OUR GOLDFISH SWIM SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

For the last few years swimming at Goldfish Swim School has been part of my family's regular weekly routine. After struggling to learn to swim through programs offered by our local parks and recreations department, my daughter excelled at Goldfish Swim School. It has been a golden experience!

She has consistently been in the pool at Goldfish Swim School every week for the last four years. Moving up from basic swimming lessons to participating in the Swim Force team my daughter loves swimming at Goldfish Swim School. So with the coronavirus pandemic closing our local Goldfish Swim School and reversing our summer travel plans turning this time into a staycation we decided to invest in putting a pool in our own backyard.

In addition to providing instruction on swimming skills, Goldfish Swim School always put an emphasis on kids learning about water safety too. As a parent that makes it nice to know that in addition to being able to swim, my daughter is also smart about being safe in the water. It provided us with confidence in getting our own pool for the family to enjoy at home.

Having graduated through all the programs at Goldfish Swim School, we didn't want my daughter to just stop swimming. As Dory says in Finding Nemo, "When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming." That seems like a good mantra during these tough coronavirus times!

So we've been having her recreate Swim Force practices, competing against her brother in races plus been having lots of fun family time swimming in our new pool. After a few months break from diving into the pool at Goldfish Swim School, jumping back into the water has brought a lot of joy to our family. Swimming is wonderful for adding exercise and entertainment into your day. Also a great way to destress from tension that may be in your life. So true with all the troubles caused by this virus that is impacting us all!

Thank you Goldfish Swim School for making swimming a cherished part of my daughter's life. We are keeping her enthusiasm for swimming alive! Hoping these tough times will pass quickly and kids will soon be back in the pool at Goldfish Swim School. We are putting our Goldfish experience to good use this summer!

A MUCH NEEDED EVENING AT GOLDFISH SWIM SCHOOL

Beyond going to work and school, my family had been staying around the house playing it safe this week as concerns about the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) began spreading throughout the country and here in Michigan. Then things really hit close to home on Thursday when the kids' school district began cancelling classes. Looks like they won't be returning to school until mid-April at the earliest now! As Sunday rolled around we were all getting a bit stir crazy being home.

So it was nice to find out Goldfish Swim School was still open! Sunday nights are Swim Nights at Goldfish Swim School for my twins. Both of them are on the Swim Force competitive swimming team. They have an hour long practice once per week and quarterly competitive meets. My son and daughter were really excited to get out of the house for some pool time.

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Light turn out for swimming practice tonight but the pool is open at @goldfishswimschool --> chlorine in the water kills virus germs and outside their pool the facility is taking extra efforts to sanitize the rest of the place. #GoldfishPartner *********************************************** #goldfishswimschool #goldfish #swimschool #swimforce #coronavirus #corona #virus #pandemic #dadlife #swimdad #swimclass #swimpractice #competitiveswimming #swimlessons #swimmingclass #swimminglessons #swimming #pooltime #pool

A post shared by @ geekdad248 on Mar 15, 2020 at 2:38pm PDT

My son and daughter enjoyed having fun in the water and getting some exercise in during their Swim Force practice. Both of them put the stress of the coronavirus out of their minds for an hour as they focused on swimming. I wasn't too worried about them getting sick while being in the pool because the chlorine kills germs like coronaviruses and had peace of mind about the rest of the facility as I watched staff constantly taking actions to sanitize the place as we were there. Chairs, countertops, door handles, the pool deck and more were being doused with antiseptic in an effort to hold the virus at bay. No one showed signs of being sick and everyone kept a distance from each other to respecting one another's space.

From what I witnessed Goldfish Swim School understands our society is facing a serious health emergency but also realizes that people need to maintain some normalcy to their lives. They are striving to provide a safe space where families can get away from the stress of current events for a moment. We really appreciated that!

For more information about their swimming programs go to goldfishswimschool.com. A Geek Daddy is a brand ambassador for Goldfish Swim School receiving complimentary goods and services for sharing my family's experiences participating in their swimming programs. All opinions shared by this dad blogger are honest and my own.

UPDATE [3/16/20]: Because of a county state of emergency being enacted that restricts occupancy within public venues, including pools, to help reduce the spread to the COVID-19 contagion our local Goldfish Swim School is closing from March 16 to tentatively April 6, 2020. Check with your local Goldfish Swim School franchise to find out how they are being impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.

FIRST SWIM FORCE SWIMMING MEET

My daughter just competed in her first SWIM FORCE swimming meet!  Kids who have graduated out of Goldfish Swim School's tier of lessons can be a part of this program that introduces them to friendly competition and the athletic aspect of swimming. Swim Force members meet for an hour each week to be coached on perfecting their strokes and becoming faster swimmers in the pool.  Then there are quarterly SWIM FORCE swimming meets throughout the year where the kids can choose which events they want to compete in.

There is an informal atmosphere to these meets where the kids are dressed casually not wearing swim caps or hydrodynamic swimsuits; sit together as a group cheering on other swimmers when they aren't in the pool themselves; and setting personal time records is emphasized over winning races.  To keep things light hearted the meet ends with a relay race where swimmers must wear a Goldfish Swim School t-shirt over their swimsuit and pass it on to other team members to put on as they swim their length of the race.  These quarterly meets introduce kids to the FUN-damentals of competitive swimming with a focus on making sure everyone is having a fun experience.

It has only been a few weeks since my daughter moved up from swimming lessons to join the Swim Force; but she was gung-ho to participate right away in her first swimming meet.  She signed up to compete in her best stroke, the backstroke, and her favorite one, the butterfly, during the Swim Force swimming meet. Of course she joined in the t-shirt relay race too because it sounded like too good of a time to miss out on when her coaches described the event to her.

