Best Swimming School Fort Wayne Near Me

Sarah Bricker: So much great!!! And a lot of awful. The swim coaches are really encouraging and friendly with parents and kids, while still maintaining a focus on the skills to be learned. I was worried initially about the coaches always rotating, but it was fine! They were all punctual, patient, and attentive. Big shout out to Bryant, Isaac, Lelah, and Eliza!After researching options for children’s swim classes in FW, Nitro seemed like the right choice in all regards. There are several classes offered – child, adult, or family, then competitive or educational, then private or group, and within each there are 10 levels of proficiency. The class is 30 min, and the kids are set up early full 30 minutes is used for instruction. And there is always an extra coach on deck in case of an emergency. But there are two things that really set Nitro apart: The first is the teaching format - students progress through the 10 levels at their own pace, which I loved! At each class, if you are able to attain the skill you've been taught, then you advance to the next level. The second thing is the student to coach ratio of 1:3. There were even days when the ratio was 1:1 if other kids had to cancel that day!There's plenty of parking. The facility is clean and tidy. When you enter, there is a Kiosk, then just beyond are rows of seating for parents facing a glass wall which shared with the pool room. Just off that is a locker room. There are several bathrooms, private changing rooms, cubbies, and blow dryers for your hair in winter.Now for the awful - the business side of Nitro is a mess. All the information I listed above I pieced together on my own. Do not expect an employee to review policies, billing, teaching format, or protocol with you. If you want to sign up for classes, you can call, but you will be directed to the website. Which is not at all intuitive or user friendly. On your first day, you are not given a tour, you aren’t given a packet with information or paperwork, you don’t “check-in”. You just figure out that a coach will eventually come and call your class time, and your child should line up. After a few classes, you may want to chat with a coach to review your child’s progress; this is not offered. If the child completes a level, no one will tell you after class, you will learn by an email. Perhaps you could just watch really closely, but only if you know the curriculum ... Which you can figure out if you ask or happen to stumble upon the 8.5x11 piece of paper taped to a wall. If you want to make a payment or report an absence, you can’t talk to the front desk or call, you’ll be directed to the darn website again. If you want to schedule a make-up class, you CAN call, but during a specific three hour window on the exact day that you would like to come in -_- In regards to billing, credit cards are auto-run every month, but there is no option to cancel. You must call before the 15th of the month or you are charged for the next entire month. I called two days late unaware of the policy, and was told that the billing had already begun, and I would have to call back at the start of the next month if I wanted to cancel for two months from now. I was peeved, so I checked my statements; no payment was pending or completed. I called back and asked to speak to a manager. It was the manager. I asked to speak to the owner. They refused without apology or courtesy.I was forcibly withdrawn from the school (which I guess is what I ultimately wanted) but not the unreasonable confrontation. I left the school feeling disrespected and frustrated. I'll admit I lost my temper with the manager. She doesn’t decide how the business is run, she is doing her job. But I also felt talked down to, with robotic half answers to my questions, and constantly having to figure things out for myself. We also realized, after studying the curriculum, that students don’t learn to not-drown until Level 4. I was very surprised that pool safety wasn’t taught right away. Overall, we'll miss it, but they need to drastically improve admin and customer service.

Craig Stangland: An amazing place for all ages of kids. This is not your typical “swim lessons”. Kids progress at their own pace after they have mastered certain skills. No mass instruction, very personalized. Highly recommend!

Nate Archbold: Great place for your little one to learn to swim and learn to be comfortable with being in the water!

Lisa Smith: The staff that run this building are unprofessional and nasty, Samantha. I would recommend you swim someplace else!

My Musicana: Positive:Communication,ProfessionalismThanks for all the help learning Free Style swimming. I feel I can swim for a longer distance now.

Kari Cox: The only complaint I have is the attendance policy. They require a 24hour notice for an absence but you can only call between 10-1 on the day OF that you want to do the make up. Isn’t more notice better than the day of? And if you miss the THREE HOUR window to call them they won’t let you book. If I know a week in advance that I’m going to miss a class but I can make another class I have to wait until THAT DAY to call. I should be able to cancel the same day then.

