★ 1

As a nurse and a parent, I’m horrified by what I witnessed today at Little Dolphin Swim Academy. During my daughters’ swim class, a 3-year-old girl nearly drowned — and the person in the lifeguard chair, who is apparently a supervisor, was on her phone at the time. It wasn’t a staff member who noticed — it was the child’s grandmother who saw her underwater and pulled her out.

As a healthcare professional, I can say with certainty: this was not handled appropriately. The fact that an ambulance was not called for a child who was submerged is unacceptable. Any trained responder should know that even if a child appears okay afterward, they can still suffer from complications like secondary drowning.

When I called an hour later to withdraw my daughters from the program, the same woman who was on her phone during the incident was still working and answered the phone. She should have been immediately removed from her position.

This shows a serious failure in judgment, training, and leadership. I no longer trust this swim school to keep children safe, and I hope they take this incident seriously before something even worse happens.

Source: Google

★ 5

I did my daughter’s birthday here and It is one of the best birthday we had.They are so nice, polite and help with everything.
I highly recommend this place.

Source: Google

★ 5

I highly recommend The Little Dolphin Swim Academy. I signed up my child for two lessons consecutively and the owner emailed me personally saying that they don’t want kids to be too tired for two classes at the same time to take the fun of learning out of it. I explained that my child is very athletic and loves swimming. He agreed. When we came to the first class, we found that level is too easy for her. Coach Lisa adjusted her classes to her level. I really appreciate their professionalism and commitment to building up the students. The staff are very friendly.

Source: Google

★ 5

We have been bringing our children to swim classes for around 4 years. We have cycled through multiple coaches, and they have all been excellent. Even when they have been hesitant or scared, the coaches have been patient, friendly and helpful.

Source: Google

★ 5

My two sons have been going to Little Dolphins from September 2024. Initially things were quite slow but when coach Bryan and Justin started the classes they moved up really fast and comfortable. Both of my sons loved how they were taught and guided by Bryan and Justin, this has been a huge confidence builder to both of them. They both are really great to work with, thank you to both!!!

Source: Google

★ 5

Best place to teach your child to swim A++++

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★ 5

Instructors are very good with young ones

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★ 5

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★ 5

Excellent small group instruction for kids and babies. Staff is experiences and patient, facility is clean and welcoming. Highly recommended for swim lessons.

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★ 5

Very clean and on point and on time. Instructor made sure to make everyone feel comfortable and helped each parent.

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★ 5

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★ 5

My son started at Little Dolphin when he was under 2 years old and he just turned 4. When we started in the parent and baby class, he wouldn’t even separate from me in the water. Today, he floated on his stomach holding his face in the water for 5 seconds. He had a true fear of the water and with the help of many of the amazing coaches at little dolphin, he has made tremendous strides in becoming a more confident and skilled swimmer. A special shout out to coach Cece for being so energetic, engaging, fun, charismatic, and skilled at teaching my son! I highly recommend this swim school!!

Source: Google

★ 5

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★ 5

Very helpful staff and experienced trainers. Overall great place for swim lessons!!!…

Source: Google

★ 5

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★ 5

I started the Summer Blitz course at Little Dolphins Swim Academy two weeks ago with a deep fear of sinking/drowning and never having swam in my life. I’m 37 years old. It’s because of the amazing instructors at LDSA that I’m proud to say I’m able to float, swim both streamline and freestyle and am finally getting the hang of rotary breathing. It’s a huge deal for me and I’m so grateful to my coaches. Shoutout out to Yuliana, Melanie, James, Isaac and Noelia who all helped me overcome my fear and do as well as I did. You’ve got a fabulous team there. Highly recommend this place!

Source: Google

★ 5

My experience has been incredible from the start. My daughter has been training ay LDSA since she was 6 months old. The staff is amazing. Coach Mikaya makes my daughter feel at ease and special from the moment we enter the facility. Coach Lisa and Coach Billy qre amazing, helping my daughter through baby and me. My daughter is in get gliding now and the transition was rough but Coach Kassey has been patient and supportive. All in all I have nothing but good things to say!

