Coach Nav is the only swim coach I trust. He has been absolutely amazing with both of my boys. I…read moreknew from the start that I couldn't be the one to teach them and I'm so glad we found him. What really stood out to me is how patient and calm he is with kids who aren't naturally comfortable in the water. My boys had their fair share of tears and hesitation in the beginning, but Coach Nav never pushed too hard or got frustrated. Instead, he knew exactly how to encourage them, build trust, and make them feel safe. As someone whose career involved working with children, I value this even more. Coach Nav's ability to connect with my boys, read their emotions, and still keep them moving forward was so impressive. His rapport with them made all the difference. Now both of my boys are not only swimming, but they're confident and happy in the water. It's honestly night and day from where they started. Coach Nav has that rare balance of discipline, kindness, and experience that kids respond to right away. If you're in Irvine, specifically the Great Park area, and want your kids to learn how to swim the right way - with patience, safety, and confidence - Coach Nav is hands down the best choice. He's the only coach I recommend.

Coach Nav was recommended to us by neighbors and school friends as the go-to swim coach in our…read morecommunity, and now I see why! From my very first message to wrapping up my 4 year old son's first swim sessions, he's been amazing--always quick to respond and super clear with communication. He's a talented coach and has such a great way with kids. My son absolutely loves learning from him, and we've already signed up for more lessons this fall. We also highly recommend Coach B--he's fantastic with the little ones!

If you are looking for an awesome instructor, look no further! Ask for Caleb…read more I am very happy with my child's progress with Caleb. With just a few sessions with him, my kid was able to pick up skills which would have taken her a very long time to do so at the previous swim school. Caleb's teaching technique is efficient and he makes it so much fun for kids!!! I highly recommend him!

Caleb is the best teacher I have ever met, and we are very happy to meet a teacher like you. You…read morehave taught my 3 children swimming and enlightened them to play the piano. You are an all-around and talented teacher who has spent a long time with the children and is definitely a star teacher Our whole family is very happy to study with you, and thank you very much for recommending it to all friends

We've been bringing our daughter Lucia to Big Blue Swim School in Tustin since she was just 4…read moremonths old, and Coach Angie has been with us from day one. Lucia is now 15 months and we still show up every Saturday and honestly, that says everything. Coach Angie is patient, kind, and just gets it when it comes to working with babies in the water. She knows the curriculum inside and out, but more importantly, she knows how to make the experience fun and safe from the very first class. Lucia went from a baby who had never been in a pool to a little girl who LOVES the water and that's 100% because of Coach Angie. The moment Lucia spots her walking over she starts waving and kicking with excitement. That kind of connection doesn't just happen it's built by a coach who genuinely cares. I'll be honest we've had a couple of classes with other coaches who didn't quite meet the bar we'd come to expect. We gave Big Blue that feedback and they handled it really well. Super supportive, took it seriously, and corrected the situation. We appreciate that a lot. We came back, landed back with Coach Angie, and haven't looked back. If you're a parent on the fence about swim lessons, just go. Water safety is something we feel strongly about, and Big Blue Swim School (especially with Coach Angie!) is the real deal. Highly recommend.

Went here for my baby grandson. Swimming lessons scheduled in the morning for 30 mins. I enjoyed…read morewatching him try to swim in a pool that is laned off. The instructors were friendly and gentle. My grandson was having a good time. It was a group swimming session with other parents and their children. Party of 8 at Max. The place is clean with the given amenities that this business has to offer for kids and adults. The restrooms are a bit on the small side. Only one urinal and toilet designated at the Men's restroom. Overall, the staff conducts themselves professionally. I recommend this place to teach your children to swim. Good vibe and nice swimming ambiance with plenty of seating. Great Parking area. This place gets busy.

I wanted my daughters (ages 2 and 4 at the time) to start taking swim lessons. After doing research…read moreand reading reviews, I decided to try out Blue Buoy. A few friends/neighbors also recommended Blue Buoy. Great communication from the start. It has been almost a year now and my girls look forward to their swim lesson every week (and getting their sticker at the end of their lessons). Their instructors are patient and kind and make my girls feel comfortable and safe in the water.

Updating my review here as my spouse shared with me a request from the office team here asking if…read moreId consider updating my review. However noting that I did not choose to attempt to go back here my spouse did on her own. She brought our nephew back against my better advice and appearantly has had better and more accommodating overall experience with them this time around. Ill give them two extra stars for this. However this tells me either A. Our previous instructor was the issue originally or B. They improved because of our review for us specifically. In addition my spouse has brought our newphew's sibling this time and I was a bit shocked and surprised to see them only giving a $5 per month discount for siblings sign-ups. I would have expected a $50 or 25% discount for this. Lastly, I do wish they had some sort of guarantee for early swimmers such as...kids will learn to swim independently within 3 months of lessons. There is no guaranteed like that here so it may take 1 months 1 year or 3 years for said kids to learn to swim which is a bit concerning for how much that is charged. I do know a couple competitors offer guarantees like this. Regardless overall this review does mark an improvement from last review.

