TEN LEVELS.
ONE SWIMMER.

Ten levels. Three phases. Every advancement earns the bell — rung on deck, in front of the whole pool. Level 10 graduates earn our Gold Medal achievement — Swimmer for Life. This is the full progression from first breath to complete swimmer.

🥉 Water Ready · L3🥈 Pool Safe · L6🥇 Swimmer for Life · L10
Enroll Now
The bell rings at every level.
Foundation
1
L1 — First Breath
2
L2 — Float
3
L3 — First Kick 🥉 Water Ready
Stroke Development
4
L4 — Body Rotation
5
L5 — First Strokes
6
L6 — Pool Safe 🥈 Pool Safe
Stroke School
7
L7 — All Four
8
L8 — Endurance
9
L9 — Race Ready
10
L10 — Swimmer for Life 🥇 Swimmer for Life
Phase 1

FOUNDATION

Water confidence, body control, and independent movement — the non-negotiable basics before your child learns a single stroke.

tap to flip
L1

First Breath

Coaches build trust with the water here — calm repetition, no rushing. Nervous kids are expected. Confident kids come out the other side.

Small Groups by Design · Level 11:2 — one coach, two swimmers
L1

First Breath

tap to flip
Pass Standards
  • Your child performs 10 controlled bobs with their head fully submerged, breathing with rhythm and composure.

10 controlled bobs, fully submerged, breathing with rhythm.

tap to flip
L2

Float

Coaches teach body awareness — how to be still in the water, how to trust buoyancy, how to recover to standing on their own.

Small Groups by Design · Levels 2–31:3 — three swimmers per coach
L2

Float

tap to flip
Pass Standards
  • Your child holds a front glide and a back glide independently, then rolls from front to back without assistance.

Front glide, back glide, and front-to-back roll — all unassisted.

tap to flip
L3

First Kick

Streamline is the foundation of every stroke in competitive swimming. Coaches drill body position and kick technique until it’s second nature.

🥉 Water Ready
Small Groups by Design · Levels 2–31:3 — three swimmers per coach
L3

First Kick

tap to flip
Pass Standards
  • Your child flutter kicks 5 meters on their front and back in streamline position — arms extended, body tight, moving under their own power.

5 meters of flutter kick in streamline — front and back.

Foundation complete. Your swimmer has earned their first milestone.

WATER READY

Your child entered the water uncertain. They leave Foundation as a different swimmer — one who floats with control, kicks with purpose, and glides with confidence. Water Ready means they've built the physical foundation that every stroke is built on.

“Your child can now enter the water, float independently, and glide without assistance. They don't just tolerate the pool — they own it. The hardest part is behind them.”

Phase 2

STROKE DEVELOPMENT

Rotation, breathing, and real strokes — this is where your child goes from moving through the water to actually swimming.

tap to flip
L4

Body Rotation

Coaches introduce rotation mechanics — the engine behind freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly. Breaststroke kick gets its own focus because the timing is completely different from the other three.

Small Groups by Design · Levels 4–51:4 — four swimmers per coach
L4

Body Rotation

tap to flip
Pass Standards
  • Your child demonstrates sweet spot balance drills, performs dolphin dives, and shows a proper breaststroke kick.

Sweet spot drills, dolphin dives, and proper breaststroke kick.

tap to flip
L5

First Strokes

This is the first time your child looks like a swimmer. Coaches refine arm pull, breathing timing, and backstroke body position.

Small Groups by Design · Levels 4–51:4 — four swimmers per coach
L5

First Strokes

tap to flip
Pass Standards
  • Your child swims 5 meters of freestyle and 5 meters of backstroke with recognizable technique.

5 meters freestyle + 5 meters backstroke with recognizable technique.

tap to flip
L6

Pool Safe

Your child can swim a full 25-yard lap of freestyle with bilateral breathing, tread water for one full minute without using their hands, and swim backstroke. That is the real standard for water safety — not splashing across a pool, not doggy paddle. A child who passes Level 6 can keep themselves alive in any body of water.

🥈 Pool Safe
Small Groups by Design · Levels 4–51:4 — four swimmers per coach
L6

Pool Safe

tap to flip
Pass Standards
  • 25 yards of freestyle with bilateral breathing
  • 1 minute of treading water (no hands)
  • Backstroke

25 yards freestyle, 1 minute treading water, backstroke.

This is the milestone most families came here for.

