Tom Dolan Swim School

The facility is great. I like this place and happy my daughter is there learning to swim. I really like that the focus is on swimming and they have a deck coach who is watching and monitoring the lessons. If you are looking for a swim school, at least go in and check it out!

We’ve now been taking our children to TDSS for two and a half years. I realized recently that a lot has improved in that time period. The front desk staff is both more helpful and much friendlier — I actually enjoy checking in now! Managers have gotten much more proactive about speaking with parents during lessons about student progress. The Family Swim Nights are a lovely addition. We’ve had a lack of consistency with the instructor for our youngest’s mommy/​daddy and me class, but I appreciate the communication/​acknowledgement from TDSS on that front.
I still wish there was more than one ‘baby’ changing/​dressing table and hate those teeny tiny changing stalls when getting a toddler out of a wet suit. But there’s not much else I would change.

I can’t speak highly enough about the Tom Dolan Swim School. My children have progressed so much over the past two years and I see the benefits each summer when they are on the summer swim team. Tom’s program at the higher levels is all about perfecting the strokes and techniques and it will really pay off in the long run for my boys. I can see that they have the fundamentals mastered compared to their peers. My 7 year old took two private lessons to learn butterfly and went from an illegal stroke that got him DQ’d each meet to being the best 8 and under butterfly swimmer on the team– he even went to Divisionals. The instructor was able to teach him so quickly because he was in the waiter with him and focused on the actual stroke and how his body should move, rather than just swimming lengths of the pool over and over again. Please understand that this is a swim school– not a swim team!

Facilities are very nice and clean. Some instructors are professional. My kid was scared of water at first but finally he can put his head into water. He has been with this school for almost two years. However putting his head into water and swim under shallow water were the only breakthrough. He stuck in the Seal level for almost a year. We can see his right arm is not straight but the instructor didn’t correct constantly. He is still far from intermediate level. When he attends friends’ pool parties, he never able to pass swim test (always put in beginner level swimmer). I feel this school is mainly for the kids who can swim under deep water but need improvement on skills. Too much emphasis on skill rather the ability to swim in standard pool.

I’m increasing my rating for TDSS, because I feel the owner, who commented thoughtfully on my original review and also had someone contact me directly, really cares about his business, about his customers, and about teaching kids to swim. TDSS wasn’t a match for me or my child, but it might be for you.

Update: I can attest to the fact that the school is very professional and they do care about their families. I was promptly contacted by Stacy, who wanted to make sure I felt comfortable and fully understand the school’s technique. Safety and body awareness is taught but at later levels that my son has not yet achieved. I updated my rating to 4 stars because after receiving an explanation and breakdown of levels and expectations, I do feel better and more confident. It is frustrating that my son isn’t «safe» in the water after 9 months but I do understand the teaching philosophy behind it, which is to teach technique the right way instead of having to undo poor technique later.

Poorly managed and with poor communication.
I signed my son up for a spring break swim camp. He came down with an ear infection and diarrhea. We called before the class began and had a doctor’s note emailed over to the them. My husband was assured there would be no problem in rescheduling his lessons. When I called to rescheduled them, I was told that we could not reschedule them and that no credit or money would be refunded. I was then told that our note which was emailed promptly the day my husband spoke to the manager arrived to late. I have requested to be contacted by the manager and also the owner since the management has not contacted me. I still have not been contacted to date.
Had I known this would happen, I wouldn’t have kept my sick child at home. I wonder how many other parents do just that?

We have been with Tom Dolan for about a year and are very pleased. Very nice, clean facility. I have always found the front desk folks very friendly and helpful. Pool and air temperatures are always comfortable. Would definitely recommend.

We have been going here for more than a year and the instructors are okay and the facility is nice and large but the administration of the school is extremely poor. They recently changed their accounting software and forced parents to provide cc info on paper forms before admitting kids to class. They claimed notification had been sent but since the line was out the door to check in this strategy obviously failed. The front desk was inflexible on letting parents come back for the paperwork after kids where in class. How much did the data migration cost to move this data? And if they won’t pay for that where else are they cutting corners? We will likely look else where for better customer service.

My children have been going to the Tom Dolan Swim School on and off for two years (we take late summer and fall off with vacations and other activities). The facilities are first-​rate, designed to facilitate learning with the right water temperature, pool depth, and the instructors are great. Both my kids have benefited tremendously from the school. While it is not the mission of TDSS (which I believe is a plus) my oldest’s improvement on her summer swim team has been very noticeable to the coaches and even her untrained parent’s eye. My youngest was afraid of the water when we started and is now thriving in the water and learning to swim. That is the point of TDSS. Most importantly, they have fun while learning to swim and look forward to going to their lessons. That is the best indicator of a good program I can think of.

