Axe ’Em, Jacks!
Focused on building skills one step at a time
Learn to swim at your own pace in classes taught by certified, knowledgeable instructors in a safe environment. Developed by the American Red Cross, Learn-to-Swim classes will help adults and children at every skill level improve and gain confidence.
Private swim lessons
Available to Campus Recreation members and non-members, private lessons are offered to children and adults of all skill levels, including those with no swimming experience. Receive one-on-one instruction with a water safety instructor based on your personal goals.
Summer 2021 lessons begin April 5
Additional safety protocols: Instructors and participants will receive a temperature check before each lesson. If a temperature reading exceeds 100 degrees, the lesson will be rescheduled.
Registration information
Online registration opens March 29 and will close when our instructors have reached capacity.
After registering, you will be contacted by an SFA Water Safety Instructor to schedule your private swim lessons. You will be sent a link for payment once we have confirmed the lesson dates.
Cost: $100 for members, $130 for non-members
Sessions are limited to 6 lessons per participant. Parking permits are not included in the swim lesson fee.
Group lessons for children
Explore the description of each class level below to determine which level is right for your child. Adjustments may be made on the first day of lessons to accommodate skill level and class size. Be sure to read the Group Lesson policies before registering.
Parent and Child: 6 months to 3 years
Parents or guardians of children 6 months to 3 years of age will actively participate in their child's swim lessons. This not only helps increase the child's comfort level in the water, but can help parents understand the process and practice skills with their children between classes.
- Age: 6 months to 3 years
- Class covers:
- Familiarizing children with the water
- Introducing swimming readiness skills
- Games, songs and activities are integrated to keep children engaged and comfortable.
- Parents are provided with safety information and teaching techniques they can use to help their children get accustomed to the water.
- Criteria to advance: Age, along with child being able to move freely through water without parents
Preschool: 4 to 5 years
- Age: 4 to 5 years
- Skills taught:
- Blowing bubbles
- Opening eyes underwater and fully submerging
- Floating on back and front for three seconds
- Making alternating and simultaneous leg and arm movements on front and back
- Criteria to advance: Moving independently through the water (submerging head and being comfortable making front movements and being on back)
Level 1: Introduction to Water Skills
Children who have had little to no experience in water are encouraged to start on this level.
- Age: 5/6+ years
- Skills taught:
- Floating on back
- Kicking and making arm movements on front and back
- Submerging body
- All skills will be done mostly independently but with some help from instructors.
- Criteria to advance: Performing skills independently and being able to submerge whole body comfortably
Level 2: Fundamentals of Aquatic Skills
- Age: 6+ years
- Skills taught:
- Rotary breathing (side-to-side breaths)
- Different types of floats
- Improving alternating kicks and arm movements
- Combined kicks and arm movements while floating on back or stomach
- Criteria to advance: Swimming independently using combined arm and leg actions on front for five body lengths and float for 15 seconds
Level 3: Stroke Development
- Age: 7/8+ years
- Skills taught:
- Improving treading and stroke development for freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke
- Dolphin and scissor kicks
- Criteria to advance: Swimming front crawl for 15 yards and changing direction as necessary and swimming 15 yards of elementary backstroke
Level 4: Stroke Improvement
- Age: 8+ years
- Skills taught:
- Improving proficiency in performing the swimming strokes introduced in Level 3 and all the stroke techniques learned throughout Learn-to-Swim program
- Butterfly stroke
- Criteria to advance: Performing a feet-first entry into deep water, swimming front crawl for 25 yards, changing direction and swimming elementary backstroke for 25 yards