We are ecstatic to be part of the Sharkie's family for almost 2 years. I brought my son to them after being with another swim facility for a year and not making great progress. The environment is welcoming for a little one who is easily stressed. We have Coach John, who I can't say enough positive things about, his patience soars to the sky. My son has had many whining episodes with tears and purely wanting to quit but Coach John never gives up. He has a way with children to make them excited about learning. He has gained my son's trust and always finds a way to make him successful. There is nothing more rewarding as a parent watching my son get out of the water beaming with pride because he accomplished a skill that he thought was unobtainable. I was surprised to read the post on here describing a terrible trip to Crystal River, Florida. We were on the same trip and had a completely opposite experience. We had a memorable and fantastic time. I appreciated the time that Coach John and the owners of Sharkie's prepared us with a well thought out itinerary and for insuring that we had all the equipment necessary. On the day of each activity, I knew exactly where to go and never had to run out to get something we forgot to bring. The particular weekend we visited was the annual Manatee festival so the area was quite busy. I appreciated the block of rooms set aside for us so I didn't have to worry about hotels being full. Coach John was thorough to explain everything to be expected that our son didn't shed a single tear out of fear. His expertise and passion for scuba has made my husband and son excited to participate in the sport. I always say, we are grooming the next Jacques Cousteau. Sharkie's has taught my son valuable life lessons to enjoy and respect the water safely. I can't say enough about this facility, the staff, and the owners. They are such a great part of our community. read more

We absolutely love Sharkies Academy! My son has been attending since 2024, and his growth and confidence in swimming have been incredible. When he first started, he was scared to get in the water, and now he swims with confidence and skill. Safety is very important to us, and Sharkies consistently prioritizes that. Coach Andre and the entire staff are amazing. We highly recommend Sharkies Academy! read more

I cannot say enough good things! the staff is amazing, welcoming and so supportive! Andre is the best coach. and Ms Cheryl is an amazing manager! we love Sharkie's so much! read more

Let me start off by saying I am 40+ and was giving private swimming lessons as a birthday gift ( I guess my friend got tired of me complaining about not doing water activities) Nonetheless it has been one of the most thoughtful gifts i have EVER received. Now to the SWIMMING. I have the pleasure of taking lessons with LAREN from the beginning I knew it would take a MASTER to deal with me . She is very patient yet stern and I couldn't be more happy with the progress I have made thus far. I went from never putting my face into water to developing life changing skills. From the 1 on 1 to the privacy of the facility and the professionalism of the staff (team comradery). I am truly grateful that such a place exist. Thanks Sharkies staff as a whole for helping me build confidence (Andre) read more

This place has great swim coaches but horrible management staff. The manager Joey is very condescending and always has an attitude plus he makes borderline racist remarks. They lost our business due to his lack of professionalism. The owner Jessica Garrard is aware of his actions & allows him to continue. read more

Both my kids have done swimming lessons here and it's been great! I did a ton of research before choosing and went with Sharkies for their one on one lessons (they were a bit more expensive than the competitors when I researched 4 years ago but it's been well worth the extra $20/month above the competitors for the private lesson in my opinion). We're currently with Coach Yvette and love her!!! read more

Sharkie's Academy - She's ready for lessons! - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Smyrna, Georgia

SHARKIES is amazing!!! All the coaches and staff make you feel like family. Thanks to Coach John, my 6yr old is a phenomenal swimmer!!! It will be your best decision for your child!! read more