Source: Google

★ 5

We've been coming here since the middle of April and is in the Beginner 2 class on Sundays. He has gone from not knowing how to swim to basic swimming in a matter of weeks even with the different coaches when Coach Lulu was out! Great experience and have even recommended this school to one of my friends!

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★ 5

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★ 5

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★ 3

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★ 5

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★ 1

I joined a waitlist in August and they only contacted me once about an adult lesson during work hours. I replied to let me know if anything after 5pm or weekends and 2 months later nothing has been available? My wife wanted to learn to swim before taking a snorkel excursion with me in the Caribbean... bad communication. I cant speak for their service because haven't gotten any.

Source: Google

★ 5

Excellent place for kids swimming classes.

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★ 4

Loved the service and everything about it though they are a bit picky on tips.

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★ 5

Wonderful Birthday Party Experience! Coach Brian and team were great with the children.

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★ 5

We absolutely love this place more than the YMCA! We see huge progress with our girls and our girls are very comfortable with the staff. Definitely a small place but the facility and staff are awesome it feels like home. 😃

Source: Google

★ 5

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★ 5

Very organized. Kids have a lot of fun. Coaches are nice. They are learning to swim very well from this.

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★ 4

Malachy does a great job

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★ 5

Coach Brian has been teaching my daughter (20 months) for almost a year now, and we think he is wonderful. Brian and Mikaya at the front desk are so nice to my little girl - they make her feel really special and she looks forward to swimming every week because of them. In her little swimming life, she's only ever known kindness and great teaching in the water, and we're very grateful to everybody at LDSA for that.

Source: Google

★ 4

Good experience of group learning. Good staff and interactive always. Sometimes I felt kid has to be given little more challenges to learn fast. It need not take 6+months to start swimming.

Source: Google

★ 2

I have 4 reasons and this is just my opinion
1) Swimming Lanes are very small for 5 kids in a single class and collide with each other.
2) Out of 30 minutes time, kids will learn real swimming for 10--15 minutes and the rest of the time kids will be
2.1 changing lanes to accommodate other classes,
2.2 waiting for turns
2.3 preparing to close the class in last 5 minutes
3) Parking will be difficult in peak times

Source: Google

★ 3

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★ 5

Coach Brian is THE BEST. He has the patience of Job with my "moody" 14 year old. He's not fazed by her Saturday 8 a.m. rolling of her eyes. I'd recommend this Academy to anyone. Great coaching staff.

Source: Google

★ 5

Good

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★ 1

Strictly not recommended, our family were treated with offensive and insensitive comments by their owner - Coach Warner. My 5 year daughter's registration was cancelled because we had the guts to question their unfair treatment. If you want to save your family from a discriminatory experience that would result in severe mental agony stay away from this swim academy. Its a shame on Bound Brook that this place resides there.

Source: Google

★ 4

Source: Google

★ 5

My boys started here a couple months ago and the progress is unbelievable and so happy about how well they are doing. The staff is always very pleasant and the facility is always clean. The only negative I would say is I am not a fan of needing a dr’s note if my boys are sick and miss a class. I don’t always take them to the dr for everything. Otherwise I would recommend this place 100% .

Source: Google

★ 4

Small swimming pool but awesomely trained staff to teach kids perfectly. Wish they had bigger space and pool.

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★ 5

When he started our son with LDSA was a very scared swimmer. LDSA gave him so much confidence and he is a great swimmer now. The staff is wonderful and the facility is very clean.

Source: Google

★ 5

Great instructors. Safety protocols are the best. Social distancing protocols followed amazingly. The perfect venue for birthdays 🎂

Source: Google

★ 5

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★ 5

Well trained and professional staff. All the coaches are great with the kids and very patient.

