Evo Swim School

Miss Addison started at EVO, as an Otter, when she was just 2 1/2 years old.

Below is her success story (narrated by her Mother):

“I was very nervous for Addison on that day because at that age she didn’t like men at all. Coach Bryn was amazing with her. She quickly graduated that Otter level, and several other levels.

At 6 years old she has graduated the top lessons level Dolphin and is now eligible for the swim team!

Coach Bryn has been with her every step of the way along with Coach Ashley and Coach Nick who are all so proud of her.

Thank you EVO for your outstanding swim program and the talented coaches you have!”

EVO Swim School would like to take this opportunity to highlight one of our exceptional little swimmers.

Adele Miller, Age 2, has been swimming at EVO since July 2013. In a very short span of time, Miss Adele has grown into a confident and strong swimmer. She recently had a “Real Life” event happen over this past Memorial Day weekend which we would love to share with everyone.

Below is the first hand account from her mother Mrs. Charissa Miller:

“I will tell you all that I am very very encouraged to see her lessons have worked and stuck with her and am very relieved, because what could have been very scary, ended up being a very proud moment.

The story:
We finally got to get in the water this year during our family’s Memorial Day get together. We were eating outside and the kids were sitting on the pool deck playing and talking. Addie was playing with the pool noodles and decided to toss one into the pool. She fell in attempting to retrieve it. I didn’t see her fall, but I heard her hit the water from my seat about 10 feet away. I immediately got up and got to the pool within seconds, but by time I actually got to the edge Addie had come up, taken a breath on her back, rolled onto her belly, kicked a couple feet to the wall and was reaching up to grab the edge of the pool. I got to her right as her fingers closed over the edge and pulled her out. She was upset and obviously scared, but she wasn’t panicked.

She was back in the pool with the family within a half hour kicking around and having a blast.

When I saw her grab the wall, I thought back to her parent-tot lessons where we emphasized reaching and grabbing the wall from just a year old, the survival skill she had to master of getting onto her back when dropped in the water while an Otter, and that she is strong enough to kick several feet on her own as a Seal. I know she has practiced these skills over and over again and she went into them without a thought – it was instinct and while we had several adults that could get to her quickly on Monday it is so reassuring to know that she has these skills and they are only getting stronger as she continues her lessons. She turns 3 tomorrow, so this was my 2 year old with life saving skills — that is nothing short of amazing.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I am more than impressed with EVO Swim School and how well my girls are swimming – a nearly independent 2 year old and a 5 year old on swim team. We love EVO and all of the instructors and look forward to many more successes in the future.”

EVO Swim School would like to take this opportunity to highlight one of our long time students.

Miss Samantha Powers, Age 4, has been swimming at EVO Swim School since 2010-11. She began in our Parent/Tot class and is now a Porpoise.

She has progressed quickly and become a very proficient swimmer.
We recently took a moment to ask Samantha a few questions about her time here at EVO and what she loves about swimming:

Q: What do you like most about swimming?
A: “It makes me feel like a mermaid.”

Q: What do you like most about EVO Swim School?
A: “The stickers!”

Q: If you had to describe EVO Swim School using one word, what would you say?
A: “FUN!”

Q: Who are some of your favorite instructors?
A: “All of them!”

We also took a moment to ask Miss Samantha Power’s Parents a couple of questions about their time at EVO Swim School:

Q: What do you like most about EVO Swim School?
A: We used to call David “the baby whisperer.” He has such a natural knack with the kids! We were afraid that the other instructors could not possibly measure up after seeing David’s effortless style and immediate results, but we were very pleasantly surprised. Every one of Samantha’s instructors has exceeded our expectations. It is such a pleasure to watch them interact with the kids and to see the kids having fun while learning how to swim and be safe in the water.

Q: What are you most proud of regarding your daughter in relation to swimming at EVO Swim School?
A: Samantha was jumping off a diving board without fear when she was just 2. Most kids love to play in the water, but people are always amazed when they see her actually swim the length of a pool without stopping. Samantha has always been a natural in the water, and EVO has taught her the skills to safely harness that energy while still having fun!

