Level 1
Turtle
Comfortable getting in on their own. Can float, blow bubbles, and hold their breath underwater. This is the starting line, where every swimmer needs to be to begin.
How it works
A more organized way to learn to swim.
Most lessons drop your kid into a group and hope for the best. Here, every swimmer is assessed, placed, and given a real plan, then coached toward it, one stroke at a time.
The process
1
Reach out
Fill out a short form about your swimmer, their age, roughly where they are, and your pool's location. It goes straight to Allie, and she'll follow up to find a time. Prefer to talk now? Call the number at the top of the site.
2
The assessment
Every swimmer starts with a quick assessment, about 15 minutes and $25, and not a formal lesson. Allie meets your swimmer, sees them in the water, and gets a sense of where they're starting. Mostly it's to find out if it's a good fit, for your swimmer and for Allie. If Allie has coached your swimmer before, an assessment usually isn't needed.
3
A custom plan
From there, Allie sets a realistic goal your swimmer can work toward. There's no rigid curriculum; if your child wants to work on something specific, that's exactly what they'll work on.
4
Lessons that build
Each lesson builds on the last: kicking, then strokes, then technique, then the next stroke. Even a swimmer who starts barely able to cross the pool can build up to real freestyle, at the pace that’s right for them.
The skill ladder
Placed by skill, not by age.
An easygoing four-year-old can be further along than a nervous eight-year-old. I meet your swimmer where they actually are, and name each level for the water so kids get it instantly.
Level 2
Minnow
Kicks across the pool with a kickboard, face in the water. Starting to take their first strokes with the board for support.
Level 3
Fish
Freestyle without the board, hands out front, learning when to breathe and how to make each stroke efficient. Beginning backstroke.
Level 4
Dolphin
Solid freestyle and backstroke across the pool with good technique. Adding breaststroke and the basics of turns.
Level 5
Gator 🐊
Proficient in all four strokes, freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly, refining technique. The top of the ladder, and of what Allie coaches — a true Allie Gator. Beyond this is competitive training.
What Allie coaches
✓Water comfort & confidence
✓Floating, kicking & breath control
✓Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke & butterfly
✓Stroke technique & basic turns
✓Basic water safety
What she doesn't
–Teaching a terrified, first-time swimmer how to get in the water
–Out-of-water conditioning or written practice sets
–Elite competitive training and race preparation
Once a swimmer has clean technique in every stroke, the work becomes repetition and sets, that's a club coach's job, and Allie will happily point you toward one.
Is this a fit?
A little honesty up front.
Allie's job is to teach swimming, not to convince a frightened child to get in the pool. Forcing a scared kid can turn them off the water for good, and she won't do that to your child.
If your swimmer isn't quite ready yet, that's completely okay, they're welcome back the moment they are.
Before the first lesson, your swimmer should be able to:
No swimming skill required, just basic readiness.
✓
Get in on their own
When it's time, they get in, no convincing, no being carried in.
✓
Put their head under & hold their breath
Comfortable going underwater, even just briefly.
✓
Stay in without a meltdown
A little nervousness is fine, a full-on fit isn't productive for anyone.
What to have ready
Required
Goggles, normal swim goggles, not a scuba mask.
Required
A kickboard, the backbone of almost every early drill.
Helpful
Fins or flippers, especially for newer swimmers.
Skip it
Nose clips, best to learn to swim without one.
Availability & area
WhereYour pool, in your backyard
Service areaGranite Bay, Loomis, Folsom, Roseville & within a 10 to 15 minute drive of Allie's home
WhenMornings, 10:30am to 2:30pm
SeasonSummer, plus outside school hours during the school year, weather permitting
Group size1 to 3 swimmers, close in skill
SupervisionAt least one parent or guardian present at the home, every lesson
Start with an assessment.
Book an assessment and I'll figure out exactly where your swimmer is, and where they can go.
Book an Assessment