Skip to content
214 East Main Street, Salem, VA 24153Monday to Thursday: 3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.(540) 555-0102
Seahorse Swim School
Book a placement visit
Book a placement visit
CallBook a placement visit

After-school swim lessons in Salem, Virginia

Six cap colors, one pool, after school

Seahorse teaches swimmers ages 4 to 12 in a warm pool inside a renovated bank on East Main Street. The cap your swimmer wears is their level, and a short visit in the water tells us where to start.

Book a placement visitSee the cap colors
  • Ages 4 to 12
  • Classes after school
  • Parents watch from the lounge
Three students at the pool wall with their arms raised, facing an instructor standing in the water

The chart

Six caps, six levels

Each level has a cap color, an age range and a short list of what swimmers practice. The instructor decides when a swimmer moves up.

  1. 01

    Water comfort

    White cap, ages 4 to 6
    Skills

    • Entering and leaving by the steps

    • Blowing bubbles

    • Getting the face wet, one step at a time

    • Walking through the water holding the instructor's hands

    Moving up

    At the level check, when the steps are calm and the bubbles are steady, the instructor hands over the yellow cap.

  2. 02

    Floating

    Yellow cap, ages 5 to 7
    Skills

    • Floating on the front and back with support

    • Putting the face in and blowing bubbles

    • Kicking with a kickboard

    • Reaching for the wall

    Moving up

    At the level check, when floats with support and kicks with a board are steady, the instructor hands over the orange cap.

  3. 03

    Kicking

    Orange cap, ages 6 to 8
    Skills

    • Kicking on the front and back

    • Gliding from the wall

    • Arm pulls with a kickboard

    • Turning the head to breathe

    Moving up

    At the level check, when kicks and glides are steady on the front and back, the instructor hands over the green cap.

  4. 04

    Strokes

    Green cap, ages 7 to 9
    Skills

    • Freestyle arms with breathing to the side

    • Back crawl arms

    • Swimming across the width of the pool

    • Treading water with the instructor close

    Moving up

    At the level check, when freestyle and back crawl cross the width of the pool, the instructor hands over the blue cap.

  5. 05

    Stroke combinations

    Blue cap, ages 8 to 11
    Skills

    • Freestyle and back crawl linked together

    • Breaststroke kick

    • Swimming a length of the pool

    • Sculling on the back

    Moving up

    At the level check, when two strokes link and a length is swum, the instructor hands over the purple cap.

  6. 06

    Endurance and technique

    Purple cap, ages 9 to 12
    Skills

    • Longer swims at an even pace

    • The four strokes

    • Turns at the wall

    • Treading water for longer

    Moving up

    Purple is the last level. Swimmers stay for as many sessions as they like, working on the strokes and turns the instructor picks for them.

Where to startBook a placement visit

Sample levels.

Every swimmer moves at their own pace. The instructor decides when a swimmer moves up.

How you move up

A level check, never a date

Nobody moves up because a calendar says so. The instructor decides, and your swimmer hears why.

  1. 01

    Step 1: Class by class

    Each class works through the level's skills in the same order, so your swimmer knows what comes next. We go at the swimmer's pace, and a skill can take more than one session.

  2. 02

    Step 2: A level check

    At the end of a session the instructor watches your swimmer do the level's skills in their own class, with no one else's time to beat. It is a few minutes in the same pool, with the same instructor.

  3. 03

    Step 3: A new cap, or another session

    When the skills are steady, the instructor hands over the next cap color and you hear what comes next. If a skill needs more time, your swimmer stays in the level for another session.

On the deck

What each cap color means

Your swimmer wears the cap of their level in class. On a busy deck it tells you, and the instructors, which group is which.

The full level chart
Six plain swim caps in white, yellow, orange, green, blue and purple laid flat on a gray floor

  • White cap, water comfort

    Meets at the steps and in the shallow end, with the instructor close by. Classes are 30 minutes.

  • Yellow cap, floating

    Meets in the shallow end, where kickboards and floats come out. Classes are 30 minutes.

  • Orange cap, kicking

    Meets along the wall at the shallow end, with room to glide. Classes are 45 minutes.

  • Green cap, strokes

    Meets across the width of the pool, with a lane rope to swim along. Classes are 45 minutes.

  • Blue cap, stroke combinations

    Meets in the lap lanes, swimming lengths with a rest at the wall. Classes are 45 minutes.

  • Purple cap, endurance and technique

    Meets in the lap lanes for longer sets, with the instructor on the deck and in the water. Classes are 45 minutes.

After school

This session's classes

Classes meet after school Monday to Thursday and on Saturday mornings. Find your swimmer's cap color and pick a time.