K M: My 2 year old has so much fun. Most, not all, but most instructors do a wonderful job and keep an ok pace. We've only had one instructor that kept a fantastic pace so that the kids could actually enjoy the activity. We had one pair who didn't even let every kid go down the slide and were honestly terrible, but we only had them once. The other half dozen times it was great. The pool is usually warmed too.

Josh Graber: If your looking for a great place that teaches swimming you found the right place! My kiddo loves it there. Staff is very nice!!

Cassi Hyland: Great place! I used to work there and loved how the company cares about each swimmer by the way they go out of their way to invest in each swimmer. Each staff member cares about each swimmer and their family. Nitro is an experience and is more then being your "basic" swim school. This is shown by the time and effort the staff gives to each swimmer. Nitro is one big family and a great place to learn how to swim!

Bree T: We have an amazing experience there at Nitro! Samantha, at the front desk is always polite, happy and helpful! She always puts a smile on my face. Great pricing and very personable staff!

Audrey Haiflich: AMAZING staff, and VERY good at what they do!! My daughter has been other places, and never seemed to catch on to swimming. Within the first month at Nitro she was swimming on her own! Thank you Nitro!! You guys are the Best!

Kayla Black: Edited- after two weeks of communication and a third week where we had given up, Nitro finally decided to refund our money. Thank you for correcting your mistake; however, it shouldn't take a negative review to do the right thing by your customers.My daughter attended Shephard's Swim School last summer. We loved it so much that we decided to give the new owners, Nitro, a chance. While we didn't have any issues with the manager or teachers at our location, the owners have some seriously flawed policies. If you read reviews from their other locations (i.e. Cedar Park where they're based out of in Texas), you will see that I am not the only one who has had issues.Due to a glitch from when I submitted my online withdrawal form (almost 3 weeks ahead of the deadline), I was still charged the $97 for the next month. I didn't know it failed to go through until my account was charged, and then I immediately called Nitro to get it figured out. The local manager tried extremely hard to straighten everything out; however, the owner refuses to budge and is basically stealing money from us. It is the most ridiculous thing I have ever had to deal with. I called to speak with the owner myself, and was told that I would receive a call back by the end of the day. That never happened. This is the absolute worst customer experience I have ever had to deal with. Now instead of just refunding our money, they are losing a customer for next summer. I had planned on enrolling my daughter again along with what will be her baby brother (due in November).The only issue I had with the "lessons" themselves was that there was no consistent scheduling. It would be much more effective for a child to have the same instructor week after week. After reading the reviews from the other locations, I can see that this is something the swim school does in general and is not necessarily this location's fault.The last thing I want to point out is that any reviews on here from a year ago or longer are referring to the previous swim school- Shephard's. It is very misleading for those great reviews to be representing a company that was not in the area at that time. They should be removed.