Sharkie's is an incredible organization and I had an amazing first-time diving experience with them! Jessica, Rhett and John went way out of their way to make sure all my needs/concerns were fully taken care of. Truly amazing people. I had the pleasure of accompanying the Crystal River Dive group to complete my open water dives for my certification. My instructor, John, was very thorough and patient with all of the students, including myself and those that were reactivating their dive certification. I received weekly emails about updates, itinerary, rental information and costs. I love that they kept everyone in the loop about what was going on! Any questions I had were answered almost immediately. The trip itself was breath taking! I believe there was 21 people that came with. Day 1 we went to Crystal River to snorkel with the manatees! They were beautiful creatures and very friendly. Some of them were incredibly interested and would swim right up to you! There were also schools of tarpons that would swim less than two feet below you. These huge fish were so cool to watch you'd almost forget to keep an eye out for the manatees. After Crystal River we gathered the group and went back to the hotel to dry off and get warm before we left for Blue Grotto. There we completed 2 instructional fresh water dives and got to hang out with this adorable soft shell turtle named Virgil. Day 2 we went to Devil's Den to complete the next and final level of dives. Gorgeous place! Despite how busy the dive site was and how cold the weather was John worked with each of us and kept a smile on his face the whole time. My favorite part of the trip was Rainbow River! This was an add on charge for divers that felt comfortable participating in a drift dive. For me it was a surreal experience that I will never forget and I owe that to John. He's such a great coach who continuously encouraged me throughout my training and after. I highly recommend this business to anyone looking to become a diver, brush up on skill, or move forward to more advanced diving! I've found an immense love for scuba diving and I have the Sharkie's crew to thank for that! You guys are great! read more

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To all my friends in the Smyrna/Atlanta/Marietta area, avoid Sharkie's Swim and Scuba Academy at all costs!!! I have a 4 year old in TEARS once AGAIN bc they have stood us up for lessons. Last week the pool closed bc of an "accident", and the school failed to notify us before packing up our entire family and coming up to the school. Now today, we show up to our lesson and John's coach is not here!!! I speak with the owner, Jessica, and she informs me that he no longer teaches on Fridays and that she failed to notify us bc "she has 400 students she is trying to manage." I don't care how many students you have!! You've failed this ONE, one too many times, and that's enough for us to be done. Good grief I can't stand companies with poor business practices. Save your kids the tears and go someplace else! Ugh! read more

We started with Sharkie's when Harlem was 14 months. Coach Rhett and his team taught our baby how to not only swim but survive in the swimming pool. #SharkBite #WeSwim #RollFloatBreatheSwim read more

Sharkie's Academy - Backstroke at 2 years old - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Smyrna, Georgia

Just finished out scuba diving class with Sharkie's. If you are looking to learn something new & fun give them a call you won't be disappointed. read more