Q: Do you see/does Samantha strive to go to the Olympics one day for Swimming?
A: It would not surprise us one bit to see her pursue that goal based on the way she stared at the TV during the Olympics, then told us she was “swimming wike My-koo Phewps” the next day!

EVO Swim School would like to take this opportunity to highlight one of our long-time students.

Miss Rhyan Denney, Age 5, has been swimming at EVO Swim School since August 2008. She began in our Parent/Tot class and is now a Dolphin.

She has progressed and become a very proficient swimmer. We recently took a moment to ask Rhyan a few questions about her time here at EVO and what she loves about swimming:

Q: What do you like most about swimming?
A: I like swimming like a butterfly & doing the backstroke. She also enjoys diving for rings at the bottom of the pool.

Q: What do you like most about EVO Swim School?
A: Going down the slide & getting a sticker at the end of lessons

Q: If you had to describe EVO Swim School using one word, what would you say?
A: FUN!!!!

Q: Who are some of your favorite instructors?
A: John, Kelly, and Bryn….but she loves everyone at EVO of course

We also took a moment to ask Miss Rhyan Denney’s Parents a couple of questions about their time at EVO Swim School:

Q: What do you like most about EVO Swim School?
A: The instructors are great and the indoor pool is great too!

Q: What are you most proud of regarding your daughter in relation to swimming at EVO Swim School?
A: It’s amazing to watch Rhyan swim. She has really learned the strokes and couldn’t have done that without her instructors and the patience they have with the kids. She can swim strokes that we haven’t ever learned to swim ourselves. We are so very proud of her. We feel comfort around water knowing she can swim.

Rhyan says that she might like to be a participant in the Olympics someday because she thinks she swims fast. We are rooting you on Rhyan and we hope to be a part of your continued success for years to come.

The Arizona Department of Health Services has released their annual report for 2009 water-related incidents in Maricopa County.

While progress is being made on the number of drowning each year, one is too many. In 2009 Children 0-4 years of age accounted for 59 of the 103 serious water related incidents, 47 of which occurred in swimming pools. Of the 59 young children, 14 are known to have died (10 due to incidents occurring in pools). We would encourage all parents to read pages 3, 8, 9 & 10 of this report.

We don’t believe in using scare tactics to drive business, but these statics speaks for themselves. Our customers will tell you, we have the very best instruction for children ages 1 – 4 years old.

We also don’t believe in calling any child “water safe”. This would give parents a false sense of security when all children should be supervised around water no matter the conditions. However, our little ones actually swim! We don’t waste time with games or less aggressive teaching techniques. We get down to business and our young students actually learn to swim!

Ava started in our parent-tot class and was fearful and crying for many of her first few lessons. We stuck to it, helped Ava overcame her fears and she progressed very quickly. Now she is swimming across the pool without assistance at 2 years, 9 months of age. We are proud of her!

Jeanine, Ava’s mom had this to say…
I am so amazed and grateful for the progress Ava has shown.  She started lessons at just barely two years old, and quite fearful of the water.  The instructors at EVO are first class and the reason that we didn’t give up.  Although at times it seemed as though she would never get through a lesson in Starfish (parent-tot) without crying, the EVO instructors were always calm and reassuring, while still helping her gain skill.  After months of perseverance, and letting Ava set her own pace, she turned a corner and seems to have left any fears behind.  After only a few months in the Otter class with Jennifer, she is now in Seal and loving her swim lessons each week.  Instead of “no swim” with tears, I now hear “yeah, swim class!”  I can’t tell you how proud I was the first time I saw her go from one end of the pool to the other all on her own.  She is doing amazing things at only 2 years old because of the EVO staff.  Thank you so very much.

Dillon started taking lessons with his mom started in our parent-tot class close to 1.5 years age and now can display total independence in the water.  He is another great example of what a consistent approach combined with great instruction can do for young kids in our program.

Jason, Dillon’s dad, had this to say…“We originally enrolled Dillon at Evo with a concern for his safety since we had numerous family and friends with swimming pools and we own a boat.  Working with Jennifer, Dillon met our original expectations of being able to float, tread water and safely reach the edge of the pool sooner than we expected.  I can also say I honestly didn’t expect to see Dillon cross the entire length of the pool with full arm strokes and no coaching at three years old but with Lorraine’s training, that is what he did Tuesday.

