Swim Lessons at Killeen's Family Aquatic Center

Joshua is very 'zen' about completing Level 3 in Swimming Lessons.

Trey rests after passing a vigorous Level 4 Swim Test.

After several years of taking swim lessons at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, I decided to stick a little closer to home this year and enrolled the kids in lessons in Killeen. Lion Park's Family Aquatic Center (which is one of their favorite places to go in the summer) hosts swim lessons so we decided to give it a try.

Things we loved about swim lessons: The price was reasonable, $40.00 per child for two weeks (M-TH) of lessons. The facilities are fabulous; my kids had lessons in the pool only, not in the 'park' part of the facility. My kids enjoyed their lessons and their instructors. I was pleased with their progress and proud of them both for passing the levels they started. A big bonus is that the kids had 'free swim' across the entire park on the last day of lessons (during their regular lesson time).

A few things that could be improved: On the first day, the instructors seemed pretty disorganized. We waited until after lessons should have started to engage the lounging group of teenages who were gathered around a table drinking coffee, yawning, and chatting with each other. Once I asked where my kids should go for lessons, they casually got up and started a slow process of identifying their students then making their way to the pool. This was not a huge issue, but certainly didn't inspire trust and confidence in the parents who were placing their kids in these teens' care.

Disorganization was apparent again a few days later when one of my boys' instructors was absent and there was no plan for a substitute. 5 minutes into that lesson (when all the other kids were in the water with their instructors), my son asked one of the lifeguards what he should do. She had no idea and began a search for someone who did know. Eventually, a substitute instructor showed up and introduced herself to the kids. She spent the next several minutes yelling across the pool to the other instructors, asking what level this was and what they should be working on. In all, it was a wasted day for learning and I was left feeling a bit uncomfortable with their procedures.

Having said all of that, the minor disruptions due to disorganization were outweighed by the many positives of the lessons. We had a good experience here and will sign up again if we are in the area again next summer.

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