Nova Swim School

I have seen kids vomit in panic in response to going in to the pool with their instructor. I have also seen an instructor tell a 5 year old that if he lets his feet go toward the bottom of the pool then they will move to adult pool where his feet can in no way touch the bottom of the pool. The boy started crying and she dragged him off. So no I do not recommend this swim school.

I’m writing this to hopefully save another parent the negative experience we had with this swim school. Signed up for the Dana Point location after going in for a free evaluation. Met with Gabby and really liked her and her approach with my son who was extremely uncomfortable in the water. Called and signed him up the next day. We had a total of 3 lessons, in which my son was finally getting comfortable in the water and really enjoying his instructor and was sent an e-​mail that the lessons would not be continued due to the fact that there was a camp impeding on the quality of the lessons (outside of the Nova schools control, which we completely understood).
We then went to the Aliso Viejo location and had a negative experience with the instructor at this location. My son was basically crying almost the whole lesson and I could see why he was uncomfortable with the teacher. Even watching from the sides before the lesson, there were 2 children in the class before that were crying. I could see that he didn’t have a great way of dealing with children that are uncomfortable in the water. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to get my son out of the water with this instructor. The other issue was that this location was not easy for us to get to as well. I contacted the school because of the circumstances of only getting 3 quality lessons of possibly receiving the $ 15 registration fee back. I didn’t want money back for any of the lessons but I would have used the registration fee to possibly apply it toward other lessons that we would actually be able to continue. I left a message with Marissa and never got a call back so 2 weeks later I called again. I finally got a callback and spoke with Bonnie (apparently the manager) and was basically told that the money would not be refunded and that it was a processing fee (which I am not sure exactly what that means, considering you call in, give them a credit card number and they sign your child up for lessons). I guess that is what a processing fee entails, 5 minutes of a phone conversation. She was unwilling to work with me and her attitude was so incredibly poor. I have worked in customer service in the past and she obviously has absolutely no idea what that entails. I have read other reviews with complaints and I have to say I received the same experience from her as well. Again, I’m not complaining about the circumstances beyond their control, but I am upset at their lack of willingness to work with us and her general attitude about it.
Side note: I’m giving 1 star because of Gabby, who was wonderful and now teaching at the Fountain Valley location.
If I have any advice, please save your money and go elsewhere because if you do end up having to deal with «management», it won’t be worth it.

We have two kids that have been attending swimming classes here since last summer. We have been really happy with swimming coaches but the manager Bonnie Joseph is a different story. At our last session, my kids were waiting in the wading pool for their session. Bonnie came out and started screaming very unprofessionally at the top of her lungs at the coaches «if these kids are not in session, they need to get out!!’ There were also other encounters with Bonnie before that where she was always very rude and condescending. I hope the owners of Nova are reading this because of her, myself and all of my family that have had kids in this school have withdrew from all sessions and will not come back until she is gone.

My two year old daughter takes weekly lessons with Ginny and is far ahead of most her age in swimming. She has done parent-​tot lessons and private. Ginny and the other instructors have taught her to float on her own, swim between locations and be confident in the water. At her last lesson, she was able to jump off the side into the pool, turn over and float without any assistance. The instructors really care about the kids and promote water safety.
The best testament to these lessons came on a recent trip to Maui. Several people stopped us to tell us how impressed they were with my daughter’s abilities. We saw kids twice her age who were not as strong or confident. She can hold her breath and knows to swim to the side if she gets into trouble. I am amazed at how far she has come in the last year and highly recommend Nova Swim School!

My daughter had her first (and last lesson) yesterday. She came to a try out the week before and was placed in a level 2 – 3 class, which seemed perfectly appropriate for her level. Sadly, she left the pool hysterically crying about 20 minutes into the lesson with Kim.
The instructor did not offer her any praise or comfort and help her ease into her brand new lessons. In fact, the way she spoke to her was almost shameful and after she tied a rash guard around her body to keep her from using her arms, I’d seen and heard enough and pulled her out of the pool.
Maybe this is normal, but it seemed very intense for a first lesson without knowing anything about the child and her anxiety of the water. It was too much «tough love» for us and we will not be returning. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement and the trauma that this experience has caused my child may be irreparable.

I love this swim school. My son just turned 5 and needs to learn how to swim. I have spent a lot of money on private swim lessons at other locations. He was afraid to put his head underwater so the lessons were not very helpful.
At his swim evaluation he was with Ginny and he put his head underwater, He realized it is nothing to be afraid of. Therefore he quickly gained a lot of confidence in the water. After a couple of private lessons he got moved up to grade 2 group lessons. Hooray!
Also the location is wonderful. Los Cab is a few blocks behind the Costco in Fountain Valley. The children have a tot pool and the lessons take place in another kids pool that is pretty shallow. Around 3 feet deep. Children can have free swim before and after their lessons.

We love Ms. Tabitha. She is the best. My 4 year old swims like a fish and is very comfortable in the water. She taught him big arms and it is amazing to see a little boy swim like that. My almost two year old can now back float on her own. She loves the water, loves her time with Ms. Tabby, and is getting to be water safe.
I haven’t had any issues with the office and they have been very accommodating when we need to reschedule.
As a side note only private lessons are eligible for a make up. If you miss a group lesson, no such luck. Keep that in mind when factoring price of group versus private lessons.

My oldest attended classes at Los Cab for a few years. I LOVE the mommy & me, private and group classes. They teach practical and realistic techniques that help with water safety. A+++++

I had EXACTLY the same experience as Grand R who wrote a year ago almost to the day. I had my son tested in July at the Los Caballeros branch, was told he was «near top» of Star 1 and should progress to Star 2 in just a couple weeks of lessons. Because they were in the middle of a 3-​month session, the person who tested said we should wait til August to sign my son up.
I signed him up — he was excited (he loves Los Caballeros from basketball and summer camp). When we showed up for Star 1 there was only one other kid, and SAM, the «coach» said the kids had to retest. Then after just 2 minutes she was telling me he did not qualify and would have to take lessons. SAM was abrupt, rude, disrespectful and insensitive to me AND my son. I couldn’t believe it! Thank goodness she showed up — I would’ve hated spending nearly $ 400 to put my son in such an abusive and uncaring environment.
Maybe it’s a scam to get you to sign up for whatever they have the most kids in — they probably didn’t want to pay a teacher for just 2 kids? I don’t know. But I won’t be going back to Los Caballeros any time soon.

They have done an amazing job in teaching Luke how to swim.

Lots of problems from the start. My daughters evaluator said she was a level 2, so we signed up and paid for classes, then the first day of class the instructor said she’s a level one and can’t be in the class. I then rescheduled and signed up for a level one class, which happened to also change our days, and the staff didn’t tell me we also had to change pools (didn’t even know there was more than one pool). I waited til 5 min after class started before going to the office because I didn’t see any swimmers. They told me I was at the wrong pool and after they «take this incoming call» they would walk me to the back. That call was 10 min long which put us 15 min late to class. Complete waste of money, rude office staff. Sands privates are much better. In this case, you don’t get what you pay for, because Nova is known as a more pricey swim school.

Love, love, love Nova Swim School! Impressive history, instructors are amazing! I would highly recommend the school!
I give the school a ⁴⁄₅ at the moment, as my 4 yrs old loves her coach (Chris) and her class so much that she has been asking about private lessons or increasing her lessons to 2x/​week. Let’s see what happens!