Local swim school encourages an early start to lessons

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. - In less than a month, most metro Atlanta kids will be enjoying spring break — and for many families, that means a trip to the pool, lake, or beach. And a local swim school wants to make sure you and your children are ready to have fun, while also staying safe around the water.

This morning on Good Day Atlanta, we made a return trip to Big Blue Swim School in Johns Creek, where children as young as 3 months old begin learning how to swim and stay safe in water.

"We want to unlock every kid’s full potential in the water," general manager Keith Edelhoff-Baker told us during our previous visit last April. "We want them to have fun and actually learn something in their lesson."

Swim lessons are offered year-round at Big Blue Swim School, and programs are divided into levels ranging from Baby Blue to Big Blue. Edelhoff-Baker says Big Blue Swim School is a skills-based school, which means being placed in groups has less to do with age than the level at which students are comfortable in the water.

"We have a star system, where they have to achieve those five stars before moving to the next level," he says. "So, we have them swim a lot of distance … we start at babies, so they have to swim a shorter distance, and then older kids, they just have to swim a longer distance and achieve those skills."

Experts also say it takes time to learn to swim, so it’s important to start lessons before making those spring break or summer trips to the coast. 

For more information on Big Blue Swim School — including locations, hours, and rates — click here. And click the video player in this article to check out our morning in the water, learning some water safety tips from the pros in Johns Creek!