Short review: Karen is a phenomenal coach! She got me from barely swimming to completing an Olympic distance swim (0.93 miles) in the Lake Tahoe Triathlon in 8 short weeks. It helped that she is a Triathlete herself and gave vital tips on improving form to competition tips. Long review: I've done several Sprint Triathlons in the past and really wanted to take it to the next level but my swimming skills consisted of poor breast stroke and dog paddling. I started taking lessons at Jean Brink pool in Pacifica but classes were taught by inexperienced teenagers. I've noticed Karen giving lessons at the pool and approached her (best decision ever). Within a week I was taking private 30 minutes lessons with her and it made the world of difference. By the end of the 8 weeks, my stroke count for 25 yards went from 26 strokes to 18. My endurance and speed improve dramatically as well. Karen would video tape you swimming and break down your stoke, kick, pace, breathing and ends each lesson with drills to practice, practice, practice. Triathlons will be a large part of my life and I look forward to continued sessions with Karen. read more

Karen M Hall - I owe my 1st Olympic distance finish to my awesome swim coach Karen! She got me there physically and mentally. - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me

This is a long review, so here's the TL;DR to save you some time: I suggest that you never hand over money to an instructor before the lesson takes place. If you are considering taking lessons with her, I would strongly advise against forking over a lot of money at once. ------ I set up my first swim lesson with Karen for this past Sunday morning. I woke up that morning feeling unwell, and began feeling increasingly worse as the morning progressed. However, by then, Karen was already almost to my home in the East Bay. I thought I'd wait for her to come and offer her some compensation for her travel time. I apologized for having to cancel and asked her how much she thought was fair as compensation. She said she just wanted the full lesson fee ($65) to apply to the 7-lesson package ($390) that I had intended to buy. I gave her the $65 and we talked about rescheduling for the following Tuesday. However, when I sent her an email asking about our Tuesday lesson, she responded saying that she will no longer be able to be my swim coach due to the cancellation on Sunday. I then sent her an email apologizing again for the incident, and assured her that it would not happen again. She considered giving me lessons in her pool in Pacifica. However, I do not drive, so that was out of the question. She had known that I lived in the East Bay before agreeing to teach me, and she was fully aware of the distance. She told me that since her policy states that cancellations require a 24-hour notice, she will be keeping the $65 I had given her. If that was made clear to me initially, I would have understood, but it was not. Her cancellation policy on her website (as of 06/23/2015) does not state that the client must pay the full lesson fee in the event of a cancellation. Additionally, she had explicitly told me that the $65 was to be applied to the 7-lesson package. It is her business and she is free to make whatever policy she thinks is reasonable, but she has to make that policy clear to the client. Not only did she not make it clear, but she had explicitly told me something else. She should not tell clients one thing (i.e. "I will apply this money toward your lesson package") when she means another (i.e. "I am taking this money and I do not intend to teach you any longer"). read more

I had my first lesson with Karen today to learn some basics about swimming. I had never had swimming lessons prior to this (I'm 29) and didn't think I was a very good swimmer. Karen took the time to go over my goals and find out where I was at as well as show me the basics so I could practice on my own. In a short 30 minutes I already feel much more comfortable in the pool than I did before meeting with her. I will definitely be taking more lessons with Karen. I hope to eventually complete my first triathlon and get my PADI scuba certification so these lessons will help give me the confidence to do both! Thank you!! read more

Karen's an amazing instructor and inspirational positive person to be around. I have tried swimming lessons many times before and she is the only teacher who was able to teach me how to swim correctly. I now can swim freestyle laps at the gym and am very thankful to have met her! She's very thorough, patient, diligent and understands that everyone has different bodies, abilities and needs. read more

Karen is AWESOME. She tailored the classes I had to my needs and goals. Not your usual run-of-the-mill instructor. I had always been a little scared of water. In just few lessons I not only overcame my aqua phobia, but I also learned some of the basic strokes. I cannot recommend Karen enough. Dimitre read more

Karen was an excellent instructor. I found her here on Yelp and chose her based on the strong reviews here. She didn't let me down. I've never been comfortable in the water, but now that my 6 year old daughter is swimming confidently in the deep end and a planned trip to Hawaii in the spring, it felt like it was time to push past my fears and give swimming another try. With a busy work schedule, I managed to squeeze in 4 lessons (3 hrs) with Karen over 5 days just before Christmas. She expertly worked with me to build my confidence over those few days. She taught me some key techniques to allow me to survive in the deep end. I managed to walk away knowing how to tread water, a survival backstroke, backstroke and freestyle over that short period of time. That was far more than I had ever hoped to have learned. By no means did I walk away having mastered any of those techniques, but I now have a basic toolbox that I can work on and feel 1000% more confident in the water prior to meeting Karen. Thank you Karen! I would highly recommend her to any swimmer, experienced, beginner or anyone in between. She has a great and patient personality that would work for anyone. All lessons were conducted at the Pacifica Pool. read more

Karen is an awesome and patient swim instructor. I wanted to become a better swimmer for my upcoming trip to Hawaii and wanted to be comfortable snorkeling without a life jacket. About 2 weeks before my trip I contacted Karen and we met at the Jean E Bring swimming pool in Pacifica in the evenings. Needless to say I had a wonderful time in Hawaii and would recommend Karen to anyone looking for a swim instructor! read more