Swim Lessons
New Prague Area Community Education and the City of New Prague team up in offering SwimAmerica swimming lessons taught by certified SwimAmerica Instructor Coaches. Lessons are available for infants through adults. Call Community Education, at 952-758-1734, with questions.
All are welcome! Participants do not need to be members of the Fitness and Aquatic Center or New Prague residents to participant in our swim lesson program.
- Lifeguard Certification and SwimAmerica Lesson Instructor classes are offered several times each year.
- Lessons are offered year-round. Registration is available online (here).
Session and Registration Information
| Session | Session dates | Resident registration open | Non-resident registration opens |
| Summer | Jun 3-Aug 8, 2024 | Apr 8-10, 2024 | Apr 15, 2024 at 7 am |
| Fall | Aug 18-Oct 14, 2024 | Aug 5-7, 2024 | Aug 12, 2024 at 7 am |
| Winter-A | Oct 27-Dec 15, 2024 | Oct 7-9, 2024 | Oct 14, 2024 at 7 am |
| Winter-B | Jan 19-Mar 17, 2025 | Jan 6-8, 2025 | Jan 13, 2025 at 7 am |
| All registration times will begin at 7 am. Resident registration will close at 4 pm on Wednesday the week of priority registration. It will reopen at 7 am the following Monday for all families. | |||
🗓️ Summer 2024 Swimming Lesson Schedule
For this level, an instructor will lead parents and children through various activities to acclimate children to the water and teach them basic safety of being in and around the pool. Children must be between 6 months and 3 years to attend. Parents must be in the water with the children for this class. Children must wear a snug fitted swim diaper.
Must be at least six months of age, no skill prerequisites.
During this level students will work towards doing 10 successful bobs with rhythmic breathing. Swimmers will become comfortable getting their faces in the water and exhaling (blowing bubbles) underwater repeatedly. Parents may enter the water with their students for this level if they choose but are not recommended to. Children must be at least 3 years of age to register. Swimmers need to learn to be comfortable putting their faces in the water without goggles. Please no goggles in Level 1.
Children previously enrolled in RedCross Preschool A and Preschool B should register for Level 1 - Bubbles.
In Level 2 children will work towards floating and gliding independently on both their front and their back. Proper body position is the base that good swimming is build upon. Effective body position is the focus of this level. Swimmers will also be taught to roll over, float on their backs, and call for help in this level as a safety skill. Children must be at least 3 years of age to register. They also need to be able to comfortably do 10 bobs underwater with rhythmic breathing to enter this level.
Children previously enrolled in RedCross Preschool C and some children previously enrolled in Level 1 should register for Level 2 - Floating.
In this level children will learn how to position their bodies in the most efficient way, streamlined. They will also learn how to propel themselves with a strong kick. The advancement goals for this level are 15 feet of kicking on both the front and back. To register for this level, children must be able to do 10 relaxed bobs with rhythmic breathing and be able to float and glide independently on both the front and back. Typical ages for this level is 4-6 years old.
Children previously enrolled in Red Cross Level 1 should register for Level 3 - Kicking.
When in this level swimmers will incorporate both kicking with the legs and paddling with the arms to generate forward movement. A combination of sculling, crawl arms, and side-glide kicking will be used to help swimmers develop their skills. The advancement goals for this level are 20 ft of side glide kick and 20 ft of crawl stroke with no breathing. Children must be at least 5 years of age to register for Levels 4 and up. To register for this level, children must be able to float independently as well as kick at least 15 feet on the front and back in a streamline position.
Children previously enrolled in Red Cross Level 2 should Register for Level 4 - Crawl Stroke.
During this level, swimmers will practice the crawl stroke on the front with breathing as well and be introduced to the crawl stroke on the back. The advancement goals for this level are 30 ft of crawl stroke with at least 4 correct breaths. To register for this level, children must be able to do 15 ft of side-glide kicking as well as 15 ft of crawl stroke on the front with no breathing. Goggles are highly suggested at Level 5 and above. Swimmers with long hair are required to wear a swim cap beginning in Level 5 to keep their hair out of their face while learning rhythmic breathing.
Children previously enrolled in Red Cross Level 3 should register for Level 5 - Freestyle.
In Level 6 swimmers will continue to work on their freestyle(crawl) stroke. In addition, backstroke, treading water, and diving will be taught. The advancement goals for this class are to swim 75ft of freestyle, 30ft of backstroke, and tread water for 1 minute. Children who are at least age 6 and have passed SwimAmerica Level 6 are eligible to participate in Neptune Swim Club.
To participate in this level children must be able to swim 30 ft of crawl stroke independently with breathing or have passed SwimAmerica Level 5. Children previously enrolled in Red Cross Level 4 should register for Level 6 - Backstroke.
Level 7 - Breaststroke and Butterfly
The focus of Level 7 is to add the breaststroke and butterfly stroke to your swimmer’s skill set. Various drills will be used to aid swimmers in learning these 2 strokes. The advancement goals for this level are swimming 50 yards of freestyle, 25 yards of backstroke, and 20ft of breaststroke kick. To enroll in this level, swimmers must be able to swim 1 length of the pool with proper freestyle technique, swim 30ft of backstroke, and tread water for 1 minute or have passed SwimAmerica Level 6.
Children previously enrolled in Red Cross Level 5 should register for Level 7 - Breaststroke and Butterfly.
In Level 8, swimmers will refine all 4 competitive strokes. They will develop bilateral breathing with their freestyles. Swimmers will also be taught how to complete legal competitive turns for all 4 strokes. The advancement goals for level 8 are 100 yards of freestyle swim with at least 25 yards of bilateral breathing, 25 yards of breast stroke, and 30 ft of butterfly. To enroll in Level 8 swimmers must be able to swim multiple lengths of both freestyle and backstroke.
Children previously enrolled in Red Cross Level 6 should enroll in Level 8 - Turns.
Sidestroke and elementary backstroke will be introduced in this level. Swimmers will also work on building endurance in all strokes. The advancement goals for this level are 200 yards of freestyle with 50 yards of bilateral breathing, 25 yards of butterfly, 50 yards of breaststroke, 50 yards of elementary backstroke, and 50 yards of sidestroke. To enroll in this level, swimmers must be able to swim 100 yards of freestyle continuously. Swimmers should also be able to swim both butterfly and breaststroke before enrolling in Level 9 - Lifetime Strokes.
Children previously enrolled in Red Cross Level 6 can enroll in Level 9 - Lifetime Strokes.
During Level 10 all strokes will be refined, swimmers will also build significant endurance throughout this level. SwimAmerica defines a "swimmer" as someone who is able to complete level 10 advancement goals. This includes 300 yards of freestyle, 100 yards of backstroke, and a 100 yard individual medley. This definition is set because to complete 300 continuous yards, swimmers must have proper air exchange and sound technique.
Children who have completed Red Cross Level 6 or have passed SwimAmerica Level 9 - Lifetime Strokes may register for Level 10 - Individual Medley.
These lessons are intended for adults who are looking to learn to swim. We will tailor the lessons to your needs and current level. The private sessions will be 5 weeks/classes long and additional sessions can be taken to continue to build skills and confidence. The class will appear as full with a waiting list, but please use this link to register and then a staff member will reach out to you to confirm dates and times that work with you and the instructor.