Partner with a professional to reach your swimming goals!
Since 1994, superior one-on-one swim instruction for ages 2 through 102!
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| Students who are confident in their swimming abilities can relax and enjoy the water. |
Looking for highly effective swim lessons? Whether you're a total beginner or a triathlete, terrified or intrepid, I can help you! Over the last 30 years, I've taught hundreds of people to swim.
I specialize in:
- meeting students where they are
- instilling water safety and confidence
- helping people overcome water-related anxiety
- teaching efficient, sustainable strokes
- breaking flotation device dependencies
- analyzing and correcting stroke errors
- building stamina and self-reliance
- making learning enjoyable!
About Coach Julie
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| One of my favorite places. |
Swimming has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. It seems I was born loving the water, as I've always gravitated toward any opportunity to play or work in it.
Around preschool age, I began taking swim lessons, but it was not to be an easy journey. My teacher - I had the same one throughout childhood - was intimidating, humorless, and never got in the water. Instructions were vague, yet there was a lot of pressure to progress. Even though I love to learn, I strongly disliked lessons.
Nevertheless, I did learn to swim. Then when I was 5 or 6, I almost drowned. That experience, which I remember vividly and am glad to share with anyone it may help, has imbued in me a deep understanding of the many facets of water safety, as well as a lot of compassion and patience with those who are fearful. It has shaped my commitment to:
- making this a no-judgment zone
- moving at each individual's pace
- developing a whole-person approach to teaching
- taking a broader view of water safety than just teaching stroke mechanics.
Thankfully, my terrifying experience didn't extinguish my love of swimming. At age 7, I joined the swim team, where I discovered how fun it was to swim hard and fast. Swimming competitively through high school and college was a joy. My career as a swim instructor began in 1994 when I earned my Red Cross Water Safety Instructor certification.
When I met my husband, Patrick, he was wisely afraid of the water because he could not swim at all. Together, we remedied that situation. Learning as an adult was challenging for him, though, and it has helped me appreciate the courage and struggle that many adult learners navigate.
Patrick and I have welcomed three children, whom I've also taught to swim. Twenty-five years of experience as a mother and nine as a homeschooler have added tremendously to my expertise with children. I use a blend of styles that takes the best from my Red Cross, YMCA, and other pool trainings, as well as my ongoing personal experience and research. I love to help people of all ages and backgrounds become at home in the water and reach their goals. Read what my students say about my lessons.
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| I live with three of my students! |
