Woodcroft Pool Swim Lessons

Since it is about 8 million degrees outside, we certainly don't want to be outside right now unless we're in the water.  So, we thought we'd tell you about another way that we beat the heat this summer.

What it is: Woodcroft Club is a membership swimming, tennis, and fitness club located in the Woodcroft neighborhood in S. Durham.  While membership is expensive and they don't allow people without memberships to come unless they are the guest of a member, there is another way to enjoy the fun at Woodcroft.

Woodcroft offers swim lessons both group and private, and you don't have to be a member to go.  My son took lessons during the first group lessons session in June.  He was in the beginners class for 3 and 4 year olds.  For the kids that age, classes are 30 minutes long while they are 45 minutes for the older and more experienced children.  The lessons run 4 days a week for two weeks in either the morning or afternoon.  In our group there were 4 other children besides my son.  Over the course of the two weeks they worked on kicking, blowing bubbles, integrating these skills while swimming with the teacher, and putting their head underwater.  The highlight of the lesson for all of the kiddos was definitely their trip down the twisty slide with the teacher at the end of the lesson.  It's a unique feature to Woodcroft that the kids really enjoy.

What we liked: We loved the pool facility.  They had a great section for the kiddos, topped off by the fabulous slide.  It is also nice that they offer five different lesson sessions over the course of the summer so you have lots of options.  With lessons everyday it is a great way to get kids comfortable in the water.  As a result of the lessons, my son had a ball on our recent beach trip and was much more daring in the ocean and pool.  Plus, because my son was in the lessons, I could pay a guest fee and stay with my son after the lessons for some fun time in the pool.  That option isn't available to nonmembers who aren't in swim lessons.  In addition to learning valuable swimming skills, lessons can also give you the chance to check out the pool facilities to see if you would like to make the investment to become a member.  There's also a great little playground right next to the pool, so you can head over there after you're done swimming.

What we would change: We had several different instructors during our lesson time because of a scheduling conflict and we noticed that there can be variation in the quality of the teachers.  They are all good, but some are great and that can make a different with the kiddos.  In addition, since we had the earliest lesson in the day, the lifeguards were not in their seats yet, so it was imperative that we kept an eye on our own kids.  They didn't always stay on the steps as instructed during the other children's turn with the instructor, so there was always the chance that they could fall in or otherwise get in trouble.

Website and other important information: 

Website: http://www.woodcroftclub.org/

Address: 1203 Woodcroft Parkway, Durham, NC 27713

Phone Number: (919) 489-7705

Fees: Lessons are $60 for members and $80 for nonmembers

Photos: 

(A view of the kids area and awesome slide)

(the rest of the pool)