School Age Swim Classes (6 - 12 yrs)

GROUP SWIM LESSONS

Learning to swim is a life skill. Learning how to swim is not a luxury – it is a priority for the entire family (no matter how young or how old). YMCA swim lessons emphasize water safety, skill, and stroke development.

YMCA swim lessons follow the National YMCA’s child-to-instructor ratio to ensure plenty of time in the water. We strive to foster a student-centered and caring atmosphere with well-trained professionals. Our lessons are year-round for swimmers of all ages and skill levels.

Swim Lessons are progressive. Students may spend several sessions in the same stage. This is NORMAL as learning to swim with confidence takes time. Learning to swim is like learning to walk – it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to learn new skills, build technique, and endurance.

To get the most out of swim lessons – we suggest that families keep the learning going by reinforcing water safety at home and anywhere there is water. Practice makes perfect – the more time a student gets to practice – the more comfortable they will become in the water. The Y has Family Swim times all year long for students to come and show off their skills. If a parent/caregiver is not a member – that is okay. they would just pay a daily fee to be able to splash with their student.

Stages 1 – 3: students learn personal water safety and achieve basic swimming competency by learning two benchmark skills:

Swim, Float, Swim
Jump, Push, Turn, Grab

Stages 4 – 7: 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.

POOL SAFETY POLICIES

The YMCA of Montclair Aquatics program follows the guidelines of the Montclair Public Health Department and the CDC. The following rules and practices are enforced in the pool area:

Class participants ages 5 and up must wear a swim cap.
Class participants will use a shower located on the pool deck to rinse before class.
Parent/guardian observation is outside the small pool or the balcony of the large pool. Each pool has an observation area for parents/guardians to view swimming lessons. Parent/Guardians are not permitted on the pool deck during classes.
Instructors will let students into the pool area, please wait in the pool hall area until the class is let into the pool area. Only class participants will be permitted on the pool deck.

Swim Lesson Evaluations

In order to be placed in the correct swim stage, with the exception of those registering for Stage 1, new students must be evaluated. Current YMCA members must register in person or online for all programs. Community registrants must register in person at the Park Street YMCA facility. Early registration is encouraged as classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Swim lesson class/stage evaluations are held in the Small Pool at Park Street YMCA, they are offered Monday through Thursday from 3pm -3:45pm and no appointment is necessary. Swim lesson stage/class evaluations are free to YMCA of Montclair members and a fee of $35 for non-members. A Montclair YMCA membership is needed to enroll in classes and programs offered by the Montclair YMCA.