“We started swimming lessons for Addy when she turned 1. She like the water but hated the lessons. She cried and screamed for the entire 30 minutes for 12 straight lessons. It was so stressful and we came close to taking her out of swim. After the holiday break, out of no where, she stopped crying and started laughing and smiling. Today (now 19 months old) she loves her swim lessons and Wendy and is already floating on her back and diving into the pool. So glad we kept her in”

-The Paredes Family

“We love the Wendy Ferday swim school! Being a “beach and water” family we knew we needed to start our kids at an early age. After a little bit of research, we found Wendy Fereday to be the fit for us. The swim teachers are creative, fun, consistent, knowledgeable, and push our kids just the right amount. Our son (now 4 1/2) started swimming at 2 and loves it! He feels confident in the water and loves the weekly routine. Our daughter (2) is even more enthusiastic about the water and I knew that for her it was even more important to get her into lessons soon. The swim school is a great fit for our family not only because they teach safety, but also because they help build confidence and persistence, working toward and accomplishing goals. We are committed to the weekly lessons and thankful that our little swimmers are learning how to be safe in the water. Thank you!”

-Connie M

“We have been part of the Wendy Fereday family for two years. We have enjoyed participating and watching our daughter learn how to swim. The program is well structured and fun. The instructors are knowledgeable and so kind to the kids. We believe we are giving our daughter such a gift by having her learn water competency!”

– The Clark Family

“I am so honored to be part of my grand daughter, Charlotte’s swim class. Charlotte started at 9 months and is now 24 months old. She absolutely loves going to class. She has grown so much, with confidence, trust and has no hesitation when she has to learn a new technique. The staff and Wendy are always great! The attention and focus with each child is superb! You can always see how loving and patient they are with every one, I’m very impressed.
Thank you Wendy and all the staff for being great teachers, friends and role models!!”

-Lisa Crabtree (aka “Nana”)

“Over the past three years that we have been swimming with the Fereday swim school, my children have blossomed into water loving, independent, and safe swimmers. My son started swimming when he was just 11 months old in the babies class with Wendy. Week after week, I loved seeing the joy on his face, splashing and laughing – holding his breath and amazing me with the new things he would accomplish. Now three years later, he has graduated to private swim lessons with his teacher and friend, Stephen, working on the backstroke and butterfly! Because of the amazing techniques, effort and encouragement the Fereday school has shown, my son is fully capable and definitely a SAFE swimmer!
My daughter started swimming at just 9 months old in the babies classes and we had a bit of a different experience. My daughter was not a total water lover like my son and it was difficult to get her to submerge happily. It took many months of trying and many weeks where I almost gave up. I just didn’t think she was cut out for the water. Wendy and her staff kept encouraging me to not give up, keep trying even though it’s hard, she will be learning as we go even if she wasn’t totally comfortable – she would get there. And she did. It was like a light bulb went off. One day in class, my daughter jumped off the “color ramp,” went under water, swam to me and popped up with the biggest smile on her face. Since then, she has been loving every week in the water. She is now in independent swim lessons with Izzy working on more safe swimming techniques.
I am now sitting on the sidelines, watching both my kids love each lesson and improve each week. We look forward to many more years with the Fereday swim school, and I can’t wait to see how much more my children will grow and learn and become the best swimmers they can be!

Thanks so much for everything have done for me and my children!”

-The Perkins (Copper, and Tili)

Our family has been involved with the Wendy Fereday Swim School for the past five years with our three girls. Their program is fabulous! All the teachers top notch and very patient with kids. We have watched the instructors work with them from the beginning: getting them used to the water all the way to teaching them how to dive and do the flip turns for swim team. What we really appreciate is the attention the instructors spend with the girls to make sure they have the right techniques for all the strokes, and not just to “get them to swim across the pool”. Wendy is also wonderful to work with, and it’s also obvious that she spends a lot of time training their instructors so that they feel confident that in any body of water, they will be able to swim, have fun and be safe. Living so close to the ocean, it important that all kids know how to swim well.

-Ri-Pen Chou

We have been bringing our two daughters to Wendy’s school for over five years and have been very pleased with the quality of the program and especially the instructors. When our youngest daughter was having some difficulty getting comfortable in the water, Wendy solved our problem quickly with some personal attention to our daughter that was very effective. We would recommend the Wendy Fereday Swim School…especially for those young children just starting to swim.

