AquaSkills

I highly recommend training with Lori and Craig if you want to learn how to swim. I was starting from scratch 6 weeks ago when I first started lessons and now after 12 sessions my confidence level has increased dramatically. It was important to me to me to feel safe and comfortable in the water and we focused on treading, floating and back stroke. At the same time I even learned to do a decent breast stroke and freestyle swim. They are both patient teachers who offer individualized instructions and tips that calmed my anxieties and made me realize that I can actually learn to do this!

I decided to attend private swim classes at Aqua Skills as an extension of my local YMCA swim training in order to improve my freestyle stroke technique and learn the coveted Flip turn. Based on Lori’s initial assessment, I classified as an experienced swimmer that needed a cleaner, more efficient freestyle stroke. After briefly working with Lori and Craig during their introductory session, I must say that I am highly pleased with the comprehensive and meticulous skill Craig and Lori exude in their teaching. Swimming, like many other competitive sports, requires constant practice and perseverance. The key in swimming is to use less energy and sharpen one’s stroke so that its efficient and hydrodynamic.
The pool used to train students at Aqua Skills is smaller than the usual 25 yard pool, but is impeccably clean and well heated, a stark contrast to some of the other Brooklyn pools that I have used which are not well heated in the winter.
During our session Lori quickly noticed that I have a tendency to kick at the knees (not at the hips), which is hindering my performance and exacerbating muscle fatigue. With several select drills, Lori was able to correct my flutter kick, then instruct me on drills to practice and eventually break this bad habit. The beauty of Aqua Skills instruction is that the training is individually customized to meet the specific student’s needs. A one sized fits all approach is not the best methodology to teach swimming, and neither Lori nor Craig advocate for such an approach. Lori understands the exorbitant cost of living in NYC and works with her clients on either a package or individual session rate. Aqua Skills has financing plans, too, which is a huge plus.
In conclusion, I must emphatically state that Lori and Craig are truly professional, courteous, and offer thorough criticism to aid swimmers in improving their swimming technique, whether it be breastroke, backstroke, freestyle, or butterfly. I highly recommend Aqua Skills to any neophyte swimmer, adult or child, willing to learn how to swim, or for an experienced swimmer, who requires refinement of his/​her technique. The quality was truly remarkable. Once I finally learn the somersault/​flip turn, I will be back to Aqua Skills for more advanced coaching.
Thank you, Lori and Craig. You have a life-​long client!
Regards,
EB.

Lori and Craig got me swimming very quickly. They were extremelly professional and helped me to feel relaxed and safe while learning. The private warm pool they use is a great learning space! Would definitely recommend!

Lori and Craig are so very patient! I’m a 55year old woman with a strange fear of water. I get brave and terrified by turns. This makes me a very difficult student, in my opinion. Every time I enter the pool, I need to overcome fear and then work toward advancement: two steps back, three steps forward…
But Lori and Craig have stayed with me, calming me down, praising my advances and helping me float and glide and even breast stroke a little in a matter of five lessons. Hoping to swim for reals in a few more!
They yield amazingly fast results, even in the face of neurotics like me!
Lori is great at calming panic and they are both amazing at providing guidance and comfort while really nailing techniques that help one advance quickly.
Thanks to them, I look forward to enjoying a beach vacation this coming summer.

Lori and Craig, the instructors who have been teaching my wife and I to swim (we’re at lesson number 5!), are the most patient, fun, sweetest people we could have imagined.
Actually, they’re so much better than that; there is no way me and my wife, after a lifetime of being unable to swim, could have imagined such incredible people as Lori and a Craig.
As I say, it’s been just 5 lessons and we have not only overcome our fears (for the most part!) but we have learned the basics of swimming. It’s changed our lives for the better. We only wished we had taken Aquaskills’ classes earlier. Not only are we not afraid and uncertain of swimming any more, you can hardly get us out of the water. An amazing change for us. We could never thank them enough!

I just called here to ask if I could get some ballpark prices. The woman who answered the phone was SO RUDE. She basically said she didn’t have a calculator and couldnt’ give me a flat rate which wasn’t even what I asked for. I asked her what time the classes were and she didn’t answer me she kept talking saying she didn’t have the information … then she hung up on me. It astonished me how rude she was when all I did was ask a simple question.

I am taking swimming classes with Aquaskills and I am very happy with this swim school. I am getting a lot out of these classes. The instructors are very concerned about technique and me. Sometimes the class is disrupted, then instructor always works overtime with me. I like the time to process and practice in-​between so much information. Lori is my instructor and she is excellent. She tries various techniques with me since I have fear from water. I have taken 3 sessions with her and am looking forward to my remaining sessions.

I read a ton about Aqua skills before going there. I was preparing for a triathlon the last few months and needed some extra help with my swimming speed/​technique. This place was awesome! The teachers were knowledgable and patient with me. My form improved consistently and I was happy with my progress by the time the race came. Would recommend this place to anyone. When it comes to fear of water, my friend took a class there and after the first class she actually told me she was no longer scared! Don’t know how they did it, but they are incredible.

I recently purchased a 12 pack swim lessons at Aquaskills and i must say i had great instructor who was very professional and patient … I learned freestyle n breast stroke along with being able to tread water which i was never able to do … I highly recommend Aquaskills to anyone who wants to learn how to swim quicker and with great instructors

Very Professional instructors excellent venue !!! I’m not sure what these people are taking about with their reviews. I have been a student with Aqua Skills for the past 6 months and I have nothing but good things to say about the company. All of the instructors had different strengths but all equally qualified. My classes were very focused and I thought the prices were fair. I highly recommend Aqua Skills.

Extremely unprofessional… you will never learn to swim here. super disorganized and bizarre instructors. almost like a comedy, except it is a waste of time and money. Very bad teaching techniques and very negative. Find a good place like the Chelsea Piers to learn… I have rarely left a bad review of anything… even if it was bad, but I want to spare other students the experience I had. After posting this review I received a message from the owner saying I had never taken her class and whose idea was it to write this review. I had taken a semi private and the experience was enough to prompt the only bad review I have ever written on any forum. I really believe if you don’t have something good to say keep your mouth shut, but this place was an insult and a rip off.

Extremely unprofessional! I purchased a series of six private lessons (not cheap). Every other lesson I had a different instructor who had different teaching methods and would begin from scratch. For the last two lessons, the owner, Lori took over and, in between complaining about her life and business, and putting down other students, showed me a few things (again — beginning from scratch). When I wrote to tell her I was disappointed, she answered with a long defensive screed (in ALL CAPS), and still hinted at up-​selling me more lessons (at a partial discount). Yeesh.