I have been impressed with the instructors understanding of the different personalities and the different approaches required for the individual children.  I have watched children begin their program and cry the entire class but eventually become relaxed with their surroundings because of the extra attention given by the instructor.  Other children, one in particular that I know, can get too comfortable with their surrounding and require a different form of “extra attention” which is also handled very professionally by the instructors. We have been very pleased with Evo Swim School and the progress that Dillon has made.”

Christopher is one of our special needs students. He came to EVO Swim School for swimming lessons one year ago. After an evaluation we had no problem putting him in a regular group lesson and welcomed the challenge of teaching him just like any of our other students. Christopher’s spirit of determination made it easy for us to move him through our Otter, Seal, and Sea Lion class levels within one year.  He has worked hard and we are proud of him.

Anne, Christopher’s mom, had this to say…“Christopher was born prematurely at 25 weeks.  He weighed 1lb 12oz and was 13 inches long.  In the NICU he had multiple surgeries for PDA, NEC and his eyes.  He had a trach (tracheotomy) until he was 4 and was medically fragile until he was 5 (including recuperation from multiple surgeries to have the trach removed by taking out an inch of his trachea and sewing the two pieces back together again).  Christopher has fine and gross motor delays, severe oral motor/speech delay, a G-tube and may fall somewhere on the Autism spectrum but alll we know is that he is the cutest little guy in the world!  He’s the one you’ll see smiling away with his instructor, “Miss Lorraine”.

You’d think that going in the pool (he never went in or near large bodies of water until he was 4 due to the trach) would be a scary thing for him but Christopher loves the water.  He can do alot of things in the water that his body won’t let him do on land.  We are doing some CCDT (futuresunlimited.com) therapy with him and the pool water is great for his sensory system.  The most calm/organized times we’ve ever seen Christopher experience are those when he’s floating in the pool on his back.

EVO Swim School has worked with Christopher for 1 year now and they have shown the firm guidance with compassion that Christopher requires.  They have listened to his parents and learned how best to work with Christopher so that he can give his very best.  He loves the praise that EVO is good about giving the kids.”

Olivia started her lessons when she was 2 and a half years old. The videos below were taken just before her 3rd birthday and display her independence in the water after taking a solid six months of lessons. She cried through her first 2 or 3 lessons but caught on quickly as you will see in the video below.

Karin, Olivia’s mom, had this to say…“I wanted to express my enthusiasm in having Olivia enrolled at EVO Swim School.  As a first time Mom, I researched every swim school in the east valley -literally- looking for the right mix of fun and structure. We tried a few of the well known schools, the results were disastrous. With the constant chaos of kids screaming and instructors yelling, forget learning to swim, she would no longer even get in the pool. About to give up, I learned EVO had opened and, after only 2 or 3 lessons (she had to learn to trust again) I saw a marked improvement not only in her level of swimming, but most importantly in her confidence and overall desire to learn. Understated, she simply can’t wait until her next lesson! EVO Swim School is a first-rate operation. From its hands-on owner who clearly cares about making a difference, to the hand-picked teachers who treat each child like they were family, the beautifully designed pool/viewing room and the progress blogs – all carefully designed to help each child develop a life-long love of swimming. I can’t wait for my newborn twins to begin classes! Now isn’t that what it’s all about?”

Andrew is a 3 year old who has displayed exceptional swimming ability for his age. He has outstanding use of his arms and he is seen here swimming in our third lesson level (Sea Lion class). Check out his freestyle “big arms”.

Beth, Andrew’s mom, had this to say…“We love EVO and the top -notch instruction that our kids receive there. Andrew has so much fun, loves the teachers, and has learned so much. We couldn’t believe it the first time we saw him do freestyle and backstroke – he was only 3 years old! It is exciting to see what he has accomplished at such a young age under the instruction of highly qualified teachers. It’s amazing to watch him grow. We owe it all to EVO Swim School.”