○ Exit the water
Water Movement (P2)
Ages: 3-5 years
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
Wednesdays, 5:35pm-6:05pm
Saturdays, 10:10am-10:40am
Preschoolers focus on body position and control, directional change, and forward movement in the water while also continuing to practice safely exiting in the event of falling into water.
Skills Practiced:
○ Submerge to look at an object on the bottom of the pool
○ Front and back glide to the wall for 5 feet
○ Front and back float for 10 seconds
○ Roll from back to front and front to back
○ Jump, push, turn, grab
○ Swim, float, swim 5 yards
○ Tread water near the wall for 10 seconds
○ Exit the water
Water Stamina (P3)
Ages: 3-5 years
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
Fridays, 4:10pm-4:40pm
Saturdays, 10:45am-11:15am
Preschoolers learn how to swim to safety from a longer distance than in previous stages. The class also introduces rhythmic breathing and integrated arm/leg action.
Skills Practiced:
○ Retrieve an object in chest-deep water
○ Swim on front and back for 10 yards
○ Roll from back to front and front to back
○ Jump, push, turn, grab 10 yards
○ Swim, float, swim 15 yards
○ Tread water for 30 seconds
○ Exit the water
Stroke Introduction (P4)
Ages: 3-5 years
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
Saturdays, 11:20am - 11:50am
Having mastered the fundamentals, preschoolers learn additional water safety skills and build stroke technique.
Skills Practiced:
○ Swim the front crawl with rotary breathing for 15 yards
○ Breaststroke kick for 15 yards
○ Butterfly kick for 15 yards
○ Elementary backstroke for 15 yards
○ Dive from a sitting position
○ Tread water using a scissor and whip kick for one minute
○ Swim any combination of strokes for 25 yards
Adaptive Swim Lessons
Ages: 3-5 years
Adaptive swim lessons are catered towards students with diverse learning abilities. Smaller class sizes, vision cue cards, sensory friendly lighting, and specially trained instructors ensure all students can learn water safety skills and are introduced to swim strokes at a pace that works for them.
For more information and to register, please contact Hadley Hill at hadleyh@ymcasl.org or 269.409.3043.
School Age Swim Lessons
Children from 6 to 12 can progress through six stages of classes as they learn to swim, work to refine strokes, and advance their water skills.
Water Acclimation (S1)
Ages: 6-12 years
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
Students develop comfort with underwater exploration and are introduced to basic self-rescue skills performed with assistance.
Skills Practiced:
○ Bob to submerge in water
○ Front and back glide to the wall for 5 feet with no help
○ Front and back float for 10 seconds with help
○ Roll from back to front and front to back with help
○ Jump, push, turn, grab with help
○ Swim, float, swim 10 feet with help
○ Exit the water
Water Movement(S2)
Ages: 6-12 years
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
Fridays, 4:10pm - 4:40pm
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 water.
Skills Practiced:
○ Submerge to look at an object on the bottom of the pool
○ Front and back glide to the wall for 5 feet
○ Front and back float for 10 seconds
○ Roll from back to front and front to back
○ Jump, push, turn, grab
○ Swim, float, swim 5 yards
○ Tread water near the wall for 10 seconds
○ Exit the water
Water Stamina (S3)
Ages: 6-12 years
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
Wednesdays, 6:15pm-6:45pm
Students learn how to swim to safety from a longer distance than in previous stages. The class also introduces rhythmic breathing and integrated arm/leg action.
Skills Practiced:
○ Retrieve an object in chest-deep water
○ Swim on front and back for 10 yards
○ Roll from back to front and front to back
○ Jump, push, turn, grab 10 yards
○ Swim, float, swim 15 yards
○ Tread water for 30 seconds
○ Exit the water
Stroke Introduction (S4)
Ages: 6-12 years
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
Wednesdays, 6:50pm-7:20pm
Having mastered the fundamentals, students learn additional water safety skills and build stroke technique.
Skills Practiced:
○ Swim the front crawl with rotary breathing for 15 yards
○ Breaststroke kick for 15 yards
○ Butterfly kick for 15 yards
○ Elementary backstroke for 15 yards
○ Dive from a sitting position
○ Tread water using a scissor and whip kick for one minute
○ Swim any combination of strokes for 25 yards
Stroke Development (S5)
Ages: 6-12 years
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
Mondays, 5:00pm - 5:30pm
Students work on stroke technique and learn all major competitive swimming strokes.
Skills Practiced:
○ Swim the front crawl with bent-arm recovery for 25 yards
○ Breaststroke for 25 yards
○ Butterfly with simultaneous arm action and kick for 15 yards
○ Back crawl for 25 yards
○ Sidestroke for 25 yards
○ Dive from a kneeling position
○ Tread water using a scissor and whip kick for 2 minutes
○ Swim any combination of strokes for 50 yards
Stroke Mechanics (S6)
Ages: 6-12 years
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
Mondays, 5:35pm-6:05pm
Students continue to refine their competitive swim strokes. This course is the most advanced swim class for school aged students.
Adult Swim Lessons
Beginner Adult
Ages: 14 years and up
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
This course is designed for students aged 14 years and older who have minimal aquatic experience. Classes will focus on gaining confidence in the water, cover water safety skills, and introduce students to basic swim strokes.
Intermediate Adult
Ages: 14 years and up
$85 (Y-Members) $105 (Community)
This course is designed for students aged 14 years and older who have some aquatic experience and are seeking to refine their skills. Students will refine their basic swim strokes, learn more advanced swim styles, and be introduced to rhythmic breathing.
Private Swim Lessons
At the Y, we believe the ability to swim is a critical life skill. In private swim lessons, we use a variety of methods to help both kids and adults learn water safety, build confidence in the water and develop skills that will last a lifetime. Learn to swim one-on-one with an experienced and certified water safety instructor.
Y-Members: $25 for individual half hour lesson (plus $5 for each additional student for semi-private classes)
Community: $30 for individual half hour lesson (plus $5 for each additional student for semi-private classes)
Classes are offered for ages 3 years - Adult.
Lessons are sold in 4-week blocks. Please click here to complete our online form or contact Recreation Center Program Director, Hadley Hill, at hadleyh@ymcasl.org or 269.409.3043 to schedule private swim lessons.
Aquatics Policies
Water Aerobics Lane Policy - With the increased use of the pool by individuals, families, and group exercise classes, these guidelines have been developed to determine the number of lanes that will be used during Water Aerobics classes (with the remaining lanes will be reserved for lap swim).
Participants in classes need to be aware that there exists a risk in participating in any physical activity. It is suggested that all individuals consult their physician before beginning any fitness activities, particularly persons with any physical limitations or disabilities or who have been told by a physician to limit maximum heart rate, range of motion, blood pressure increase, or other related issues.
All classes are subject to change without notice. Please check at the desk for availability. Classes must be attended regularly by an average of five people in order to continue. Classes with three or fewer participants may be canceled at class time by the instructor.
All Water Fitness classes are intended for individuals 14 years and older. Children under the age of 14 may be permitted with the permission of the Aquatics Director and Instructor. Please call 731-3032 for class descriptions or information regarding the intensity or style of classes offered.