AVAC Swim School

My child group teacher got change again after this week. I’m sad to hear that Ms Megan will stop teaching her group after this week. She is very good, but it only last 3 months, so I’m disappointed. 3 months is the longest my child ever had the same teacher for. For some reason her group always get teacher rotated like every 2 months or so. This is like my child teacher #8 or #9 since she started swimming here 17 months ago and it was not by choice. Like I say previously, I wish they can be more consistent with the teacher. Maybe it just happen to her group. At least this time it comes at a good timing cause I’m moving her to a different time slot along with her brothers. I increased a star because Ms Megan is very good and experienced. And they did increased the number of showers so kids are not as piled on top of each other as before. Still wish there is more stalls to change in. If they can be consistent and not change her teacher for at least 6 months then I’ll definitely add more star. Hopefully teacher #9 is experienced and good! Maybe with a new group, she’ll have better luck keeping the same teacher.

We’ve never used the Swim School since the customer service was so bad. I spent 20 mins trying to schedule lessons and still they couldn’t find anything and wouldn’t take my number and call me back. Very bad business practice.

My son has been taking weekly lessons at AVAC’s Swim School for over 14 months. He’s nearly 4, and is exceptionally coordinated for his age. Unfortunately, this swim schools theory is flawed and after over 52 swim lessons at 30 minutes a session he still CAN’T SWIM. Sink or swim, my son would sink and drown. The swim teachers are sweet and the facility is nice, however, my objective was to have my son safe around water and he still is not. You pay $ 20 for a 30-​minute session with three other swimmers so most of the time your child is just splashing in the water and doing absolutely nothing productive. After investing over $ 1300 into this swim school I am over it. It has been a huge waste of time and money. My priority in taking him to swim lessons was for his overall safety so he wouldn’t drown. I gave their program a year and I have come to the conclusion it is not my sons fault, it is the swim school that is flawed. I am taking my business elsewhere and will be saving money and creating a stronger, safer swimmer in the long run. Don’t waste your time and money with AVAC’s swim school! This swim school is a business that is more focused on profit than it is on having safe swimmers. I am totally disappointed as I am an avid AVAC member and love the gym, it is unfortunate the swim school isn’t what I thought it would be. Private lessons are cheaper and more effective, stay away from this swim school unless it’s for «mommy and me» swim classes.

I like AVAC overall, have 2 of my kids enrolled in different levels, my older one started 2,5 years ago. She got 4 ribbons by now, is currently in the sea otter level.
They are working on the freestyle stroke since she got here. Every once in a while they doing something else, go to the deeper end of the pool or dive for rings but it’s mostly the freestyle arms and legs. I have no doubt that my daughters will have a perfect stroke by the time they went to all the levels, just one concern:
My older one is 5 ½ and can still not swim. And with that I mean holding herself over water. They don’t learn pool safety. I teach it to her myself now. She is totally lost without something to hold on to when we take her to our pool which is pretty deep and would have expected this to work after 2 ½ years. I also know other kids in my daughter’s age whose parents taught them the breast stroke first who can already swim safely.
I guess it depends on what you want. If you want your children to get the best stroke technique this is the place to go.

One of the best places for family swim and swim lessons for small kids. We’ve tried other options in San Jose and AVAC seems to be the best one for now. What we like: warm water (warmer than in other pools); big pool; clean and light; perfect for babies; friendly staff; not very expensive; open swims hours; good teachers. And the best thing we found so far is that the school really teaches our daughter and she is doing much better now. What we don’t like: info on website isn’t always fit with actual schedule; not much detailed info about activities; no family dressing rooms. There is café in the club part.

My daughter has been with AVAC since 3, she is now 6. We have seen nothing but improvement and a surge in confidence. Both my husband and I were competitive swimmers and spent our teen/​college summers teaching lessons, so we may be more judgemental then most, but these instructors are GREAT. We have had many different instructors and they have all gone above and beyond. Some parents complain that they don’t move them up fast enough. However, I rather my child master a skill before being pushed to the next level. This is not about ribbons, but becoming a proficient and confident swimmer. We have just started my son and if it was up to him, we’d be there every night. Huge thank you!

I’m only holding out for 5 stars until I try out some other recommended places in the area, but overall it’s been pretty darn awesome! This was the third place I tried for my 3 year old daughter who is not a huge fan of water. They were so patient from the first phone call. She always is anxious going in, but laughing and happy leaving the place. The teacher gives great updates after class and I’m impressed in the small changes she’s made over the 2 months we have been there. I honestly didn’t even expect that much given her fear of water. The facility is clean showers are great, easy access to the kids and great lobby seating to watch kids from. More than anything though, the teachers… her teacher kelly… is phenomenal!

I’ve come here to watch my two little nieces practice their swim lessons a few times. AVAC’s bathrooms are disgusting! The garbage is full of diapers and the bathroom floors have seat liners all over the floor. My sister has already complained about it before and nothing has been done about it! However, my nieces have gone from being afraid of the water to being really good swimmers. The teachers are very well trained. The teachers meet with the parent after every swim lesson to update them on their child’s progess.

