Aquatic Photos & Testimonials

I took my first swim lesson last night from Amira Abdul-Zahir and she was marvelous at providing a wonderful return to swimming, likely the first swim lesson I’ve had in decades! Amira provided the confidence of my being safe and encouraged me to share what I knew and didn’t know. It was exciting to begin swimming again!

The two young lifeguards welcoming me to the pool and pointing me in the right direction at the start and end were friendly and caring.  

And Michael from security was welcoming as well—asking my name and sharing his after helping me find, set, and open the locks on the lockers, and then finding me at the pool with my mobile phone I had left in the locker room. Helpful indeed!

Thanks so much for getting me started at the JCC.

-Mike S., Swim Lesson Participant

My two daughters started swimming at the J at three through the ECC, and after they graduated, I signed them up for private lessons through the JCC aquatics program. One of my daughters announced to me she was excited about swimming, but she didn’t want to put her face in the water. I said, OK! (I decided to let the instructor handle that one!)

Fast forward to now and we are just back from vacation with my family and it was a pleasure to watch my daughters swim with such confidence and ease! A big thanks to the JCC aquatics team! My daughters swim like little fish and I laughed (with no fear) when my sister picked them up and threw them in the pool (which they loved!)

–Nicole Cuttino, Swim Lesson Participant Parent 

My son is doing this summer’s 2-week intense splashers and Stephanie is great!!!! Exceeded my expectations so far based on swim lessons elsewhere.

-Michelle Richardson, Swim Lesson Participant

Our daughter has taken swim lessons at the J for nearly 2 years and has absolutely flourished! Ms. Aysa is patient, kind and makes learning essential swimming and safety techniques fun. Her teaching style is adaptive and playful and let’s our 3-year-old feel like she is a part of determining what she learns next. We adore Ms. Asya and not a week goes by when our daughter isn’t excited to see her and go swimming!

-Parents of Olivia Barnes, Swim Lesson Participant

I think we’re off to a sensational start.

The coach talks a lot more before the swimming part which I thought would annoy me as I just want to swim but it is actually creating community.  One of the problems with masters is that it can be tough to “break in” because everyone spends most of their time with their face in the water.  But talking through the workout at the beginning gives people some “heads up” time, and even if people are talking to each other while the coach talks, that creates community.

Also, the substance of what the coach says is worthwhile.  The workouts are differently structured than other coaches, so it’s useful for me to understand the theory of why the coach is doing it the way you’re doing it.

Even the benchmarking activity was a community-building exercise as people had their heads out of the water so they had a chance to meet each other, and everyone cheered on everyone else.

I think there were more people in the pool this morning than I’ve seen at Masters ever, going back to when I started in 2010 or so.

You should be really proud of what you’re creating.

–David Leit, Masters Swim Team Participant

Swim team is a wonderfully supportive environment that challenges kids of all types. Our son learned so much from coach Cynthia who pushed him firmly but with care.

– Seth Melnick, Metro Marlins Swim Team Participant

The Metro Marlins swim team is great! The coaches are encouraging and work hard to make the swimmers the best and fastest they could be while having fun. My daughter halved her swim time since starting on the team. My daughters will definitely be on the team next season!

-Omar Badawi, Metro Marlins Swim Team Participant

I really love being a part of a great swim team. Coaches are great teachers and they work well with the swimmers.

-Nazara Graham, Metro Marlins Swim Team Participant