434 San Mateo Avenue, San Bruno, CA 94066 (2 other locations)
Good for: 2 months old to adult
Price: Varies but about $80-90/mo.
Features: Clean facility, qualified instructors
My first impression was that this was a very odd location for a swim school. Some of our friends spoke highly of La Petite Baleen Swim Schools but they went to the Half Moon Bay location. That was too far for me to drive so when I saw a Groupon deal for one month half-off at the San Bruno school I went for it. That was the best group-buying deal we have bought to date.
For the past five years we have been trying to get our daughter to learn how to swim. She took lessons at the recreation center, at a sports club, and even had a private instructor but the poor girl just could not swim well. Somehow, she would move her arms and legs and go BACKWARDS. I have no idea how it was possible but she that’s what she did. At ten years old she still preferred the shallow end of the pool and never ventured far from the side. After one month here, she was swimming beautifully. The instructor she had, Barbara, was able to bring out everything she learned in the past and get her to swim!
After that initial month, we continued to pay for lessons here. The almost $90 per month was hard to dish out every month but very worth it in our opinion. She took one half-hour class each week. In just seven months, my daughter completed their entire program which ended with learning the official strokes of freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke, and backstroke. You should see how smooth and seamless her freestyle is now!
During the time we came here, there was always free parking available. Classes are kept small with a maximum of four children and each is based on skill level versus age alone. I appreciate that the swimming instructors are professional and competent. My daughter did not respond to the instruction by high school/college kids that just took on temp work for the summer or between classes. Here, Barbara, and the other teachers that subbed for her, were easily able to spot weaknesses or tendencies and effectively address them. That skill is something only gained by hands-on experience.
The facility is ‘cozy’ but clean. The changing room is basic and there are showers near the pool to rinse off in. They do not have a life guard on duty but with a small pool and several instructors I never feared for her safety. I found the staff to be helpful but had a few issues with miscommunication of scheduling and billing, which were later resolved though. Overall, we looked at this as an investment of our daughter’s safety. Our new place has a wonderful pool so we can now look forward to a fun summer swimming together as a family.
