“Derek is a great coach, very friendly, very patient with young kids, and flexible schedules. Just been to a couple of classes and I can definitely see a difference in our kids’ swimming. Totally recommend him. He is the best. You rock Derek.”

- Sravanthi Ravikishore

"Having had private swim lessons growing up and swimming on a swim team, I knew I wanted to offer this to my own children! The Browns came highly recommended from several trusted sources, so I reached out to check out the availability of having someone come to my house for lessons!

Derek was on time and prepared with games and has a GREAT tone and repertoire with kids! My kids instantly took to him and we eventually opened our pool up to friends to train with Derek! What I loved was that he could go from teaching my 3-year-old the basics of water safety and getting comfortable without floaties...to strokes lessons with my 6 and 9-year-old with ease! He has the perfect balance of fun and instruction. He spoke and they listened! It was refreshing!

I would absolutely refer anyone to Derek! I think my big kids became stronger swimmers through his instruction! If you are looking for a dependable, qualified instructor - you have found him!"

– Katie Flurry

"I knew I wanted my 4-year-old twins to learn how to swim this summer, but I wasn't sure where to start. Last summer we tried group swimming lessons through another instructor, and they hardly improved at all. I was so excited to find Derek and his reasonable pricing for one on one swimming lessons

From the first swimming lesson, I was blown away! Derek has such a positive personality and has a great way of speaking and interacting with kids. As a former elementary school teacher, I was extremely impressed with his ability to motivate my kids to do their best, and with all of the games he created to engage them in the basics of swimming. My kids, even my extremely reserved and shy 4-year-old, immediately LOVED coming to swim lessons with Derek. 

I am so thrilled with the progress my children made in just 10 lessons. At their first swim lesson, they didn't like having their face under the water, would hardly come off of the steps or wall, and had no confidence in their swimming ability. By lesson 10, Derek had them jumping into the pool, fully submerging themselves in the water, and swimming the width of the pool. Now, I can't get them out of the water!

If you are looking for amazing one-on-one instruction where your kids can learn to confidently swim in a fun and engaging way, Derek is it! We are already looking forward to furthering our skills next summer."

– Elizabeth Hoult

"We have been with Derek for the last two summers teaching my now 5 and 3-year-old boys to swim. From the beginning of last summer to today it’s been a complete transformation. My 5-year-old went from not being able to swim without floaties to now being on the local area swim team. My 3-year-old started off too scared to even get in the water to now loving it and getting more and more confident every day with how far he can swim on his own. Derek is extremely professional and has a fantastic attitude. He makes each lesson unique so the kids are always engaged and that they continue to grow and learn new things. I have and will continue to recommend Derek to anyone looking for a swim instructor."

- Shae M.

"I went to a party that Derek was lifeguarding at and noticed that he was very attentive to the kids and the adults were able to have fun so I asked my friend for his information to hire him. At our party, Derek went above and beyond by offering to help with the setup and cleaning up the pool toys and such afterward without even asking! I got raving reviews from the other parents about how comfortable they felt with him watching the kids and that they all felt like they were able to do whatever they wanted while feeling like their kids were safe.

I was able to have more fun at my own party and the other parents felt much more comfortable just hanging out and fraternizing as opposed to just watching their kids the whole time which is what always happens when your kids are as little as our youngest. I would definitely recommend Derek and have already told several of my friends about him! He was very easy to work with and the kids and parents both really seemed to like him. It was perfect!"

– Laurie Mottl