The swim lessons are great.

Our instructor is great! What I am finding is the swim coach for the teen boys is so loud and aggressive. He yells constantly-It's distracting and I can't imagine instruction for my child going well with that level of distraction.

Getting into the lessons I want and levels I need for my children is difficult, I would like if more sessions were opened. The instructor for level 1 changed 3x in 3 weeks, which makes building trust difficult.

Appreciate the different levels and assessments at the end of each session.

Although the swim classes are good, signing up can drive you nuts! 5am on the 15th of the month or you miss oportunity in the limited slots. Plus when the 15th rolls around we don’t yet know if they are moving up or staying in the level. I’m hoping to get in next month…

I find the expectations and skills covered by different instructors varies significantly. We had an instructor (Grant) recommend my daughter move up to level 5. Because we had to sign up for the next month before the session ended, I had already signed up for another session of level 4. At the end of that session, Alex recommended continuing level 4. Same kid, different expectations based on instructors. Grant was a fantastic teacher and my daughter improved significantly in just four weeks with him. I have not found any of the other instructors to be up to his caliber. I think kids will rise to the occasion when their teachers have higher expectations. I feel many instructors are going through the motions. I also wish there was a way to sign up for more than a month at a time. I would sign up for the whole year if I could.

The instructor is absolutely great! But with 5 kids all learning how to swim at a very basic level it is too much for one instructor to handle. The life guards are available but there are usually 3 separate classes going on in the same pool at once. May want to consider smaller class sizes for safety and effectiveness of the lessons.

It’s hard to get a spot once you hit certain levels unless you are a member

The environment is very loud. The swim coach shouts incessantly and at the loudest volume I have ever heard someone sustain for long periods of time. I bring earplugs to wear during practice. A neighbor asked me where I take my son to swim and I told her Briggs YMCA. She said that she tried going there but it was so loud that her son couldn’t hear the instructor and became overwhelmed by the noise. I continue to take my son there because your pool provides the type of instruction my son needs at the right time of day. If it wasn’t for that, I would go somewhere else due to the non-stop migraine-inducing shouting.

When class was canceled I only received an email, in the middle of the work day (I do not check my personal email during work on a regular basis) and we checked in with the front desk person. My child made it all the way to the pool, rinsed off in swimsuit before being told by another child that class was canceled. There needs to be either phone calls, text messages AND a sign before the pool area to say if class is canceled. In addition, I suggest reconsidering canceling a class which can be taught by the poolside. You could have provided a class credit but also had a team member provide "lap swims" considering you have lifeguards there as well.

Grant is phenomenal with my child. She grew so much in since having a class with Grant accompanied with Patrick. Nova's back with only Patrick this time and he's patient and giving her great exercises to strengthen her swim strokes.

The kids absolutely adore their swim lessons at the Y, and have made great progress since starting them!

Excellent teachers, great work. Our daughter loves the Y and all her swim lessons.

My daughter was in the 4:45 class on Thursdays in July. During one of the classes, the instructor spent at least five minutes of the class with her back mostly turned to the children during "free play" time and seemed to be flirting with the lifeguard (who was also not closely watching the pool). During another lesson, my daughter was repeatedly being kicked by another child. Part of this was during free play that the instructor should have been watching. The adult who was with the child doing the kicking wasn't paying attention, and the child began kicking my daughter again when the instructor was working with the children one on one for back floats, etc. so I had to intervene myself and ask the child to stop. I feel this is completely unacceptable; in no situation should this have happened.

Smaller group sizes, enthusiastic teacher

It would be helpful to have more specific guidance and conversation about water safety and how to get babies used to water best. I don’t know what is good to do with the baby in the water and what i should avoid.

The instructor was very attentive and focused on our child's skill development. She was great!

I wish there we teaching of water survival (independent floating) earlier, other than that, very satisfied.

Our last day of lessons was cancelled due to lightning outside of the building. I would have loved to received an email apologizing for the inconvenience and offering a replacement lesson or reimbursement.

Very Inconvenient for parents who have younger children ready for regular scheduled classes to register for monthly classes. I do not find it fair that I don't get the same advantages as parents who have children over the age of three. My son has been signed up for swim classes for three months and all three months have been different times and days. Not by our choice either. Its very frustrating to maybe get a class that would regularly fit our schedule. I'm not sure if some kind of by pass can be changed or some other accommodation but it doesn't make me want to deal with swim at all until he is 3. But water safety is a huge concern in my parenting journey, at an early age.

Jay and Mermaid are excellent instructors, especially in keeping the kids engaged and having fun while learning.

My 11yo tends to be anxious about new things, so I was very pleasantly surprised to hear that they’ve been loving their first week of swim lessons and have made a ton of progress!