I just had my kids’ last lesson here today. We were enrolled for a little over a year with my 6 year old son, then about 8 months with my 3 year old daughter.
The facilities are great — clean, well maintained pool, lots of classes and small class size. The problem, at least for me, is that the kids can’t improve on their strokes and have continuity in their learning since instructors seem to change weekly and they do not «correct» the students. Instead, it’s the same repetition every week, almost as if they are going through the same script every time. My son got bored halfway through, but he was not swimming any better because he was bending his knees when he kicked. The instructors didn’t seem to correct this, although we brought it up with the supervisors several times. You may argue that I should be taking private lessons and pay more $ if I wanted more one-​on-​one instruction, but I think that there is a certain amount of correct form and stroke improvement that can be taught, even in a group class. Especially if a student has been going every weekend for a year plus (minus missed days because there are no makeups).
Another issue is that the kids don’t seem to be considered for advancing to the next level unless the parents are constantly checking in with the supervisors. I understand that there are a lot of students, but if you don’t speak up and take the initiative, your student could possibly be at the same level for a long time.
Canceling lessons was not really an issue and I mostly had pleasant exchanges with the front desk staff. Changing time slots was also relatively easy.
I give them 3 stars since it’s a very well run operation. I just wish that they had a better way of helping students improve, especially if they already know how to swim going in.

They are very rude over the phone. It is very frustrating to try and cancel as well, from what I have heard. I have also heard they do not train their instructors to really master the curriculum. I think I will be taking my money elsewhere. There is a new swim school opening in Chantilly who is much nicer on the phone. I will update once we check it out.

Fast froward. Both of my kids (ages 5 and almost 4) have now been enrolled for 4 months at the Tom Dolan Swim School. My kids are swimming much better now! Okay, so wallet is a little less fat. Yes, it is an expensive, but I honestly think it is a life skill they need to have. I love that the class sizes are small. At their age level there is never more than four kids total in the class.
The facility is great. Lots of lanes. The water and pool area is warm so my kids aren’t going to fight the lesson with being cold. There is also an air conditioned observation room. There are lots of family changing rooms and a bathing suit dryer. My kids love it..
The swim instructors are great. They also have a floater teacher there talking to parents, answering questions and watching students and progressing them to the next level. Classes start right on the dot. There are no make-​up classes if you miss. You go month to month and can cancel at anytime as long as you give them notice. .The front desk staff is so-​so. Some are better than others, but other than checking in with us or having to change a schedule because they moved up a level I don’t really have to interact with them.

I agree with the previous reviewer about the phone receptionists begin a bit rude and hard to talk with. We had also purchased a Certifikid deal and it was impossible to get a hold of scheduling over the phone. We finally were able to and just recently went in for our first swim lesson. The actual location is like a swimming factory for young children, it was a little bit overwhelming, as there were so many children. I guess I wasn’t expecting it to be like this. The actual staff that were teaching the kids to swim seemed enthusiastic and helpful. We have several swimming lessons ahead and hope that the experience gets better.

My son joined Carlile 4 – 6 months back. He was 4 when he started and just turned 5. The class size is small — the kids are able to get over their fer of water and put on their goggles without fuss (this took a class or two) He does 1 class a week & he loves swimming — he tries the laps at the gym pool — holds his breath under water, tries to float on his back — without any fear :) I am very happy with this school.

I just happened to drive past Carlile Swimming in Ashburn, and it caught my attention because of the location. You don’t often see a swimming school in a strip mall. Usually there are a couple of acres of land with tennis courts, multiple swimming pools, etc.
It turns out that Carlile swimming is a well known Australian swimming school chain, and that they opened their first US facility in Ashburn, VA, under the supervision Tom Dolan, who, along with Gold Medals in the 400m Individual Medley at both the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics, also set two World records, won two Gold Medals in World Championship swimming, won 9 NCAA National Championships and 14 U.S. National Championships and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2006.
Carlile Swimming has custom designed pools that are 2’6″ — 4′ deep, with ledges around the edges for smaller kids to stand on. This is a big help in getting the kids to feel comfortable in the water. They also have a well defined curriculum for their students, with clearly delimited skill stages, and they’re clearly able to explain what skills constitute advancement between stages.
Our son had frolicked in kiddie pools before, and been in big pools wearing a float ring before, but within 3 weeks of starting lessons at Carlile, twice a week, he was able to float comfortably on his back, and hold his breath underwater, and dive for rings at the bottom of the pool. After 3 more weeks, of going 3x/​week, his skills were evaluated, and he was advanced from his beginning skill stage, Starfish, to the next skill stage, Goldfish, where they start teaching real swimming strokes. They still concentrate on repetition, and focus entirely on form, believing short distances with good form will set good habits as the students progress to longer distances, and more advanced strokes.
The staff are all knowledgeable about the processes at Carlile, and there are always deck supervisors available to evaluate student skills or answer any questions parents may have.
The instructors have all been very patient, and very kind, although they do require kids to pay attention. Lesson disruption is dealt with by making the offending child sit on the edge of the pool till they’re ready to rejoin the lesson. So far I’ve only seen it happen to my son, though. When he was playing around underwater, doing somersaults, instead of paying attention. This added focus on discipline is something I like a lot about this school.