Sharkie's has good people, but unfortunately, with some poor business practices. I am a PADI Advanced Open Water diver who had not dived in 18 years, so I took a Reactivate course there. Sharkie's co-owner comes from a line of respected SCUBA instructors. He is passionate about diving and patient as well as skillful when teaching others. The instructor who taught my class was also very good - he updated me on the technology, was patient as I made errors, corrected them, and he communicated well in and out of the pool. His instruction was about as good as one could expect. Unfortunately, I also encountered the first issue then. Sharkie's pool is six feet deep, impractical to practice buoyancy control. Other shops in the area have pools as deep as 13', way better to deal with gas compression occuring on even shallow dives. When getting certified or reactivating, buoyancy control is a critical skill - learning it well only in open water wastes dive time and harms a coral reef if one sinks onto it. Then Sharkie's tried to change the price of the open water dive trip, well after I paid, a great way to chase off customers and erode any trust that the owners build up. I understand that the trip was organized by someone doing it for the first time. However, best practices dictate that once a business accepts payment according to the terms they offer, they do not try to change the terms later, much later, in this case. I only agreed to go on the trip only to support a buddy who was getting his initial Open Water certification. Else I would have insisted on a full return and not gone on the trip. Sharkies wanted to know how many days hotel reservation we needed for the trip. To be able to answer the question, I needed to know which days we would dive and at what time. I wrote emails and texts at least four times asking for the information. Mostly, there was no answer whatsoever. I finally was told which days we would dive but not what time. Inexcusable. All along, the same poor communication or no communication whatsoever on issues central to the trip and, later, to obtain my Reactivate card. Rather than provide divers with an event schedule early on, notifications came out relatively late, including a mandatory meeting to pick up gear in Atlanta and haul it to Florida and back. I (wrongly) assumed that we would pick up the gear near the dive sites, only finding out otherwise a week before the trip - so I had to change my rental car to an expensive SUV. We had to sign a rental agreement. I asked for a copy three times, but was only allowed to see it immediately before picking up the gear. We notified our instructor that we planned to dive more after the Sharkie's portion of the trip, so I didn't know if we could to use the gear then. I never could get an explanation why the agreement was a secret. There was no issue with it, but all along, written questions went unanswered for weeks at a time or altogether. The night we picked up the gear, the instructor announced a change in itinerary, with no explanation. An entire drift dive was now an extra price add-on. I have the email with the original and final itineraries - unbelievable. Again, if it weren't for my buddy, I would have insisted on a refund. We were told to arrive early for our air fills as the boat would leave without us. The local dive shop actually opened 30 minutes later than we were told, so we waited around in wet suits - a simple phone call could have avoided that. The next day, when again we were told to be sure to get to the dive site early, we waited 3 1/2 hours in our wet suits, which were now cold and wet from the previous day. Luckily, one of the divers brought a big propane heater which we gathered around. Just as our wet suits were finally dry and warm, it was time to dive. Some of the wait was not Sharkie's fault, but a call to the people running the local site would allow for better planning. But wait, there's more! Six weeks after completing my Reactivate course, I still had no updated card and PADI could find no confirmation that I had completed the course. I asked Sharkie's for an explanation, and was told that they had done everything they could. Without the Reactivate, I may not have been able to get an air fill on the subsequent dives or dive without an instructor. Yet another completely avoidable stress-inducing situation. Finally, my instructor said that he misspelled my name. That was the last straw. Every lack of clear, timely communication and problem, except pool depth could easily have been avoided with a bit od management oversight, training and a customer-centric attitude. I hope that Sharkie's improves its business practices. Else, I don't see how they can compete with the local dive shops. Those shops are where we spent our money to buy masks, fins, snorkel, boots, gloves, hood and dive knife. That, at least, was a part of the trip that I could control, so I spent my money there instead. read more

We have been students since they opened & feel it is completely worth the investment. Not only is it fun, but it is educational for safety purposes! Example - our wee one barely walks, but knows how to back float in the event they fall into the pool until help arrives. Rhett & Jessica will also go out of their way to make sure every experience you have always meets your expectations. They never disappoint & are great people in general. Highly recommend!!! read more

The Garrard family and coaches in the water are not only highly qualified dive certifiers but very understanding of people's individual needs. There are swimmers learning from all age ranges here. Four months old is the minimum age to start here which I believe is a great age. Adults are more than welcome too. They are currently training a woman who is 76 years young! There is a family tradition of developing a relationship with the water that makes sharky is unique. When it comes to teaching children how to swim or I adult PADI certification they are second to none. read more

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I had just one class and enjoyed it but had to drop off with a bitter feeling. My son has been going there for a private class but has been so resistant lately , he loves going to pool at home but would start crying when we come here. For that reason, we decided to stop classes for him but I wanted to start swimming myself so it felt like a good opportunity to start however I was terribly unwelcomed. I don't know how many time we came down to the facility only to have no class due to accidents or any other reason , we take a private class so it shouldn't take too much time to inform beforehand so we can save some time and effort. I totally ignored all those incidents however this time it was a little off the mark. I had two scheduled classes but was running a little late , I thought to myself I will miss one class but can at least have one . When I reached there the center was closed .. after looking around I sent them an e-mail asking if they are closed .. a rude reply was " No we are not closed, we waited you and then left for lunch" If it was just me why couldn't they check if I was coming ... if not, how about a little "sorry for inconvenience " , just a formality . Either they are too busy or just plain ARROGANT. read more

This is the place to go if you want your kid to learn how to swim. Worth every penny.