Source: Google

★ 4

Very nice and clean place and all the employees are very helpful and respectful two granddaughters go to the swimming classes

Source: Google

★ 5

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★ 5

Little Dolphins transformed my child’s experience about swimming. He went from fear of entering the water to jumping right in. He eagerly looks forward to his weekly lesson. Little Dolphins taught him him confidence in the water. The staff are very good.

Source: Google

★ 5

We started two year’s ago and couldn’t be happier. My son liked all the teachers what he got . All have been very knowledgeable and professional. Everyone is very friendly and you can tell they care about their students. We are thankful for everything what he learned at Little Dolphin Swim Academy!

Source: Google

★ 1

The pool is small and too many kids at the same time. My son has been going here for about 2 years now and there is no progress and has been kept in the same get gliding class. I have tried addressing this with them but everytime they suggest changing coach but even to switch there is always a wait list or non availability of classes,they don't say how to improve it.

Source: Google

★ 4

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★ 5

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★ 5

My daughter enjoys going here plus they are friendly

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★ 5

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★ 5

The facility is always clean, the instructors are always knowledgeable, and the class sizes mean your child gets a lot of attention to help them improve as a swimmer.

Source: Google

★ 1

If you have any questions or concerns and you let them know in a respectful way, be prepared for everyone's attitude; My son stayed for several months, he loves his classes and that is why I continued taking him, hoping that things would change, unfortunately, when we arrived they did not even answer my greeting and I always received attitude, they are not professionals.
Even if I was wrong in my assessment, being respectful to a user should be a general rule, of course it does not apply to them.

Source: Google

★ 5

I like the fact that class sizes are small so your child can get more attention. They have been very clean and safe throughout covid times. I would recommend this place to my friends.

Source: Google

★ 1

MONEY STEALER be careful! if there a zero I would rate it !!! I've registered in July one month. then I left the country when I came back I realized that you've charged me for August and September!! which is 170$. when I called you you said we charge only for 2 months commitment! and we stop charging you after 5 absense!!!!!! if that's true then you supposed not to charge me for september as I was abnest for my last class in July!! you really don't care abput your client all what care about is MONEY!! what if I died!!!!! you'll keep charging me! if you really care you'll ask about a client who didn't even register for any classes for a couple of months and you still charging them!!

Source: Google

★ 5

My son (2 years old ) enjoyed this class so much! Ms. Danielle was amazing, attentive, and patient. My son became comfortable in the water and I learned a lot along with my son.

Source: Google

★ 5

My son just finished his 2nd week summer blitz swim lesson. He absolutely loves it. It's amazing how much he learned in just 2 weeks. His teachers were the best, so patient and friendly. The owner/managers were great, super helpful. The facility itself is really clean and there are Covid precautions in place. Can't wait for him to start going on a regular basis.

Source: Google

★ 4

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★ 5

My daughter enjoyed learning to swim here! She adores her teacher, and I can't believe how quickly she learned to swim! Thank you, Little Dolphin Swim Academy!

Source: Google

★ 5

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★ 5

My wife recently took our little boy to this place and she was fascinated with this place, her first impression was that the place is sparkling ✨ clean; she was very impressed with the restrooms, We own an small company and would like to know who does your cleaning ??? I will appreciated if I can get their information please! Ps. My little boy loves your place!

Source: Google

★ 5

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★ 3

Still wearing masks after restrictions lifted and despite the fact that they’re still taken off at the pool. What’s the point ? More stupid sheeple behavior.

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★ 4

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★ 5

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★ 5

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★ 5

Great teachers the place is clean I will recomended to friends.

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★ 1

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★ 5

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★ 5

Everyone who i’ve encountered has been so helpful and welcoming. We attend classes with my almost 2 year old and Ms. Taylor is awesome with the little ones! My sons smile doesn’t leave his face the whole time we’re in the pool, and he’s remembering the skills he learns each week!