Goldfish Swim School tries to keep the races evenly matched with girls vs girls and boys vs boys plus kids are assigned heats where they compete against equivalently skilled swimmers. Still competing in front of other kids as well as an audience of their families can still be daunting and I could see my daughter was a bit nervous before the meet. You couldn't tell though once the Swim Force swimming meet began.  She did really well!

After the swimming wrapped up it was time for a snack. PIZZA for everyone! My daughter refueled enjoying pizza slices and Rice Krispies provided by Goldfish Swim School while laughing and chatting with new found friends she had made since joining the Swim Force. It was a fun, memorable night for the whole family and my little mermaid is already looking forward to swimming in the next Swim Force swimming meet at Goldfish Swim School.

There was a big smile on her face after swimming in her first Goldfish Swim School Swim Force swimming meet. Three events → three 2nd place ribbons. A nice introduction to competitive swimming! She really had a great time during her first ever swimming meet.

For more information about Goldfish Swim School swimming lessons and its Swim Force program, head over to goldfishswimschool.com

A Geek Daddy is a Goldfish Swim School brand ambassador. In exchange for providing publicity through this blog and its social media outlets, I receive free products and services from Goldfish Swim School. Opinions expresses are always honest and my own.

GOLDFISH SWIM SCHOOL SWIM FORCE

My daughter just graduated from the highest class level at Goldfish Swim School. Does that mean her time there has come to an end? Not just yet … she's joined the Goldfish Swim School Swim Force!

The Swim Force is a program for those kids who have advanced through all the swimming classes that Goldfish has to offer. It is the school's in-house swim team.  Team members train each week to participate in the Swim Force's swimming meets that take place four times per year. It is a great way to transition kids from learning to swim towards participating in swimming as a sport. Especially for those who may be athletically inclined to pursuing joining a competitive swim club or being a part of high school and college swim teams. My daughter really is into swimming so we absolutely wanted to give her the Swim Force experience to see if this is an activity she really wants to take to the next level and being participating in at a competitive level.

Instead of going to a once per week class, Swim Force swimmers participate in a once per week workout.  This workout is double the length of time and distance in the pool than the normal Goldfish Swim School swimming class.  Swim Force workouts are an hour instead of half-hour long. Plus Swim Force members swim the length of the pool during their workouts instead of across its width as is done in swim classes. Your kids is absolutely going to get some exercise during a Swim Force workout!

Swim Force session sizes are larger than the average swimming class with 10 to 15 kids normally participating in a workout compared to the maximum of four per class in swimming lessons.  This is balanced out though with their being three to four instructors helping out the swimmers during a workout so there is still approximately a 4 students to 1 teacher ratio when it comes to participating in the Gold Fish Swim School Swim Force.  These sessions are all about taking kids who have their basic swimming skills down pat and helping them to master strokes, improve their speed in the water, and introduce them to the competitive aspect of the sport.

Each Swim Force member is assessed by instructors and assigned to a specific pool lane based upon his or her skill ranking where he or she will be interacting with other swimmers of similar ability.  This helps swimmers avoid becoming overwhelmed or feeling defeated by Swim Force members who have may more advanced skills. Children 5 to 12 years old can join the Swim Force anytime throughout the year – there is no “season” like in other sports. You don't have to have taken lessons at Goldfish either, any kid can join Swim Force provided they can pass tests to determine if they’re ready.

Here are 5 great things we've discovered about joining the Swim Force:

• It is one day per week! If your family is like mine I'm sure you always seem busy so the once-a-week Swim Force workouts mean no overextending your schedule with a commitment to a team activity that has multiple practices per week. Children can be involved in swimming yet still have the flexibility to do other activities as well.

• Workouts are for one hour! The extended time of Swim Force workouts versus the normal half-hour Goldfish swimming lesson times gives kids extra time spent in the water. And while traditional swim lesson classes may be over, swimmers are still getting lots of individualized attention from coaches who are in the pool with them during the Swim Force workouts.

• Socialization! Kids build relationships and learn about working together when they are a part of Swim Force. It is the opportunity to compete against others as well as to feel what it’s like to be on a team.

• Builds Confidence! The more often kids practice at something the better they will become and swimming is no different than anything else. Being part of the Goldfish Swim School Swim Force allows children to gain confidence not only in their swimming abilities, but in themselves as they see their accomplishments over time. The quarterly swim meet, which is voluntary to participate in, allows kids to showcase their skills in a team setting meant to build confidence no matter the skill level of the swimmer.

• Improves Athletic Skills! The Swim Force program is designed to prepare kids for participating in team sports and competitive swimming. It focusses on helping swimmers becoming more proficient in both technique and stamina. Coaches will help kids perfect swim strokes for the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle – and also learn new racing skills including turns and finishes. If your child has an interest in doing swimming as a sport, Swim Force will get him or her up to speed to move up to a competitive team when he or she has outgrown their Goldfish Swim School years.

My daughter has just started Swim Force and hasn't been in it long enough to participate in a swimming meet yet.  She was initially shocked at how many of the kids on the Swim Force outpace her right now after she was always the star of all her swimming classes. I've been impressed on how she has taken that on as a challenge to improve herself to be competitive with them and it looks like she is really enjoying the Swim Force workouts. Stay tuned for more updates as she keeps swimming at Goldfish Swim School and prepares for her Swim Force swimming meets!  

For more information about Goldfish Swim School swimming lessons and its Swim Force program, head over to goldfishswimschool.com 

A Geek Daddy is a Goldfish Swim School brand ambassador. In exchange for providing publicity through this blog and its social media outlets, I receive free products and services from Goldfish Swim School. Opinions expresses are always honest and my own.