POOL SAFE

Pool Safe means exactly what it says. Your swimmer can rotate, breathe, and swim freestyle with the technique and endurance to be safe in the water. This is the standard — not a participation award, not a guess. A tested, coached, verified level of competence in the pool.

“Your child is a swimmer. They can handle themselves in the water — confidently, correctly, and safely. Pool Safe isn't a badge we hand out. It's a standard they met.”

Phase 3

STROKE SCHOOL

Once your child is Pool Safe, everything changes. They go from one 30-minute session per week to unlimited drop-in access. At this stage, what they need most is reps, practice, and volume. Stroke School gives them exactly that: all four competitive strokes, flip turns, and real distance until they ring the bell.

Pool Safe graduates only
tap to flip
L7

All Four

Coaches open the full stroke toolkit. Flip turns require spatial awareness and courage. Butterfly is the most demanding stroke in swimming — introduction here builds respect for it before the hard yardage comes later.

Small Groups by Design · Stroke School1:6 — six swimmers per coach
L7

All Four

tap to flip
Pass Standards
  • Your child swims 30 meters of freestyle with a flip turn, is introduced to butterfly, and demonstrates breaststroke arms.

30m freestyle with flip turn, butterfly intro, breaststroke arms.

tap to flip
L8

Endurance

Coaches build volume and stamina. This is where swimming stops being a skill and starts being a sport. Five minutes of treading water is a serious fitness benchmark.

Small Groups by Design · Stroke School1:6 — six swimmers per coach
L8

Endurance

tap to flip
Pass Standards
  • Your child swims 50 yards freestyle, 30 yards backstroke, 25 yards breaststroke, 40 feet butterfly, and treads water for 5 minutes.

50yd free, 30yd back, 25yd breast, 40ft fly, 5 min treading.

tap to flip
L9

Race Ready

Coaches refine details that matter in competition — turn legality, underwater breakouts, stroke transitions. A Level 9 swimmer could walk onto a summer league team and compete.

Small Groups by Design · Stroke School1:6 — six swimmers per coach
L9

Race Ready

tap to flip
Pass Standards
  • Your child swims a 100-yard Individual Medley (all four strokes, in order), performs legal open turns on breaststroke and butterfly, and demonstrates proper breakouts off the wall.

100yd IM, legal turns on breast and fly, proper wall breakouts.

tap to flip
L10

Swimmer for Life

Level 10 is not a level-up. It is a graduation. Your child entered this program unable to swim. They leave it with 300 yards of continuous freestyle, a 100-yard IM, and mastery of all four competitive strokes — butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. The bell rings one final time. The ceremony is earned, not given. Old City Swim School graduates are complete swimmers.

🥇 Swimmer for Life
Small Groups by Design · Stroke School1:6 — six swimmers per coach
L10

Swimmer for Life

tap to flip
Pass Standards
  • 300 yards of freestyle
  • 100 yards of backstroke
  • 100-yard Individual Medley

300yd freestyle, 100yd backstroke, 100yd IM. Ring the bell.

Ten levels. One permanent skill. Every door is open.

SWIMMER FOR LIFE

Swimmer for Life means exactly that — a skill no one can take back. Your swimmer has unlocked every stroke, every technique, and every ounce of confidence the water demands. Fitness, fun, competition, open water — it doesn't matter. They're equipped for all of it, for the rest of their life.

“Your child walked in learning to breathe. They're walking out a swimmer — permanently. Pool, ocean, lake, wherever life takes them. Swim team, lifeguarding, triathlons, or just a lifetime of loving the water. Level 10 didn't just teach them to swim. It made swimming part of who they are.”

HOW IT WORKS

Pool Safe · L1–6

  • —You enroll and are assigned a weekly session (Mon–Thu evenings or weekend mornings)
  • —Your child is assessed and placed at the right level — no guesswork, no wasted time
  • —Coaches follow a defined progression — every session has structure
  • —When your child demonstrates the skills for their level, they advance
  • —$225/month (+tax)

Stroke School · L7–10

  • —Pool Safe graduation required for entry
  • —Unlimited drop-in access
  • —All four competitive strokes, flip turns, race-legal technique
  • —Level 10 graduates earn Gold Medal — Swimmer for Life

Small Groups by Design

Level 1

1:2

Levels 2–3

1:3

Levels 4–5

1:4

Stroke School

1:6

Your child gets real attention — not lost in a crowd of 6–8 like the franchise schools.

READY TO ENROLL?

Check what's open and grab a spot.

Enroll NowHave a question? Contact us →