Aaron Black: Before I begin telling you my story of how Nitro Swim School stole $100 from my family, I implore you to read other reviews of Nitro locations across the US as the situation I am stating here is not an isolated incident. It has happened repeatedly without any change in the company’s policy. Now my story:My daughter swam at this location during the Summer of 2018 without problems. As other have stated reviewing other Nitro locations, they have a policy where if you do not withdraw by the 15th of the month prior to when you plan on leaving/discontinuing lessons you will be charged for the next month. Besides the fact that this seems (to quote another unhappy customer at their home location in Texas) "draconian" on their part, my wife and I understood this. Because my wife is a teacher and cannot keep bringing my daughter to swim lesson during the school year, she submitted a withdrawal form on the 27th of June while inquiring about the process to the staff on hand at the time. After my wife submitted the withdrawal form online, we went about our lives. Fast forward to July 20th, when a nearly $100 charge comes out of our account from Nitro. We immediately called the location to find out what happened. They claim that no submission was made for my family to withdraw for August.We politely request that they check whatever system logs those requests and contact us again. After several back and forth communications, we discover that we should have received an email that stated the submission was complete following a confirmation page after the initial submission. However, nowhere on the withdrawal form page does it state this information (at least at the time of this writing 7/25/18). Along with this information, Nitro has notes on their system regarding my wife’s inquiries about withdrawing my daughter from class and we provided them a history of my wife’s phone showing she accessed the withdrawal form on the date in question. No movement on their end; to quote a communication with them, “You say “It’s the principle of the thing” which I totally understand. However, please know that it is equally the principle of the thing for Nitro, as well. Nitro is a successful and growing company because of the way it has been handled thus far.”This leads me to several conclusions about their 15th of the month policy when money is drawn out against the customer’s wishes: First, they make an additional amount of money on customers who become disgruntled with this policy (much like we have) and do not attend the extra month, in effect giving Nitro a “donation” of whatever money was withdrawn. Second, customers extend their lessons with Nitro for an extra month because they already have their money and refuse to give it back. Either way, Nitro makes more money. If retaining customers was in a fact the goal, a partial refund option should be on the table (which I attempted to explore with management but to no avail), because you cannot tell me with a straight face that my whole payment goes toward business expenses. At least a portion of it must be pure profit for them to be a “successful” business. There would be a transaction cost component (pulling the money out of a customer’s account), a scheduling component (understanding how many students they will have), then a profit component. By refusing to refund any of our money, Nitro is effectively telling me, “We care more about this extra $100 going into our account than retaining you as a customer for the future.” This has been one of the most horrible customer service experiences I have had in my life and we will not be continuing our relationship with Nitro past this year.Also, similar to the other Google Reviewer, I should point out that all reviews before Anna Hockman’s below are for Shephard’s Swim School who previously owned this location NOT for Nitro. The actual “5-Star Review” of Nitro would be 2.5 stars taking the erroneously attributed reviews out of the equation.

Joe Gargery: No personal connection. Unfriendly policy & staff. Difficult registration. Kids shoved through checkbox curriculum so it seems they learn when they can’t really swim. Go to someone who cares about your family.

Joseph Kutianski: Great teachers at Nitro. Granddaughter has learned so much in a short time. Facility is clean and well kept.

Georgian Kutianski: I'm impressed how much my granddaughter has learned in the short time she's been training at Nitro. Nitro has great teachers and their results with the students are quickly visible. Keep up the good work.

Anna Hockman: Nitro bought out Shephards, and no longer allows families to pay and participate in Family Swim Night. You now have to be a registered member paying $80 a month, AND pay the family swim fee. Such a disappointment for our son after the long drive out here. No one was in family swim... sad to see that pool time go to waste.

Jennifer Ickes: Love it!

Seth D Sheridan: Whole family loves this place. Kids are learning to swim correctly in all strokes and having fun doing it. Comfortable area for parents to watch.

Melanie Rey: The difference is the teaching was effective. My kids went to another place in Fort Wayne for over a year and learned only to enjoy being in the water. When they went to Shepard's they actually learned to swim and quickly. The price difference was significant but the difference between the 2 was more significant. My daughter in 8 weeks was proficient in all strokes and was able to swim independently. I felt safe if she would fall in the water etc. Can't say enough good stuff about Shepard's.

Kerry Coyne: Great swimming venue but it is extremely hot for spectators. Actually almost unbearable. They just need to turn on ventilation system to get air moving. Pool is one of the best we have been to. Better than the Notre dame aquatic center by far. Staff very friendly also. This weekend ventilation working much more comfortable.

Joy Panagiotou: Enjoyed the City Swim meet!

Rose Quinn: The place was clean, the staff were polite, informative and personable. It is amazing there with plenty of room to swim or just practice for those who aren't good swimmers. Very much recommend if you haven't gone going! Thanks to all the helpful staff

Trinn Vicenti: Very nice and clean facility, helpful and friendly staff.

Dano: Nice pool!

Becky Bauermeister: Picked up granddaughter

Kathy Kincaid: So wow! I'm really impressed with the building and the staff. The staff is extremely helpful. The facility is top notch. It's amazing they can fit so many students in the pool for lessons. I love the setup. Parents and onlookers high above the pool and out of the way of the athletes. The carpeted covered concrete bleachers are actually not bad. I've been on wooden bleachers for shorter times and my butt would be hurting. Very roomy and quite comfortable in temperature.

Lewis Maria: Nice friendly staff. Very clean facility!!

Dave McComb: Top notch swim facility.

Dan Myers: Great place to swim!!!

Commander CODY: Smells like effort and determination.🏆

Jeff Corn: Awesome place. Could use more seating.