-Steve and Liz Mikkelson

“We came to Wendy Fereday’s swim school from another local swim program and have been SO happy that we have made the switch. We have two daughters enrolled in the program (both 15 minute private lessons) and we’ve seen huge progression with both! Our 4 year old is doing laps and laps with our beloved Izzy and learning new strokes each week. She is so confident in her skills and is getting really fast! Our 2 year old has moved from being a cautious, crying “nervous Nelly” in the pool to asking for Miss Hannah every week. Hannah encouraged us to keep up with her lessons in spite of her obvious hesitations about them and tailored her program to meet her needs and helped her move beyond her fears. In a few short weeks, our 2 year old moved from nervous to cautious to thriving. She looks forward to swimming on a weekly basis and is starting to develop skills that I can already see translate into safe water habits. Thank you, Wendy Fereday, for working with each child’s unique situation and giving them the gift of LIFE through safe water habits!

We’ve had such a great experience. Thank you!!!

-Audrey

“Our 3 children have been swimming under your training for over 2 years now. Lessons and swim team are part of their life routine and define them in an important way. Our 6 year old twin boys especially respect your school of swimming because they see their 9 year old sister, Julie, excelling and consistently progressing at something important. Her stroke and cerebral palsy limitations are redefining the word “limits” for the boys consistent with your philosophy: limits are imagined and subjective. Last weekend, they watched her use her left arm to swim and remarked: “I thought Julie could not use her left side!” I clarified that clearly, they need to reassess their assumptions and hope they do not have any limiting assumptions for themselves.
I loved my years teaching for you so long ago and value the fact that my children can learn from your amazingly-trained employees in a reciprocal way. Knowing that I potentially affected even one life with self-belief and skill awareness is one of my more rewarding life accomplishments.
Swim team is amazing. You instill focus, discipline, self-esteem, and participation rather than winning. My kids thrive with this approach and it leaks into other areas of their development. It might take Julie 2 minutes to swim 1 race… meanwhile, after 30 seconds the other swimmers are done and cheering her on! Everyone wins. Literally everyone.
You and your staff have bettered our lives. Your school has connected us with new friends. My kids are safe in and respect water. And, I am re-united with you, my previous employer, from the other side. But mostly, you and your staff taught Julie to let go of her fear of a disability and embrace the freedom water offers from her movement disorder. What more can anyone ask for from life?”

-Anne Wells (and Owen, Julie, Ryan and Sam)

We have enjoyed bringing our children for the past 6 years! They started in the baby class and have loved the water since. Year-round lessons have allowed them to continue their progress and time in the water, thus fostering their enjoyment. (The instructors) have been very instrumental in their love for swimming. We have never heard “I don’t want to go to swim class”, instead we hear “Yeah!”

-Kristen Cohen

I find the instructors and entire staff to be caring and professional. I considered two other swim programs and I am glad that I chose Wendy Fereday Swim School. The communication is excellent and was my prime reason for choosing this swim school. I commend my grandson’s instructor. The progress he has made is superb and I have and will continue to highly recommend the Wendy Fereday Swim School to others.

-Edgar Borneleit

We went downtown and visited a friend in the Paseo Nuevo shopping center. As Roman and his little friend Johnny were playing, it was a hot day so they were putting their hands in the water fountains. The boys were laughing and having a great time. As I talked with Johnny’s mom, I looked over to see Roman reaching for the water a little too far. Before I had time to finish saying, “Roman, can you please move back a little bit”, he was already on his way into the fountain. He flipped head first into the water, fully clothed and all. At the time, I didn’t know if it was an intentional move or not because he was looking at me with mischievous eyes. My friend and I raced over to the fountain he fell into. I had my new baby strapped to me in an Ergo carrier so when I went to rescue my son, I couldn’t reach him. However! Lo and behold, I repositioned myself to grab him but Roman put his legs down and lifted his own head out of the water! In all reality, he rescued himself because of the life-saving drills he had been practicing in his swim class! I pulled him out of the fountain and asked if he was ok….he began to cry and at that point I knew it was an accident and I knew he was scared. I said, “hey, you did what you were supposed to do just like you learned in swim class!” *High five* I then began to laugh and Roman smiled. He knew that he was just fine. I feel forever grateful for the swim lessons. Even though this was not a life-threatening situation, I feel much more comfortable with him around water. It appears that he has been trained properly for situations just like this. I know that children have drowned from falling into a few inches of water just like this scenario. And I wanted to thank the swim school for teaching my son these skills he can use for the rest of his life. I have shared this story with all of my friends with children and refer people to Wendy Fereday’s Swim School often.

-S