We love all the programming at the YMCA - tennis clinic, swim lessons, Parent’s Night Out to name a few. The Child Watch staff are FANTASTIC! It’s such a support for our family.

Our instructor often arrived late to class & did not seem particularly interested in being there. This was our daughter's 1st swim lesson and important for setting the foundation for a lifetime of swimming. I would have expected more engagement and promptness. I'm a Y member and love the Y, but don't want my daughter to have a bad experience so I'm hesitant to enroll her again.

The aquatics program in the summer at the Thousand Oaks YMCA was not run very well in that there seemed to be no higher level supervision. We left several phone messages for Joshua and never heard back. And we had an incident that was pretty serious that we never got any response on. The young staff there were super nice to the kids, but they weren't very well trained to handle active little ones especially in the water. We got the sense that they were very well trained to swim but not very well trained to teach.They needed to be taught to be a bit more firm and direct and communicative with the children versus just kind of staying silent and looking at each other more than the kids. We will likely switch to another water class for our daughter next year.

The class/instructir did not really teach my son anything when it comes to being comfortable in the pool or swimming. Also, some of the teachers were not observant with the kids and I had to step in SEVERAL times to get my son out of the pool before his head went below water. Specifically, one teacher would turn her back towards the children in the water when they had no swim aids on - putting the children at risk (they could not swim or float on their own). 90% of classes I felt it was an unsafe environment for my son.

Activities include the entire family

My child really improved his swimming.

The swim coaches are very kind and professional. My son learned a lot and felt encouraged. I like how the coaches communicate with the parents/guardians after the class. I also want to note the cleanliness of the facilities and the easy access to changing rooms are a plus.

Arrived for what would have been our daughters first swim class and was told to wait on the side for instructor. No one came for ten minutes, we ended up just leaving, very unorganized.

We signed up for private swim lessons and on the day the lessons were set to start were informed that the series of classes was cancelled without explanation. It was frustrating as we had been trying to enroll our son in swim lessons and did not have an understanding as to why that was. We will look elsewhere, but it was odd.

More water exercise classes in the evening starting at 6 pm or later. This summer was disappointing with water classes for evening hours.

Pertaining to Swim lessons only. This is my toddler's 3rd month in a row in swim lessons and it has been the same curriculum every month. The instructor is great, however since the infants are all categorized together for under 3, the lesson is the same for all the infants regardless of experience or age. I believe ultimately it can hold back those more advanced in the class versus the first timers or beginners. I wish the YMCA offered different level lessons for this age group.

The instructor was very good and worked diligently with my children. The issues to improve, were class cancellations. The first time class was cancelled was removal of the Mon-Wed class and moved to Tue-Thurs. Then pool closures caused missed classes on Tues, and will remain to be seen if Thurs is cancelled as well. This has cause several other disruptions to the planned schedules of other activities. The best way to improve would be: To not wait until the last moment to cancel classes.

The instructors were about 5 minutes late getting our children. Last year was much more organized.

My son has taken two years of swimming lessons through the YMCA, and we've mostly had positive experiences. Last summer, we did group lessons out in Schertz, and it was particularly great. This summer at the Thousand Oaks location, however, our experience was mixed. Coming into the summer, my son had decent basic swimming skills but only knew one stroke, and his stamina was limited. He had graduated from Stage 3 last summer, so I wanted him in group lessons for Stages 4 and 5. We live in Stone Oak, and I really didn't want to drive out to Schertz again. When I saw that the Thousand Oaks location did not offer group lessons at Stages 4 and 5, I contacted the aquatics director for guidance. He recommended either enrolling at a different location that offered them or taking two weeks of private lessons. We chose the private lesson route. The first week started well—my son's initial instructor was an excellent fit for him. Unfortunately, that instructor went on vacation midweek and was replaced with another teacher. The lack of continuity impacted his progress significantly. He had bonded well with the first instructor, and the switch disrupted his momentum. When my son developed an ear infection toward the end of the first week, I reached out multiple times (via email, phone messages, and even in person at the pool) to reschedule lessons. Unfortunately, I never received a response from the aquatics director. Ultimately, the front desk staff helped reschedule, but they could not place my son back with his original instructor. For the second set of lessons, my son was assigned a new instructor who was competent but socially awkward and very blunt. After the first lesson, she asked, "What is it that you're expecting out of these lessons? He already knows how to swim." While I understand the importance of clarifying goals, the delivery felt abrupt. I explained that I wanted him to learn the skills in Stages 4 and 5. She seemed unfamiliar with the stage requirements, so I pulled them up on my phone and read them aloud in what I hoped was a kind, patient tone. She listened, but I felt as though my input was not particularly welcome. She did work with my son for the remainder of the week, and I honestly believe she tried her best. However, his progress was only "okay," which was disappointing given the higher cost of private lessons compared to group sessions. My son can now swim and has better stamina, which I'm grateful for. However, this summer's experience has left me unsure whether we will return for more lessons at the Y. I would still recommend the YMCA to others, but I would caution that the quality of the experience depends heavily on the assigned instructor and whether there is consistency throughout the lesson series. In sum, my suggestions for improvement are the following: 1) ensure continuity of instructors for the duration of a session whenever possible; 2) improve communication and responsiveness from the aquatics director; and 3) provide instructors with clear awareness of stage-level goals and expectations.

My child enjoyed the lessons and demonstrated that he retained the knowledge he learned.

The instructors did a great job with the kids. The pool is very well maintained. It would be nice if the pool hours were updated on the website to match what they have on the door.

The instructors are wonderful!