Source: Google

★ 5

My family enjoys their swim lessons.

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★ 5

I love it! This was my second lesson with my 6 month old son and it's so clean and EVERYONE is soooo nice and helpful! I'm very pleased!

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★ 5

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★ 5

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★ 5

Excellent facilities. The coaches took really good care in training my son. I highly recommend this place.

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★ 4

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★ 5

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★ 5

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★ 5

Passionate and amazing staff 👍

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★ 3

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★ 4

Nice indoor swimming area along with a room to celebrate parties for the little ones. Perfect for hosting birthday parties for kids under 6-7years old. Pool size is good enough for around twenty kids. The good part was they have staff members in the pool along with the kids who entertained by playing different water games with them.

Source: Google

★ 5

My daughter loves coming here for her swimming classes. The coaches are very friendly and approachable. Coach Sara has been very helpful from the time we came here for registration and very accommodating!

Source: Google

★ 5

We participate in the Mommy and Me Class. My one year old gets excited when we pull into the parking lot. We really like Ms. Bianca - she is extremely caring and professional. Ms. Bianca knows all the little tips and tricks to get your child moving for a first swim experience. My little guy really enjoys the water and this class made me as a parent more comfortable. I recommend the course!

Source: Google

★ 5

Source: Google

★ 5

My kids have been at your facility on and off for the past 3 years. I just wanted to say how great you all are. Over the summer, while at our health club, my children had to pass a swim test which required them to swim the length of the lap pool without stopping to touch the wall. Both my kids, 5 & 7 passed and it was definitely because of their swimming lessons at little dolohins! Thank you so much to all your instructors, they are amazing. We will be back in a couple months!

Source: Google

★ 5

My kids been going here for swimming lessons for last few years and love it ... staff is very helpful & lessons are smaller groups 🏊🏊🏊

Source: Google

★ 5

Good company works hard to build a child's self esteem

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★ 5

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★ 5

Updated and clean facility. Swim coaches are great.

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★ 5

We are very satisfied with our son's progress as a swimmer having attended LDSA for a few years. He went from not wanting to go into the pool in the beginning to a proficient swimmer. I am happy with the technique and skills he is now equipped with. I highly recommend LDSA.

Source: Google

★ 5

My daughter and I started attending at just 10 weeks and everything was fantastic (the registration site was a little confusing at first, but the responsiveness and customer service was awesome!) Coach Allison is THE BEST, especially with babies and always made me feel confident and put my daughter and I at ease in the water. The changing room can be a bit crowded, but it's a great facility and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Source: Google

★ 1

The owner told me today is my son’s last lesson because I walked into the swim deck with shoes on. I told him I was removing my shoes, and I did, but he insisted I was walking down the pool deck with them on. I pointed out the parents on the other side of the pool with shoes and he said it’s bc they entered through a different door to drop of and pick up their children. I pointed out and said they are sitting there and if he’s telling me to remove my shoes, which I did, he should tell the other parents on the other side of the pool (many whom entered a door clearly labeled “do not enter”). The owner informed that today would be my son’s last lesson and my account would be credited with this month’s tuition and my security deposit.

I have no problem following rules, and promptly removed my shoes, I just don’t appreciate being singled out. I believe the owner was completely unprofessional, but it is his prerogative to allow who he wants at his business.

It’s a shame because my son loved the instructors and looked forward to lessons. The owner needs to learn some business acumen.

Source: Google

★ 5

Our family has had a positive experience at Little Dolphin Swim Academy. The facilities are great, as is the faculty. We started with mommy & me classes and progressed nicely, from age 3-5. Instructors were so wonderful and extremely patient with the kids. They do their best to keep instructors consistent and professionally acknowledge if there is going to be any disruption, and are able to stabilize any instructor changes in a reasonable amount of time. I like that classes are not session based so the kids can stay in their appropriate level class until they acquire all the skills to move up. Love how warm the pool area is. Parking can get challenging if your class is during a busy weeknight, spaces in front of the building get taken up quickly but there is street parking, sometimes easier than stalking a space in front. You also just figure out timing once you’ve been there for awhile in order to secure a coveted spot. Just something to note but no reason to stay away. We moved and our commute + schedules made it difficult for us to continue classes here, sad to leave but they have set the bar high!

