Swim Classes in Charlotte, NC

Little Otter Swim School, Charlotte:
Little Otter Swim School in Charlotte provides families with an alternative to “typical” swim lessons. We proudly provide year-round, small group instruction to children in our warm indoor swimming pool where parents can watch their child’s progress from the comfortable viewing gallery. Our instructors are experienced caring professionals who have a passion for teaching swimming and water safety.

Which Class is Right for my Child?
Let us help you find the right class for your child. That is the first step in registering for swimming at Little Otter Swim School. We divide our classes according to age and according to ability. After we decide on a level then we can start looking for a day and time that fits your schedule.

Baby & Toddler Classes:

Otter Baby Parent and Child Classes (6 to 36 months):
If your child is between 6 months and 18 months old, then child would be in the Otter Baby 1 class.

Otter Baby II Classes (6 to 36 months):
If your child is between 19 months and 36 months old, then your child would be in the Otter Baby 2 class.

Otter Baby III (with parent):
Otter Baby III is for fearless toddlers and their parent. After establishing at 7 second breath count, comfort with both teacher and parent, and a few independent safety skills, our most advanced 2 year olds are invited into this level.

Little Otter (parent is not in the water):
The Little Otter class is designed to get the maximum distance and swim techniques from our most advanced toddlers. We utilize games, songs, and successful teaching methods to increase their comfort level in the water so that swimming is fun as well as productive. We combine our Otter Baby curriculum with elements of our more advanced levels to facilitate a fun and productive class. The student to teacher ratio in Litte Otter classes is 2 students to 1 instructor and the parent is not in the water. Because the parent is not in the water, this class offers a different class dynamic as compared to the Otter Baby III.


Beginner and Intermediate Classes:

3 Year Olds:
Our 3 year olds are in Starfish classes. Beginners are Shiny Starfish. Intermediates are Silver Starfish and our most advanced 3 year olds are Super Starfish.

4 and 5 year olds:
4 and 5 year olds progress from our Rosie Red Fish classes for our beginners and after they are comfortable in the water and start to move through the water they are promoted to the Purple Parrotfish classes. These classes take a child from having no skill to being able to swim across the pool and get a breath by rolling to thier back and continuing to swim. These classes still use themes to engage children the their journey of learning to swim.

6 Years and Older:
The beginner class for the 6 and older children is the Yippy Yellow Tang and they progress to the Golly Green Guppy. Our background is in early childhood development and we feel it is important to work with the older children in a seperate group.  An older child may not like being the class with younger children and they also possess more mature motor skills so these children when they get over any initial anxiety tend to progress quickly.


Advanced Classes:

Dashing Dolphins - 5 years old & up:
This level transitions students from safety swimming with the rollover breath to competitive beginner freestyle techniques. The gross motor skills of our students in this level are challenged (especially for our younger students) as they must maintain simultaneous movements of head, arms, and legs. Proper breath control technique is stressed as these students move into building endurance. Technical breakdown of the freestyle stroke also begins at this level.

Blazing Barracudas - 6 years old & up:
Blazing Barracudas transition the unilateral side breathing learned in the Dashing Dolphin level into the traditional freestyle stroke, which is bilateral side breathing to both sides. In addition to refining freestyle technique, our teachers continue to build the endurance of their students. Also, the Elementary Backstroke is taught from start to finish in this level. This stroke is a safety stroke rather than a competitive stroke, but is essential if ever caught in an open water situation.

Mighty Makos- 7 years old & up:
The Mighty Mako class extends the swim distance to laps of the entire length of the pool (75 feet). Freestyle endurance is built as students learn to maintain their stroke technique as the tire. The breaststroke is taught from start to finish in this level. In addition to stroke technique, freestyle and breaststroke starts and turns and speed techniques are introduced.

Speedy Stingrays - 7 years old & up:
This class introduces the two remaining strokes into our curriculum, backstroke and butterfly. Though back kicks have been introduced in previous levels, backstroke arms are taught and butterfly is taught from start to finish. Not only is stroke technique emphasized, but endurance is stressed as the students begin medley swims involving all four strokes. Though freestyle and breaststroke have been taught in previous levels, those strokes are still practiced within this level.

Super Otter - 8 years old & up:
As our most advanced level, Super Otters work on the mastery of all four competitive strokes: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. Lung capacity and muscle strength are increased as these students combine consistent laps of swimming all four strokes. We utilize drills similar to swim team workouts to increase correct stroke techniques and endurance. Starts, turns, speed techniques, and endurance are the focus of this level.

Developmental Swim Team:
A seasonal addition to the Little Otter schedule, the developmental team has more focus on stroke technique, speed, and endurance than our normal swim lessons. It is run in a team-like atmosphere, with 4 coaches instructing an entire pool.