Perhaps it was just our experience with this business but it was not a positive one. As parents, we…read morespend a fair amount of time researching and looking into different local programs. My son loves the water but is still learning to swim. I liked that there was a swim team and water polo potential here, so was excited to schedule lessons to start. I scheduled two lessons the following week with one of their coaches, Adam. Adam called 35 minutes before the lesson was scheduled to begin (on their books over a week) and informed me he could not do a lesson today because the pool was closed. After the lesson had already been confirmed by their office two hours before. He then called back 10 minutes later saying he can now do the lesson if it still worked. Um, so you mean you lied and the pool was not suddenly closed? We canceled remaining lessons and requested a refund. No one ever contacted us to try to make things right or offer another lesson/solution. We just got an auto refund. The whole process of booking was flawed and required a ton of follow up on our part to begin with. This should have been a sign. All contact was through email which I find frustrating. A dialogue, clearly dated these days, is much more effective and efficient. Terrible experience!

Patriot Aquatics at Beckman High School is such a hidden gem that not many people seem to know…read moreabout. The practices are at Beckman High, so it is an outdoor pool... but they have private swim lessons, age group swim teams, and water polo lessons. My son took private lessons here with Coach Noah last summer, and he improved so much in a few short weeks. Head Coach Duje is also very responsive via email, and was easy to communicate with. The private lessons are $195 for 8 lessons of 20 minutes each, which is super reasonable compared to other private lessons (ahem, Waterworks), and I think it's just as good because we did Waterworks for one summer too. Now that my kids are older and comfortably swimming, I've been wanting to put my kids on an actual swim team, but the practice times for most swim teams in Irvine are usually so early (around 2-3 pm). For two full-time working parents we would never be able to make that work. At Patriot Aquatics, their swim team practice times are 4:30 or 5:30 pm, which is much more doable! Their age group swim also operates on a rolling enrollment basis, so you can pretty much sign up any time of year. I've told countless parents about Patriot Aquatics, and most haven't heard of them. They definitely need some recognition, starting with their very own yelp page!

We've had such a wonderful experience here! The coaches are incredibly patient, caring, and…read moresupportive with my kids. There were times when my kids were hesitant or even crying about getting into the water, especially after waking up from a nap. The coaches never rushed or pressured them. Instead, they stayed right by their side, patiently encouraging them, constantly watching them, and giving them support the moment they were ready to jump into the water. What I appreciate most is that they are not just teaching my kids how to swim -- they are helping them build confidence, courage, and a genuine love for being in the water. My kids are learning to overcome their fears in such a positive and natural way while also having fun! A very special thank you to Coach Sidney, Coach Ethan, and Coach Victor for being so patient, attentive, and encouraging. It really means a lot to us as parents to see our kids becoming braver and enjoying swimming more and more. Highly recommend!

My kids have been going here for months already and they love it here. The coaches are professional…read moreand very patient with the kids. My kids are not afraid of the water anymore, but they are still working on swimming on their own.

My girls and I LOVE Bahar! She is patient and absolutely wonderful with kids. We love her gentle…read moreand effective teaching skills! Her smile and energy radiates and we always look forward to our lessons! I highly recommend her to all my friends!

We decided to extend our swim lessons with Jenna and we're delighted with my son's progress. He…read morelikes swimming now and isn't afraid of the water. We got to go on a kayak adventure (he was wearing a life jacket) in some pretty choppy seas and he loved it! Thank you for bringing a love of water to our family! Updated: we came back to sunsational for another set of lessons to build by sons swim strength even further. We're loving our time with his new instructor, Bella! She is such a patient, encouraging, and specific swim teacher. She was worked so well with Connor and he's grown so fast. He is now a very strong and confident swimmer who I can feel safe letting him play and have fun in the pool or the ocean. Thanks Bella!

My kids (8 and 10) have been taking tennis with Coach Tae through the City of Tustin for over a…read moreyear now, and they love it so much!! My husband has also been taking tennis lessons with him 2x a week. He does group lessons, tennis camps, and private lessons through the City of Tustin. Coach Tae is an amazing Coach who really cares about his students. He tries to keep class sizes small and a good ratio of coaches/kids so that everyone gets plenty of playing and hitting time. His unique method of "lock and roll" tennis was developed through decades of trial and error and meant to prevent/reduce injury and focus on the body's natural movement for tennis. You will be hard pressed to find a more dedicated, passionate, committed coach for your kids. He's so good and we're so thankful we found him!!

Disappointing experience. Coach Tae excludes certain students and shows clear favoritism, creating…read morean environment that feels unfair and discouraging. Every student deserves to be treated with fairness, consistency, and respect--especially when the program operates in partnership with the city and uses a public facility.