Cass Koenemann: I great place for kids to learn to swim. The instructors are excellent and helpful. Have been taking my kids for nearly a year now.

Shawn and Melinda Ambrose: I was there for a swim meet. Good view from the carpeted bench style stands.

J.J.: Children's swim class is extremely affordable and staff are amazing teachers. My toddler is learning so much in so few sessions. Just sign up early as the class fills quicky since word of this secret gem is out.

Scott Donaldson: Great place for a swim meet. Good seating, easy access to everything, clean environment.

Xander Tuttle: It was very good but It was dirty in a few places and the locker room was dirty but other than that is was good

Ron Rupnow: Great Natatorium, decent views for spectators, staff very courteous to event workers

Jen Fisher: Great facility and instructors. My son loves swimming!

fxhmi: I learn how to swim their and now I am a great swimmer

christina robey: Had a blast. Lots of fun things for the kids too do

Diane: Great price. Lots of things for kids to do. We had an awesome time. We will definitely be coming back!

NikkiSaMoneforever: We had a great time!!! The staff was very friendly and the facility was very clean. Will definitely be back!

Emily Skevington: Swimming lessons, free family fun (45 minutes), thank you!!

Jessica Harris: Had a great time.

Casey Wright: I Love this pool!!!!! I Love💗 Northside Pool🌊❤ 😎☀️ It is The Best❤ and has everything!!!! It has a pool, slides, a splash pad, diving board, and rock climbing wall. Plus, outdoor yard where you can lay out on the grass!!!! It is kept very clean here and the staff is very nice, kind, and friendly!!!! The bathrooms have showers, changing rokms/spaces, and bathroom. It is The Best here and gas everything!!!! Plus, there is a lot of space here which makes it nice and even better. This pool is better than Jury Pool because it has more and is less packed, Jury Pool is way too crowded!!!! Plus, I Love💗 how it is close to my house and has awesome pricing!!!! 💘

mari: Love love love this pool! It was very busy but the staff took their time to make sure everyone got in the order they came. The lessons are amazing too I used to take them and I now do competitive swim! Love the staff they are very cautious of the patrons in the pool and make sure everyone is being safe. I’ve gone to this pool for years and they never fail to amaze me.

Paris Armour: A great place to bring your kids to get wet when it's hot outside for the summer time

x: Swim lessons here are great. We have classes in other places take them over the years but here they truly focus on them. They teach very well and the kids learn faster that way. They have enough staff to almost count as private individual lessons.The 4 stars is due to the fact that the shower capabilities are very limited with so many kids taking classes and no place to put anything down, not even a single hook for clothes or any dry spot for that matter. There's no place to bring your showering equipment to lie down besides the floor.Another downside for me is the lack of locking options for the restrooms, a curtain just doesn't cut it when little kids open all the curtains when parents can't watch all their kids simultaneously. Imagine as a woman trying to change...And as someone else mentioned before, some more chairs would be great as many elderly people who come with grandkids etc want to be able to sit up besides the ground so that could truly be improved for a small investment with long lasting outcome.

Lisa Maydwell: A great playground with numerous pieces of equipment for children.

MOTOMAN: I have been going here for 5 years ..I took my family today and was everything but impressed they must have new life guards.the old lady is whistle happy and if you dare do anything but stand in the pool she will kick you out ..hands down will not be back I will take my family and money else where .do not waste your money

Bing Law: Great for small kids

Gloria Peters: clean, friendly. swim classes are awesome for kids!

Louberson Vilson: Sublime

Sami DeVries: We are taking summer lessons at north side pool from fort Wayne Parks & recreation. I'm really impressed with the classes! They are really focused on building skills in a fun, engaging way.

Deondra Steward: Late swim from 5-7 wasn't as crowded as you think. They even have a guy doing security! He does a great job and is polite to the swimmers.

CoconutofConfusion: Overall a good experience, long lines. To be expected

Cody Jerome: We go every summer . best time to go is wednesdays 7-9 not very busy !!

Kim Horstman: We enjoy the disability swim here. We are grateful this is offered at this beautiful pool. The staff is just as nice as could be.

Amy Haycox: Love this place! Always clean and professional.