Reply to Goldfish swim school worth the $$$ ?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We had a better experience at Big Blue (formerly Tom Dolan Swim School).[/quote]

This.[/quote]

What about it did you like better?[/quote]

I think Goldfish is fine for true beginners. But once the kids are actually moving into freestyle, the quality of instruction drops off. Not to mention the silly parent comment portion at the end of every lesson, which was pointless and shortened the lesson by at least 5 minutes (maybe they stopped doing that during Covid, we were gone by then). TDSS/Big Blue seems to train and retain actual swim instructors, including club swimming coaches (I personally know 2 who coach 8U for club teams). Also, the “feel” of TDSS is less babyish, so older kids will be comfortable. [/quote]

I don't have experience with Big Blue/TDSS (but am going to look into a free trial) but I completely agree with this about Goldfish. They are great for getting kids comfortable in the water and helping them discover that swimming can be fun. Which is important. Pre-Covid the family swim was great for having fun in the pool and getting in some extra swim time. But they are not great once your kid needs to learn actual swimming technique. It's a revolving door of HS/college aged kids who may or may not have much involvement with the sport of swimming. They are just bubbly and like kids. As a former swimmer it is frustrating to see them completely fail to give really obvious tips. My older child had a good experience at Goldfish when it was brand new. The people teaching the classes were people who now work there full time as managers etc. But I have seen the change and am not as happy with it for my younger child. My younger one has hit the point where they are totally comfortable in the pool and need to start learning some technique. I am not seeing any progression and the parent feedback is the same meaningless stuff every week. It is pointless to end 5 min early for it. I want to try Big Blue and observe their approach. We will probably make the switch.[/quote]

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