Swim With Ezra · San Leandro
Lessons
About My Lessons
Personalized instruction in a comfortable environment.
Private, one-on-one lessons focus on water safety, confidence, and swimming skills.
Ezra brings several years of swim-instruction experience with children and swimmers of different ages, abilities, and learning styles.
Who Private Lessons Are For
Lessons primarily serve children age four and older who are beginning to swim or developing their skills. Readiness involves more than age: comfort in the water, ability to follow basic safety directions, attention span, and previous experience all help guide the conversation.
Beginner Swimmers
A first focus may be feeling comfortable in the water, blowing bubbles, floating, kicking, and returning to the wall.
Developing Swimmers
Swimmers who already have some comfort and basic skills may work on freestyle, side breathing, backstroke, stroke coordination, or endurance.
Lesson options
Private lessons shaped around your swimmer's needs.
Private 30-Minute Lesson
A focused one-on-one lesson for younger swimmers, beginners, and students working on specific foundational skills.
A shorter session can help keep practice manageable while the swimmer builds focus and comfort.
Private 60-Minute Lesson
An extended lesson for older swimmers, swimmers with greater endurance, or students who want additional practice time.
More time allows room to revisit several skills; it is not a promise of faster progress.
View pricing and monthly payment details.
A guide to your swimmer’s progression
Swim With Ezra Skill Levels
Every swimmer progresses differently. These levels are used as a guide to help instructors and families understand a swimmer’s current skills and what they may work toward next. A swimmer does not need to perform every skill perfectly before beginning skills from the next level.
These are Swim With Ezra’s own skill levels, not an official American Red Cross program.
Level 1Sea Star
Water Confidence
For swimmers who are new to lessons or still becoming comfortable in the water.
Key skills
- Comfortable pool entry and exit
- Putting face and eyes in the water
- Assisted front and back floats
- Holding onto the wall
- Returning to the wall with assistance
View all skills for Sea Star
- Comfortable pool entry and exit
- Putting face and eyes in the water
- Blowing bubbles
- Assisted front and back floats
- Basic kicking
- Holding onto the wall
- Returning to the wall with assistance
- Beginning short independent movement through the water
Goal
Build comfort, trust, and basic independence in the water.
Level 2Jellyfish
Aquatic Foundations
For swimmers who are becoming more comfortable and beginning to move with less support.
Key skills
- More independent front and back floating
- Stronger and more consistent kicking
- Short independent swims
- Returning to the wall
- Rolling onto the back when appropriate
View all skills for Jellyfish
- More independent front and back floating
- Gliding
- Stronger and more consistent kicking
- Changing from front to back
- Short independent swims
- Returning to the wall
- Beginning arm movements
- Rolling onto the back when appropriate
Goal
Develop body control, floating, kicking, and basic independent movement.
Level 3Sea Turtle
Stroke Starter
For swimmers who can move independently and are beginning to learn recognizable swimming strokes.
Key skills
- Freestyle arm movement
- Backstroke basics
- Introduction to side breathing
- Treading water basics
- Stronger awareness of how to return to the wall or support
View all skills for Sea Turtle
- Streamline and push-offs
- Freestyle arm movement
- Freestyle kicking
- Backstroke basics
- Introduction to side breathing
- Coordinating arms and legs
- Treading water basics
- Swimming longer independent distances
- Stronger awareness of how to return to the wall or support
Goal
Begin connecting foundational skills into early freestyle and backstroke.
Level 4Otter
Stroke Builder
For swimmers who understand the basics of freestyle and backstroke and are working on better coordination.
Key skills
- Freestyle with more consistent side breathing
- Improved backstroke
- Breaststroke kick introduction
- Treading water
- Longer swimming distances
View all skills for Otter
- Freestyle with more consistent side breathing
- Improved backstroke
- Better body position
- Stronger and more consistent kicking
- Breaststroke kick introduction
- Breaststroke arm movement introduction
- Treading water
- Longer swimming distances
- More controlled push-offs and starts
Goal
Build smoother, more coordinated strokes and improve swimming endurance.
Level 5Seal
Stroke Refinement
For swimmers who already know the main strokes and are working on improving technique and consistency.
Key skills
- Smoother freestyle technique
- Improved backstroke timing
- Breaststroke timing and coordination
- Maintaining technique over longer distances
- Appropriate diving or water-entry skills when suitable for the swimmer and pool environment
View all skills for Seal
- Smoother freestyle technique
- More consistent breathing
- Improved backstroke timing
- Breaststroke timing and coordination
- More efficient body position
- Better stroke rhythm
- Increased endurance
- Maintaining technique over longer distances
- Appropriate diving or water-entry skills when suitable for the swimmer and pool environment
Goal
Improve efficiency, coordination, and consistency across multiple strokes.
Level 6Shark
Advanced Swim Skills
For experienced swimmers working on stronger technique, endurance, and overall swimming efficiency.
Key skills
- Refined freestyle
- Refined backstroke
- Refined breaststroke
- Better turns and transitions
- Extended treading water
View all skills for Shark
- Refined freestyle
- Refined backstroke
- Refined breaststroke
- Longer-distance swimming
- Stronger endurance
- Improved stroke efficiency
- Better turns and transitions
- Extended treading water
- Maintaining good technique while swimming longer distances
- Overall confidence and independence in the water
Goal
Help swimmers become stronger, smoother, and more efficient across the primary strokes taught by Swim With Ezra.
What a Typical Lesson Can Look Like
Start with comfort and readiness
Check in and observe the swimmer’s comfort and current skills.
Practice a focused skill
Work on a focused water-safety or swimming skill.
Connect and revisit
Connect movements or revisit a skill. Parents can ask questions when time allows.
Our Teaching Approach
Start at the swimmer’s current comfort level
Begin with familiar skills and introduce new challenges with support.
Adapt instruction to how the swimmer learns
Use patient, individualized instruction. Tell Ezra what helps your child understand and feel comfortable.
Build skills gradually over time
Revisit skills and connect small steps. Progress varies, with no guaranteed results or timelines.