Fun swim class for babies and toddlers with their parents. My little enjoyed the class and water activities. I wish there was more open swim time on weekends but they do a good job of letting you get acclimated with the water and giving useful tips read more

My daughter has been taking swim lessons from Coach John every Wednesday since August and it's been wonderful! She has learned to swim well and enjoys every minute of it. The staff is always super welcoming too. read more

This school is amazing! Coach John was THE Best! With Coach Johns one-on-one instruction my (3.5 yr old) son learned how to swim in a little over a month! Besides always having an amazing attitude the coach was very patient (even on my son's rough days) and always kept a safe watchful eye on him. All of the other coaches were encouraging and it was a very positive environment! read more

We really love the Sharkies crew, everyone is so friendly! The owners Jessica & Rhett are great! We really ADORE Coach John. He wouldn't give up on my stubborn child and it totally paid off! Look forward to bringing our younger daughter in! read more

We LOVE Sharkies! Due with my 4th babe in June of this year, I knew I had to get my 5 yo confident in the water without a vest and my 3 yo happy to play in the water - I never could have imagined that in weeks my 5 yo would be completely independent in the pool - including building confidence to jump off the highest diving boards - my 3yo who wouldn't put her head in the water asks to go to the pool everyday and we have to drag her home... and when it became apparent my 18 mo wouldn't happily watch the big sibs take lessons from the sidelines, I signed him up for lessons and he plays sooo happily in the pool for hours at a time. He was born just before covid hit and has had terrible separation anxiety but typically is excited for sharkies and goes willingly to coach Brennan who has been amazing with him! We were a family that didn't have much outside interaction during covid and Sharkies has been such a blessing to our family for more than just swimming - it has been such a relief to see my kids interacting so well with their coaches. We live in Brookhaven so it's about a 30 minute drive for us (with now all 4 babes) , but it's the highlight of our week... thank you, Sharkies! read more

Great experience and expert advise for a beginner in scuba. I will be back for additional training in the future. Zero complaints!

Love this place! Our son has been taking lessons since he was 13 months old and it is remarkable to see the progress. Coach Yvette has been so patient and he is very trusting of her. We also like the fact that the owners are hands on and support the local community! read more

My older kids did swim lessons at another big name swim academy - watching my little one at Sharkie's is above and beyond. The approach they take to safety while making it fun for the kids gives me peace of mind when my child is in the water. It's more than just how to swim, it's how to be safe in the water. I highly recommend this school! read more

Sharkie's Academy - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Smyrna, Georgia

My 7 year old daughter has been taking swimming lessons at Sharkies for almost two years now. Prior to that she was taking lessons at another facility, however, it seemed as though that environment and style of instruction was not helping her improve. So we decided to give Sharkies a try and glad that we did. The owners Rhett and Jessica are nice and personable. My daughters coach, John Youngblood has really taken her swim skills to the next level. She has made tremendous improvements since working with him. To the point of her possibly joining a swim team soon. He works well with her, he keeps her very focused but also makes it really fun for her! read more

I have mixed reviews when it comes to Sharkies. The facility was clean and it is a convenient location for anyone in the Smyrna area and when I was ready to cancel the class, they did not make me feel uncomfortable or harass me not cancel or make me give a ton of advanced notice and the staff is overall nice. As far as the swim lessons I really didn't feel like my son got much from it. It was not very organized or structured, half the time we were just swimming around on our own. The last class I attended was all about pool safety, aimed towards the parents, which I am aware is very important, but my child is 2 he does not want to sit there and listen to a teacher talk about pool safety for 20 minutes, so of course he was splashing and getting worked up. That is something that should be offered to the parents before or after the class. I originally started the class on a Saturdays, but later switched to Sunday's, and for almost 3 classes was not showing up on the roaster and the staff was all confused. 3 times she class was cancelled either because of something with the pool or lack of staff and because of the date switch and there lack of updating the system correctly, I did not get notified the first time and I showed up, which is a real pain with a 2 year old who you usually have to fight to get dressed and there. They were apologetic, but then the following week we were STILL not on the Sunday roaster. They do allow make up classes for missed or cancelled classes, but that also confused me because when I called about attending a make up class they were like, "Sure just show up anytime". I wouldn't say do not go there, but I just wasn't super impressed with the classes and I felt it was a little disorganized, both the staff and structure of the class. read more