Source: Google

★ 5

Source: Google

★ 5

Very kid friendly academy

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★ 5

Great instructors! Warm pool. Great learning environment.

Source: Google

★ 2

We signed up our daughter of 7 years as our efforts to get the swim lessons at Glen ridge didn’t go well for the following reasons
1, pool was too big with water levels from 3’- 9’ created some fear in my daughter

2, it was an out door pool so too many dead bugs and water was too cold as-well

LDSA
Pros
We chose LDSA as it met our expectations. The pool was small and just 4’ depth through out and was also
a heated pool which was a good starting point for my kid
Great swim coaches who were able to teach all the strokes to my child and she picked up pretty fast
Their rates are also very Competitive.
Great for kids age group 1-5

Cons LDSA
Pool is too small just 20’ x 40” and it’s divided into 5 parts with separators / barriers
Each part is just 8’x20’ Which is like swimming in a tank. Also makes the pool crowded. May be suitable for small children age 1-5.
After first 3 months my kid graduated to advance beginners and after that for the last one year there was no learning. I realized that there is a tendency in LDSA to drag the course as much as possible where the child has nothing much to do. I realized that even after an year my daughter was unable to swim more than 4-5 meters at a stretch and there was 0 progress and didn’t master any skill. Makes me feel LDSA has less incentive to push the kids on skills with their current system
I spoke to one of the coaches and requested them to put her in longer stretches but they have their own methods to follow and it met with little success
I felt I wasted my time and $$ at LDSA instead should have put her in JCC after first 3 months

Summary
This pool is suitable only for age group of 1-5 beyond that I don’t think there will be much opportunities to learn due to the crowd and pool size as there is not much place to navigate
Suggestion : Keep a watch on how much your kid progresses in 3 months after that make your decision if you need to put them in bigger pools.
That way your child would show better progress and master the skills quicker

Correction: based on the response from LDSA, i might have misjudged the size of the pool dimensions, and I made the corrections to the dimensions in my review.
.

Source: Google

★ 4

Really great swim academy, especially for new beginners!

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★ 4

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★ 4

Place is good but small and it limits the space kids have during class. Which also means class availability is low for peak times. The teachers are very good though and kids advance pretty quickly.

Source: Google

★ 5

This is a great swimming school for babies and children that don't know how to swim yet. It is useful for when they are learning the basic stuff. The swimming pool is too small for really long lane laps. It is appropriate for the introductory levels.

Source: Google

★ 5

We love Little Dolphins Swim Academy. My daughter started in the "Get Wet" classes and was initially very timid. In less than a year (now age 4), she has transformed in the pool. I attribute this to the wonderful facility, supportive and well trained coaching staff, and an overall great environment. I've enjoyed meeting lots of great parents/families while watching my daughter in the pool. Coach Allison really knows what kids love with touches like the snack jars/trust bank for treats after lessons. Coach Lisa and Coach KC have been particularly great. There is even a dedicated life guard who keeps an extra eye on everyone in the pool, especially the young students!!! This is a great place for any age, but especially kids.

Source: Google

★ 5

Source: Google

★ 5

LDSA has been a wonderful experience for my son. LDSA has done wonders to improve my sons confidence in swimming. I see that my son definitely have learned techniques from his swim coaches that has improved his overall swimming form. The swim coaches have built my son's confidence to swim longer distances without feeling fear of not making it all the way to the other side of the pool. My son enjoys being in the pool and I definitely have seen improvement each time he has a lesson. Coach DC and her team are great with kids.

