Blue Dolphin Aquatics

It may be strange to think about swimming during cold weather like this, but with spring right around the corner, now is the time to get those kids back in the water and confident in the pool before summer. 

There are many options out there for swim lessons, and Blue Dolphin Aquatics is miles above the rest. SoDu Posse member Stephanie Iraggi is the owner, and she is passionate about helping people learn to swim and love the water.  

Their aquatics program is made up of an age-group (5-18) Swim Team and a Swim Academy (lessons).  They offer swim lessons for all ages and ability levels, from beginner to advanced technique and from 6 months to adult.  

During the Fall-Spring months their lessons take place primarily at the Homestead Aquatic Center in Chapel Hill, about 15 minutes from Southpoint.  It's just a quick couple exits down 40, and the indoor pool is zero entry and heated. 

During the summer, they continue lessons at Homestead but also travel all over South Durham for your convenience, teaching lessons at local neighborhood pools, including Parkwood Swim Club, Audubon Park, Chancellor’s Ridge, Colvard Farms, Fairfield, Woodlake, Auburn Hills, Hills of Southpoint, Grandale, and more!  They come to you, how great is that! I first heard about Blue Dolphin years ago, as I watched their impressive instructors give private and group lessons at the neighborhood pool I belong to, Parkwood Swim Club. They are total professionals. 

Blue Dolphin Aquatics experienced instructors enjoy catering each lesson to the individual student’s ability, personality, and concerns.  To see a little more about them, take a look at the video below: 

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Stephanie brings quite a lot to her company. She has been swimming competitively for over 19 years, coaching during the summer for 10 years, and has served as head coach of the Blue Dolphin Aquatics team for about 8 years.  She says she loves to learn, and is "always looking for a new method to teach a skill or a novel way to make lessons and practices so fun you don’t realize how hard you are working." As a USA Swimming certified coach she "looks forward to helping you improve your skills, strength, and stamina in the water.  Let’s swim!"

What do families think about Blue Dolphin Aquatics? Just search swimming in SoDu Parents Posse's facebook page and you'll see how many of them recommend them! Here's what they have to say:

• "We had a great experience with Blue Dolphin Aquatics! The coach tailored each lesson to our child's specific skill level. She was consistently positive and encouraging as she challenged our son to master each skill and stroke." –Christy, parent
• "I have only positive things to say about Stephanie and her teaching approach. She not only exemplified  extreme professionalism and amazing patience, but also knew just how to engage my son to make lessons fun.  My 4 yr old son (then 3) went from not swimming on his own to swimming underwater, jumping freely into the pool and floating all by himself in just one summer!  He is just as proud of his himself and his accomplishments as I am.  I credit it all to Stephanie’s personality and style. We will definitely be signing up again next summer!"  -Janene, parent
• "Jason has been taking lessons from Andrea for almost two years now and he has certainly made great strides in improving his strokes and his stamina in the water.  Andrea is excellent at communicating with Jason and making him understand the technical motions of each stroke. She has also established a great rapport with Jason so that he wants to do well when he is swimming with her.  She has an ability to offer constructive criticism in a way that seems like she is kidding with him yet gets the point across so he can make adjustments to his stroke without feeling like she has put him down or discouraged him.  We are looking forward to many more swim lessons with Andrea!"  -Ann, parent
  
• "I love swimming! And Coach Stephanie helps me to understand how to do each stroke the right way. I think she is a great swim coach!" -Hannah, swimmer, age 7
• "I am 45 years old and have been taking lessons with Coach Stephanie for a month now. I was 26 years old when I first saw a body of water. Until a few weeks ago, I was capable of drowning in water I could stand in.The instruction has made a big difference to how I now feel in the water. Other adults who know how to swim always said "Just jump in, you'll float" - no one understood how disconcerting it is to be in the water swirling around you, let alone jump into it. Coach Stephanie's strategy seems to work well - she's teaching me how to find my own equilibrium, first in shallow water, and to teach simple things like floating on the stomach, and back. She points out subtle things about body position that make a big difference.She is gentle, not hurrying or pushy, and her teaching evolves in accordance with my abilities. She has been able to make me do new things by providing reassurance (I floated in 9 feet of water for the first time in my life, albeit with a snorkeling vest).I liked the fact that I was able to describe my goals at the outset - this has tailored our lessons to meet those goals.Highly recommended for adults." - Archna, adult swimmer
• And many many more people sing their praises over at the website!

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So are you ready to jump in?
Good news for the new year - 
Blue Dolphins Aquatics is offering two special promotions just for SoDu members!    

For those ready to experience Blue Dolphins Aquatics for the first time, we are offering a FREE private or family (up to 3 swimmers from the same family) swim lesson.  To redeem this promo, mention the code 
SoDu15 when you request your lesson.  Notes and limitations: No lesson minimum (i.e. you can sign up for just the one lesson if you choose).  Lesson must take place between 1/5/15 and 3/31/15. Applies to new registrations only.  Lesson must be private or family lesson only; excludes group, semi-private, and swim team.  The free lesson does not include the $15 annual registration/insurance fee per swimmer.  Subject to availability (fair warning: most of our after-3:30 and weekend slots are full.  We do have a list we can put you on so you’ll know if something opens up, though!  And we have plenty of before 3:30 options open. Register Here: http://www.bluedolphinsaquatics.com/registration-information)  

For those who have already experienced Blue Dolphins Aquatics, we are offering a $10 credit to be used toward your next Swim Lesson or Swim Team fee!  To redeem this promo, leave a comment here on the blog about your favorite part of Blue Dolphins Aquatics!  Notes and limitations: Only applies to future lessons/team fees.  Credit can be applied at any time after 1/1/15.  Applies to current and previous students only.  

So make a splash in 2015 by signing up with Blue Dolphin Aquatics! 

For more information, check out www.bluedolphinsaquatics.com, 
email Stephanie at bluedolphinsaquatics {at} gmail.com, 
or like them on Facebook!  

FTC required disclosure: The above post is a sponsored advertisement. Some of the content, such as the images, are provided by the pardner for my use. I give permission for this blog post to be used in perpetuity by the pardner as they wish. May seem silly, but legally I gotta say it. Congrats for reading the fine print!