I paid for my son private swimming classes 3 month ago and the same day for the clasd I received a call from YMCA at thousands Oak saying they the classes were canceled due to inavalibalty of swimming instructors and I will get a refund for my money $160 . I did not receive my refund till now and it's been 2 weeks. Why?!@

We have used the Y for swimming lessons now for 2 years and overall, we really like it. I did want to provide one bit of information though in hopes it will help other parents. We signed our son up for 2 weeks' worth of private swimming lessons this year because he had phased out of what was offered at our location. Unfortunately, towards the end of the first week's lessons, he developed an ear infection, needed medication, and the doctor advised him not to swim for a week. The problem though was that we could not get the aquatics director at the Thousand Oaks location to call us back once this happened. We tried to call him multiple times to see if we could reschedule the lessons and left multiple messages. He never did call us back, so we ended up going to the front desk at the Thousand Oaks YMCA location, and someone at the desk did help us reschedule. Perhaps you could let families know who to contact if an emergency occurs during the week of swim lessons and rescheduling is needed (just to make things smoother)?

Everyone was extremely friendly. However, I am a 70 year old woman learning how to swim, because my whole life I was afraid of water. My instructor Maddie was very polite, nice, friendly and patient with me. She was very professional. I could use more lessons, but at $160.00 for 4 days gets very expensive.

There are a good amount of classes and student to "teacher/coach" ratio is low and we appreciate that. The coaches are friendly and speak to the students so they understand and not belittle. Our children have attended for several years and we continue to return because of the schedules, coaches and fees.

The lessons were excellent, my daughter learned well and had a lot of fun. The staff is super helpful and flexible and showed that they genuinely care.

We liked the organization and ease in registering. We were impressed with the friendliness and professionalism of all the staff, both front desk and swim instructors. We were delighted in the progress our grandchildren made in their swimming. We highly recommend the Thousand Oaks YMCA.

It was not really an all level class. The instructor did not vary the instructions for children that couldn't do all of the tasks. I would appreciate a beginner level class for four year olds. With no cut off at 2. Not everyone has access to a pool early in life.

Swim lessons are great. Our kids love the fit kid classes.

Thank you -- cannot recommend. the teacher red the lessons and did not have a good grasp on how to teach the classes. She is a very nice but the expertise just was not there.

Two of the four swim classes were canceled due to weather, and no offer for making them up was made.

The instructor was late three out of four times, was unprepared with materials for class (kept having to go get things throughout the session), and did not know how to engage in an age-appropriate way with children under two (asked complex questions, expected them to follow directions right away).

There was no communication leading up to the classes to know what to expect. My child is afraid to swim and I don't think these lessons were meant for my child. There was a large variety of swimming/comfort levels so many of the kids were moving on and actually already swimming when my kid wasn't able to practice the more basic skills.

In regard to Swim lessons, felt a bit chaotic, had different instructor each day with no consistency, varied ability in what was suppose to be a stage II class and my daughter was skipped/left behind when unable to do what the other kids were doing, we downgraded stages (to a stage I) and Ymca was very accommodating in giving 2 make up classes in which she did well and was told that she was ready for stage 2, going to try stage 2 in the coming weeks, hoping for a better outcome, more consistent and welcoming instructor and a more acclimated swimmer in my daughter this next go round :)

Swimming

Nice

Love the young ladies helping my son learn to swim. Juliana, has patience and took her time. We are scheduled for lessons again and I hoping to have her there.

Maddie was very patient and friendly and helped overcome my fear of water. Very good instruction

Our kids really enjoy kid fit. We do wish there was a class for the younger age range who worked out like a PE setting. There seems to be a few 3-5 year olds who are interested in their older siblings kid fit class.

Great experience with swim lessons for my 4 yo and 2 yo boys

My child love it

Good communication and feedback, kind and patient with my kids. Cassie, Audrey and Hailey have been wonderful.

I love The Thousand Oaks location! The temperature of the pool is perfect! My kids love the water slides too. We participated in three water safety classes in August of this year. I really loved one of the instructors. She was very thorough in her instruction and feedback on how my kids and I could improve our swimming form. I loved that the safety in water classes were free. With this extreme inflation, We have been struggling financially and the free lessons for my kids were so helpful because it's so important that kids know how to be safe in the water! Thank you so much for remembering the families who are struggling financially and giving them the opportunity to keep their kids safe in the water! Thank you! Thank you!

The life Gaurd worked well with my children and the staff where avle to get us I the class so we dudbt miss it.

We have 3 swim instructors during the 4 week swim lessons. Every inconsistente with the instructor. This was our first time doing swim lessons at Thousand Oaks swimming pool. We had a better experienced at the Schertz YMCA. They got a metal and a certificate for their accomplishment. My daughter was bum to not get any recognition and just be told "you did great!"

I like the way the instructor talks with the pupils during lessons!

We love the family friendly feel and the affordable swim lessons available for school aged children.

Very pleased with the staff. Kasandra was patient and very encouraging to all of the students. It really built up our student's confidence and she made significant progress in a very short time.

The variety of times and options for lessons was great this year. The instructors are all very patient, kind and attentive to the kids. My son progressed immensely with his instructor Haley and he said she was a great instructor.

Reasonable distance to where we live. Friendly instructors Nice facility

Very organized and helpful staff

Teachers

Started with free water safety but was so impressed with the instructors that I immediately signed my 4 yr old daughter for lessons.

I like the private adult swim lessons at the YMCA. I believe it's for age 14 and up. It was perfect for my 16-yr-old autistic nonverbal son. The instructor, Addi, right from the start was a joy, very willing, and very patient. My son loved going. Thank you.