Hands down worth the money. The water is warm, the instructors are the best. We have been to other places with no success or enthusiasm from both of my kids, and they *love* swim school at AVAC. Their primary focus, particularly with younger kids, is teaching you and the kids about water safety.

Good instructors. I like the focus on safety over swimming expertise, especially for young ones.

Brought her daughter here for swim class and have had excellent response from our daughter. She likes her teachers as well as the school. So it is kept very nice and clean. The staff is very friendly and very courteous.
They are not pushy about getting her to put her head under water. They make the kids very comfortable in the water and make them enjoy swimming.

My two children love their swimming classes here. My daughter has been swimming here for over a year and a half and has gone ahead in leaps and bounds. She has always been a great swimmer and after moving from Australia I was really concerned about finding a great swim school for her. AVAC came recommended from a friend and my daughter has done amazingly. Her stroke and technique has improved and is now in the pre comp class. Most importantly her ability was recognized really quickly and encouraged.
There seems to be really low turn over of staff and all teachers are so friendly and professional.
My kids are having such fun and love swimming.

Great place for kids and the family. Two kids here learning to swim and they have a lot of fun. We enjoy our time here and the people who make it a great experiwnce… X Hristo a and Ali are two that come to mind

I admit I am clearly the stupidest person in the world. I gave AVAC a shot for 6.5 years. We are so done. We are moving on. Aquatics waterworks, here we come. We are paid for the next 3 weeks so we are stuck with AVAC.
Also, we did not get any apology for all 4 issues we raised. The manager was very insistent that what they were doing was the right thing.
According to the AVAC experts, kids should work on their gliding first before they can do the circle swim. So parents, be confident that your child will be able to glide to the wall when they fall in the water.

Ugh this is really hard for me to write this as we loved our first teacher, Miss Madison. I had/​have two boys in swim class there. We have been going since Oct? 2013. 1 boy had Miss Madison to start and she is AMAZING! Madison has my then 4yr old mastering many water skills weekly. She turned him into a fish! Then Madison left this class and was replace by a guy who honestly sucked and did not know how to teach. For months the 4 kids in the class learned nothing. Talked to him and the office staff and nothing changed. Then Miss Kayla took over. She was good, but again kids still were at a stand still. At a stand still for about 6 months. I’ve now pull that son out of avac as it’s a waste of time and money and he is now 5 and says it’s boring. Great thing is I give Madison ALL the credit for what he knows and he is a great swimmer and masters our pool. Now our other son had Miss Kayla which was great for him and now has a guy who’s students are not progressing since she left the class. Our friend pulled his child out 2 weeks ago and we are pulling our son out as well. No progress in 6 months with him either. All we hear every week is «They are almost there! Just need to keep hands together while gliding!»

My child is not learning to swim, even after many months of (group) lessons. It is more like water play going back and forth grabbing the toys without any real techniques being learned. It has been a frustrating and disappointing experience for us since we invested a lot of time and money into these lessons.
Another thing to note is that the young instructors wait the very last minute to start, they were 2 mins late today for instance and are quick to finish few minutes earlier, today by 3 minutes. That is 5 minutes! For a half hour class divided by 4 kids minus extra 5 minutes, the kids really lose out a lot!

I enrolled my son into swim classes with Miss Stacey. She is an amazingly talented instructor and I would recommend her to my friends and family. The entire staff at AVAC is friendly and professional.
My son has grown exponentially as a competent swimmer since beginning his swim lessons. We began here with no swim experience or knowledge, other than the occasional trip to the pool. Miss Stacey was able to teach my son in just 6 months how to jump in the pool, turn around to grab the wall, climb out, «monkey walk» along the wall, hold his breath, back float and kick his feet.
If you’re looking for a swim school for your little one, this is definitely the place to go!

My son has been enrolled here for only about 6 weeks or so. My husband and I are so pleased and amazed at his progress. Hes only 16 months and hes learning so much! We love our instructor Anaise! Overall we’re super happy with this swim school and I’d highly recommend it to families.

I’ve taken my twin nephews (4 y/o’s) here and they can’t get enough of it! There’s not many other places where I can take them to swim year round where I don’t feel like I’m suffocating in chlorinated air in their pool area watching them swim. Very well ventilated and it looks & feels like we’re swimming outside even when it’s the dead of winter! We’ve loved every instructor they’ve had. The instructors are very patient and fun, and we like that they update us on their progress every week. The facility is kept very clean and the front desk staff are always friendly and accommodating. The only complaint I’d have is of the other parents… But that’s not AVAC’s fault.

Awesome swim school… the kids have such a wonderful time. My son actually learned the basics from his instructor in about 5 weeks and we were able to enjoy our vacation with him in Hawaii with the ease of mind knowing he knows how to float and swim to the edge of the pool. I wanna say his instructors name was Marissa… but I could be wrong. She was great.
Only thing that sucks about this place is that the parents waiting room is FREEZING. OH… and the fact that parents are full on bathing and shampooing their kids in the showers even though the staff reminds them they arent supposed too. Staff needs to be a little more stern when it comes to those rules. Shower your kids at home and give others a chance to rinse off.