Swim for Safety- Swim for Fun!

The Y has been teaching people to swim for more than a century. Swimming is an activity you can enjoy your whole life. Let the Y help your family discover the fun and great exercise of swimming!

YMCA group swim lesson programs are offered year-round and include parent-child, preschool and youth group swim lesson classes. We also offer swimming lessons for people of all ages and abilities who are living with autism or other disabilities.

Sessions are two months in length, and registration opens on the first of the month prior to the start of the session (ex. registration opens December 1st for the session that begins January 1st). During the summer group swim lessons are also held at Lytle Pool in Mattoon.

For more information, please call AJ Sears, Aquatics Director, at (217) 234-9494 or email asears@mattoonymca.org.

Register for Swim Lessons
PRIVATE SWIM LESSON INTEREST FORM

What’s Different About the Y?

Learning to swim at the Y is more than just stroke development, our lessons offer a child-centered approach. Kids will learn through play, hands-on exercises and creative repetition. The YMCA lesson curriculum includes YMCA character development, which emphasizes our four core values of Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility. Children are taught in small groups in a progressive approach, which allows each child to proceed at their own pace. When your child has mastered one level, they’re ready for the next. Each lesson encourages your child to feel good about themselves and what they’ve learned, and they can develop lifelong skills that can help them stay healthy.

Parent & Child Lessons- Ages 6 months to 3 years old

  • Parent is in the water with their child.  These lessons focus on water introduction to kids at a young age.  The class will start the basics of being acclimated to the water, how to enter and exit the water safely and to respect the water as it can be fun but also dangerous.

Beginners- Safety Around Water 

  • Our beginners will learn how to save themselves, how to float on their back, put their face in the water,  jump in the water, go under the water, and flip onto their back to float.

Intermediate- Swim Stroke Development

  • In order to move into this level, each student will need to demonstrate the skills listed in Safety Around Water.  At this level kids will learn how to frog kick, crawl kick, and dog paddle.

Advanced- Swim Team Prep 

  • This will be the most advanced group and will prepare students for swim team competition with a focus on perfecting strokes and swimming distance.