I strongly recommend LDSA who needs swimming lessons.

Source: Google

★ 5

All three of our kids take lessons at LDSA, and we're very pleased with their progress. The oldest just finished the Intermediate level, and will be joining a swim team this summer; he can definitely compete against the other kids. Highly recommended, good teaching techniques and good instructors.

Source: Google

★ 1

Was really disappointed that my child learned no new skills in 5 months of attending this swim school. When I expressed my disappointment we were literally treated like outcasts and promptly told to leave the school. Terrible customer service. They didn't even work with us to remedy the situation. It's a shame because their facility is awesome.

Source: Google

★ 5

We are so happy that we found Little Dolphin Swim Academy for our daughter for swim lessons! In just a few short weeks, we could see how much our daughter's confidence was growing in the water with their classes. The swim instructors are very attentive and knowledgeable and the class sizes are small which is a big plus! We are very pleased with their teaching techniques and excited to see our daughter continue to learn new skills in the water with Little Dolphin Swim Academy!

Source: Google

★ 5

We love Little Dolphin Swim Academy! When my son first started he wouldn't even get into the pool. Coach Lisa skillfully and patiently worked with him and now he loves swimming lessons. Over the past 8 months I have seen continuous improvement in his swimming skills and confidence. The classes are small, personal, and age appropriate. I recommend LDSA without hesitation!

Source: Google

★ 5

Excellent- we finally found the swim class we wanted!
After trying several classes in the area, I must say Little Dolphins is the best.
Attentive coaches, a clean facility and a great owner make it better than the rest.

Source: Google

★ 5

Source: Google

★ 5

LDSA has been a wonderful experience for both my daughter and son. Neither one started out wanted to take swim lessons, but I felt strongly it was a life skill they needed to develop. The multiple instructors we've had have been super friendly, patient, and encouraging. My children now look forward to class every week and it makes me feel great to see how much confidence they've gained in the water.

Source: Google

★ 5

I really can't say enough about TLDSA. My son has been very fearful, and afraid of the water and Coach Chuck and Coach Deb have worked with him with so much patience and understanding that he has been able to make great progress. All of the teachers there are fantastic and you can tell the owner is very passionate.

Source: Google

★ 5

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★ 5

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★ 4

This is a reliable team. Everybody are very friendly and attentive with the kids and their parents. The kids enjoy their time over there.Usually classes have small grouos. I just moved from the Somerset location (mostly for little kids for the size of the pool) to the Bridgewater one. I really love the JCC location. I recommend this swimming academy for your kids.

Source: Google

★ 5

My family is taking child and adult classes with Little Dolphin. We are thrilled and more than satisfied. The instructors and Coach Chuck are amazing and very motivating. They are kind and experienced, and handle the children (and adults) well. My boys (and myself) have moved from being afraid to put our faces in the water, to having fun and being able to execute several different strokes. While the lessons are "group," the instructors work one-one to improve form.

Source: Google

★ 5

My children have been enrolled in the Arete Swim School since June 2011. I am amazed how far my kids have progressed from not wanting to get their faces wet to now being able to perform various strokes the entire length of pool . Coach Warner and staff are super motivating and do an excellent job with the students really making them into great swimmers. My kids have a lot of fun at the lessons and look forward to coming each week.

Source: Google

★ 5

My daughters have just signed up the end of February and my 7 year old can already swim freestyle down the length of the pool. My 5 year old is floating on her back and practicing freestyle and back stroke. The class size is small, the coaches are very attentive, and the director is easy to talk to and very knowledgeable on swim techniques and teaching children.

Source: Google

★ 5

After trying a number of different swim lessons in the area, we finally found The Little Dolphin Swim Academy. The best instructors we have experienced. We have watched our child starting since 3 yrs old steadily progress through the program to learn all 4 strokes and continue to enjoy being in the water.

Source: Google