Well, while we love the classes and my kids genuinely have a great time, access to classes is very difficult. I have a membership and usually by 6:30 AM on the 15th of the month when they open, I have a 50% chance of getting the class that I want. That’s only an hour and a half after registration opens for that month. I think there could be more instructors and have maybe two more classes going at the same time to help mitigate that.

My kids feel very at home at the Y. They love their experience and the feeling there.

I’d caution people that some of the classes will get cut 5 minutes early, which to small kids, is a lot of time, especially when that time is typically dedicated to jumps.

Teachers really do help the kids move through their goals. Lifeguards are attentive and plentiful.

Locker rooms are kept clean and went through a recent renovation. But two major things that I think are problems revolving the locker rooms are that the showers are routinely too hot for children, and I hear my own kids, as well as others crying in the shower because of the temperature of the water, I have personally asked the front desk staff two different times to let management know. The other problem is that the suit drying machine has been out of order more times than I can count and often stays that way for weeks.

My swimmer said it was fun and she has learned a lot. I wish she had more opportunity to swim.

I told many of my friends about adding swim lessons to their membership for $25

Loved everything about the level 4 swim class. Swim Instructor Jon was super!

Classes are great. Short, and somewhat unstructured so far since the kids are so young. I'm looking forward to the older ages when she gets to practice more skills.

Swim instructors are all very caring and patient. Jeff is wonderful with wiggly kids and explaining techniques in terms they get.

My daughter loves her swim lessons, but the class fills up very quickly. I wish there are some more weekend classes available.

My sons level 2 instructor is amazing- tall fella in the pink shirt with glasses has really encouraged my son to be brave and my son is super receptive to him. My daughters? Level 2, Let’s them free play after 20 minutes and minimally engages the kids. My kid just gets dragged through the water and has not developed much in her skills. Level one is a mix of either capable coaches or baby coaches. Variation makes it hard to predict success.

The class size is reasonable and they don’t crowd too many classes in the pool at once.

Never received any progress reports and we have been in the swim classes for months

We just started the Thursday night class and it is WAY too chaotic with the parent tot class in the pool too. The instructor had to yell the whole time for the students to hear him. My child only got to practice 3 different things in the 45 minute class. Not our best experience

This program has no set standards that are communicated to parents. There are no follow ups at the end of each lesson to know where your child should move into instructors do not have the skills to be teaching the class and do not demonstrate any of the skills they expect the students to perform this program. Definitely needs work and improvement in order for it to actually teach kids the safety skill of swimming.

It is difficult for children to hear their instructor when the swim team coach is yelling in the pool room.

As a former lifeguard and swim instructor I think the instructors didn’t receive quality training and the program is too messy for consistent quality outcomes unfortunately.

The pool was intimate and not overwhelmingly loud like other pools we have used for swim lessons. My child had way for fun than other swim lessons which helps them feel safe in the water. It's also affordable, which is the main reason we chose the Y. At first we avoided it because we thought it would be too crowded, but it surprised us and exceeded our other experiences. We are so grateful for such a positive experience & option we can afford for water safety.

We previously tried lessons 3 years ago through to City of Lacey and have being doing lessons at the YMCA since February of 2026 and have been so happy. It's been such a positive experience at the Y - thank you!

The level 4 instructor is difficult for my child to adapt to. All of the other instructors give individual encouragement, but the level 4 instructor holds back, making my child want to remain in level 3.

It's frustrating being a member and consistently being unable to obtain a space in class. It would also be helpful when possible to have students stay with consistent instructors to support student progress, foster positive relationships, and help students have foundation of trust especially in the water to challenge themselves and try new things.

Work with instructors on engagement. Some aren’t as engaged as others, some end class early or only give the kids 1 jump at the end. Open more classes.

Some swim instructor are more experienced than others and it does reflect when the kids are in the swim class. The younger instructor seems to not want to be there or don’t have too much patience with the kids.

Mermaid was just so amazing. Our grandson was hesitant to put his head underwater. By the time Mermaid was through giving him confidence, He was not only going underwater for 15 seconds at a time, he was retrieving items off of the bottom of the pool.

Loved 2 of the 3 teachers great atmosphere overall

I just love it there

The metrics for each swim level are clear, the instructors are hands on with teaching kids the right techniques (especially John) and my children's swimming skills have noticeably progressed and they have become such strong swimmers. I also appreciate the conversations the instructors have with the kids about water safety.

We like the price and the options for time. The teachers are also very patient with the young kids.

Instructor was great with my child and really helped them feel more confident in the pool.

Jackie was very helpful

Well-trained staff, great facilities, lots of options for class times