At Goldfish, our Perpetual Lessons Model allows kiddos to progress through swim lesson levels at their own pace. They start at the level that matches their swim skills and work through that level, mastering their skills and moving up when they’re ready. So, once your swimmer moves through all of the levels, what’s next?!

Once a child has mastered the Pro 2 swim level (our highest level!), they have the fintastic opportunity to join our swim team – Swim Force! Our Swim Force team practices for one hour each week, all leading up to the quarterly Swim Force meets where swimmers get to build confidence and character through friendly competitions against one another, putting their hard work and new skills in motion!

During weekly practices, our special in-water coaches assist and encourage swimmers as they work towards mastering the four major swim strokes – freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, and butterfly! What’s so finemonal about our perpetual lessons model and children advancing at their own pace is that it allows our Swim Force team to be built with kiddos ages 5 to 12. How cool is it to think your 5-year-old could be swimming at a competitive-like level?!

The Learning Doesn’t Stop When Swim Force Starts!

Our Swim Force team is an extension of our swim lessons, so kiddos have the opportunity to continue to learn and grow, even after mastering each of our swim levels. They also learn an abundance of new skills during Swim Force practices and meets that are unique from the skills taught in lessons, like friendly competition and swimming toward big goals!

We promote a little friendly competition – because we know the benefits it can have for kids! When done right, creating a safe environment for competition helps children learn new skills that will be applicable throughout their lives, even after they graduate from Goldfish!

You know who knows a thing or two about friendly competition? Real-life competitive (and Olympic!) swimmers Cullen Jones and Ryan Murphy. Whether it be in the pool or on the ping-pong table, the two are always up for a little friendly competition to keep them on their toes and help them practice their skills, because they know it’s not just about winning, it’s about all the great things that come with the entire experience.

Wins and Losses

Though it’s always fun to win, it’s important for children to learn how to be a good sport when they don’t. Swim Force allows kiddos to win and to lose, so they learn how to do both gracefully, and realize there’s more to competition than just winning. The team setting also allows them to get in the groove of working together and cheering each other on, and allows them to Celebrate their peers’ wins – we all know we love to Celebrate!

Practice Leads to Progress

A competitive environment allows children to learn that success is earned through practice! It’s not the tallest, smartest or funniest child that wins, it’s the ones that work hard to master their skills. This teaches them the value of hard work and helps them to build self-esteem as they get to the swim meet and get to show off their hard work!

To Swim Force and Beyond!

A tried-and-true example of how impactful the Goldfish program can be is when we get to hear about what our Goldfish Grads are up to. Recent Goldfish – Cleveland East Side Grad, Matthew, is a perfect example. Matthew started in lessons when he was just 3 years old. His mom remembers Matthew’s attitude towards water in the beginning of swim lessons to this day. “When we started, Matt was a little boy who was afraid to put his face in the water, and going underwater was terrifying for him.” With the help of his Goldfish swim instructors, who always show Integrity, Compassion and Trust, Matthew developed into a total water baby, and thrived in the water! “I am so glad we stuck with it as it has been a joy to see him develop into such an awesome swimmer.”

Matthew advanced through each level, making it to Swim Force and mastering all of the swim strokes. As he inched closer to turning 13 and becoming an o-fish-al Goldfish Grad, he found a new pool to learn and grow in, with a competitive swim team for older kiddos, and he is so excited to keep swimming! We’re so proud when we see kiddos who are #GrowingUpGoldfish dive into new adventures with the confidence to continue to make waves, in and out of the pool!

Get Ready, Get Set, Get Swimming!

Ready to jump into some friendly competition? Learn more about swim lessons and Swim Force at a Goldfish near you, and get ready to get swimming!