The American Red Cross is America's leading swim instructor, teaching people to swim for more than a century. All of our instructors are certified American Red Cross Water Safety Instructors. Our programs include parent/toddler introductory programs, preschool, and progressive youth swim, swim team prep, lap swimming, and much more.

Unless you are signing up for a beginner-level class, we require a swim assessment prior to new students registering for more advanced lessons. Swim assessments are available any time during hours of operation. Simply request a swim assessment at our membership desk when you check-in! 

Check out our Swim Lesson Schedule!

Registration

• Registration:
  • Must register in person at the front desk.
  • In water assessments are not required to register for Parent-Child 1, Parent-Child 2, or Beginner School Age classes. Verbal assessments can be conducted.
  • In water assessments are required for Level 3, Level, 4, and Level 5.
  • A registration slip from the Aquatics Office is required to register at the front desk.
  • No refunds.

Guidelines

• Parents and spectators are welcome to watch lessons either in the hallway or in the lobby during the duration of the class. This ensures the safety of all participants in case of an emergency and eliminates distractions during class for all participants.
• A doctor's note is required to reschedule a missed lesson.
• We understand learning to swim is an important milestone and you may want photos. However, the Armed Services YMCA has a no photo and video policy to protect all participants and staff.
• Any child who is not potty-trained must wear a swim diaper while in the pool. Regular diapers explode! To avoid clogging the pool filters, cotton is not allowed in the pool. If you or your child would like to wear a shirt, please wear a dry-fit material. This also protects your cotton clothing from changing colors!

Weather

• As a Red Cross standard, when lightning is less than 10 miles away, or if we see/hear lightning or thunder, the pool must close until the lightning is out of the 10-mile radius.
• At that point, we set a 30-minute timer. If the storm remains outside of the 10-mile radius for those 30-minutes, we are able to reopen the pool. For this reason, we may not know if a class is canceled until about 30-40 minutes before class.
• If we cancel a class due to weather, we will either add time to classes or schedule a makeup day. We will call, text, or send a message in GroupMe about 30-40 minutes before class to notify you of the cancellation.
• The weather in Texas can be sporadic and sometimes we may have to cancel lessons last minute. However, we will use our best weathermen guesses to give you as much notice as possible!

SWIM LESSON LEVELS

PARENT-CHILD 1 (Parent/Child)
Age: 6 months - 3 years
Requirements: Parent in the water
Skills Covered: Parents with their children to learn fundamental safety and aquatic skills, such as floating, kicking, and swimming underwater.

PARENT-CHILD 2 (Preschool 1 and 2)
Age: 3 years - 5 years
Requirements: Parent in the water
Skills Covered: Parents work with their children to develop comfort in submerging, floating, and forward movement with little to no help.

Beginner School Age (Level 1 and 2)
Age: 6 years - 12 years
Requirements: Parents in the water 
Skills Covered: Parents work with their children to develop comfort in submerging, floating, and forward movement with little to no help.

Intermediate School Age (Preschool 3 and Level 3)
Age: 3 years - 12 years
Requirements: In water assessment
Skills Covered: Children to swim to safety from a longer distance, tread water, rhythmic breathing, swimming in deep water, and front crawl.

LEVEL 4 - STROKE IMPROVEMENT 
Age: 6 years - 12 years
Requirements: In water assessment
Skills Covered: Students work on stroke techniques in front crawl, back crawl, breaststroke, and butterfly. Open turns are introduced.

LEVEL 5 - STROKE REFINEMENT
Age: 6 years - 12 years
Requirements: In water assessment
Skills Covered: Students refine their stroke technique in front crawl, back crawl, butterfly, and breaststroke. Flip turns are introduced. 

Swim assessments are available any time during hours of operation. Simply request a swim assessment at our membership desk when you check in!