Awesome people and wonderful experience. I always wanted my son to learn how to swim and could not be happier with Sharkies.

We LOVE Sharkie's! My son has so much fun learning to swim and loves his coach. It's very cheerfully decorated and it's a pleasant place to watch him have fun learning in the pool. The staff is helpful and a pleasure to work with. read more

I had a rough experience when I tried to get my kids re-certified as open water divers. Everyone was very nice but I should have asked more questions. Once I paid, communication was poor. They were not able to start their confined water for over 30 days. Once done there was confusion around what I paid for and that to do my sons final dives it would be another $600. It got worse when I found out we would need to wait another 30 days to schedule. John offered to do it quicker if I took a trip with the scuba club to Florida that they were sponsoring. That trip was a minimum of $700 per person. I looked at other dive shops to do the dives and the experience was totally different. Great communication both through email and calls with the instructor. the dives were scheduled the next weekend for half the price. When I reached out to Sharkies for the referral they charged me a $45 fee. When I asked why, John said it was for his time because he would not get "credit" for training the kids. I mentioned that the other shop said that was not customary to charge for a transfer and john's response what's "that's their problem" . The other gentleman in the office, who identified himself as the office manager, repeated that they would not get "credit" if we did not do the open water dives with them so they needed to charge me a fee. They were both visibly upset that we were not doing the dives with them and that I was questioning the fee. I asked John to have the owner call me and I didn't want to make a big deal about this. I only wanted to make sure she knew what my experience was. I waited 2 days and after I didn't get a call, I called Sharkies and left a message directly for the owner. It's been a week and I did not get a call back. That is why I am leaving this review. read more

We rented Sharkie's for a Saturday evening birthday party. My daughter (just turned 5) and her friends all had an absolute blast! The lifeguards not only keep the kids safe, but entertained as well. The provided the space, pool, lifeguards, and pool toys. We provided a few extra decorations, food, and the party people. Parents and children are still coming up to me to tell me what an epically fun party it was. Thank you so much, Sharkies! read more

Terrific location for a pool party! We had our son's 6th birthday party at Sharkies and it was flawless. The kids were fully engaged in pool games while the adults were having their own fun, thanks to the watchful eyes of the lifeguards! We love the convenience of the location, the entire facility is well-kept, and the ease of working with the owners (yes you get to work directly with the owners) was amazing! If you are looking for a party spot, I highly recommend checking this place out. It will not disappoint! read more

My 3 1/2 year old daughter has been taking lessons with Coach John and Coach Rhett for about 6 weeks and she is already able to swim across the pool on her own! The staff is super friendly, you can definitely tell the owners strive to provide their customers with an excellent experience. They have lessons for children as young as 6 months old! If you are interested in swim lessons for your little, I highly recommend this place! read more

I love this place and this family! Rhett and Jessica love these kids, and work hard to get our little one and every little one to push themselves to be safe and amazing swimmers! We also recently had our daughters 5th birthday party at Sharkies, and it was awesome! Great for year round parties. read more

My daughter's swimming ability has thrived since becoming a student at Sharkie's! She is only three and all of the instructors she has had have been able to merge fun and serious swimming lessons into one. This is especially important when teaching a student that is so young. I would and do suggest this swim school to anyone. The owners are amazingly friendly! read more