Fall session

Showing 18 of 18

  • Monday

    • 3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

      White cap

      Amrita · 30 minutes

      Ages 4 to 6Water comfortOpenRegister

    • 4:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

      Orange cap

      Arden · 45 minutes

      Ages 6 to 8KickingOpenRegister

    • 5:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

      Blue cap

      Eiji · 45 minutes

      Ages 8 to 11Stroke combinationsWaitlistRegister

    • 6:15 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

      Purple cap

      Froylan · 45 minutes

      Ages 9 to 12Endurance and techniqueOpenRegister

  • Tuesday

    • 3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

      Yellow cap

      Madhu · 30 minutes

      Ages 5 to 7FloatingFull

    • 4:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

      Green cap

      Samer · 45 minutes

      Ages 7 to 9StrokesOpenRegister

    • 5:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

      Purple cap

      Montrell · 45 minutes

      Ages 9 to 12Endurance and techniqueOpenRegister

  • Wednesday

    • 3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

      White cap

      Amrita · 30 minutes

      Ages 4 to 6Water comfortFull

    • 4:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

      Orange cap

      Arden · 45 minutes

      Ages 6 to 8KickingOpenRegister

    • 5:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

      Blue cap

      Eiji · 45 minutes

      Ages 8 to 11Stroke combinationsOpenRegister

    • 6:15 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

      Purple cap

      Froylan · 45 minutes

      Ages 9 to 12Endurance and techniqueWaitlistRegister

  • Thursday

    • 3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

      Yellow cap

      Madhu · 30 minutes

      Ages 5 to 7FloatingOpenRegister

    • 4:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

      Green cap

      Samer · 45 minutes

      Ages 7 to 9StrokesWaitlistRegister

    • 5:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

      Purple cap

      Montrell · 45 minutes

      Ages 9 to 12Endurance and techniqueOpenRegister

  • Saturday

    • 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

      White cap

      Amrita · 30 minutes

      Ages 4 to 6Water comfortOpenRegister

    • 9:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

      Yellow cap

      Madhu · 30 minutes

      Ages 5 to 7FloatingOpenRegister

    • 10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

      Orange cap

      Arden · 45 minutes

      Ages 6 to 8KickingOpenRegister

    • 11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

      Green cap

      Samer · 45 minutes

      Ages 7 to 9StrokesOpenRegister

Sample classes.

White and Yellow classes run 30 minutes. The other four levels run 45 minutes. A session is 8 weeks.

Instructors

Seven instructors, one for every cap color

Every instructor is a lifeguard and a water-safety instructor, trained in CPR and first aid. You will see the same faces each week, in the same level.

Meet the team
  • Montrell Walden, owner and head instructor, in a white swim shirt beside a rack of foam noodles at the pool

    Montrell Walden

    Owner and head instructor

  • Amrita Sundaram, instructor, in a blue swim shirt on the pool deck

    Amrita Sundaram

    Instructor, White cap

  • Madhu Gowda, instructor, in a blue swim shirt beside a stack of kickboards

    Madhu Gowda

    Instructor, Yellow cap

  • Arden Gower, instructor, in a green swim shirt resting a foot on the deck bench

    Arden Gower

    Instructor, Orange cap

  • Samer Saab, instructor, in a white swim shirt seated on the deck bench

    Samer Saab

    Instructor, Green cap

  • Eiji Iwata, instructor, in a black swim shirt holding goggles on the deck bench

    Eiji Iwata

    Instructor, Blue cap

  • Froylan Menjivar, instructor, in a navy swim shirt with a hand on his hip beside the pool

    Froylan Menjivar

    Instructor, Purple cap

What families write

“We booked a placement visit not knowing which cap to pick. The instructor got in with my daughter, took her time and told us exactly what she had seen.”

Tasha W., parent of a six-year-old

“The schedule shows which classes have room and which have a waitlist, so I am not guessing, and someone answers the phone at the front desk.”

Hollis K., parent of an eight-year-old

“After school is the only time that works for us. Four-thirty on Mondays fits right between pickup and dinner.”

Priya N., parent of a seven-year-old

Sample reviews.

Questions we hear first

How do I know which level to choose?

Book a placement visit. An instructor gets in the water with your swimmer for a short time, watches how they enter, float and kick, and suggests a cap color. If you are not sure, choose "not sure" on the form and we will pick a time with you.

What is a level?

A level is a group of skills a swimmer practices together, shown by a cap color. Each level has an age range and a way to move up, and a swimmer moves when the instructor sees the skills are steady, at a level check at the end of a session.

How long is a class?

White and Yellow classes are 30 minutes. Orange, Green, Blue and Purple classes are 45 minutes. A session is 8 weeks.

What do we bring?

A towel, a swimsuit or a swim shirt, and goggles if your swimmer likes them. We have the cap in your swimmer's level color at the front desk.

Where do I watch?

From the parent lounge behind the glass window, or from the bench on the deck. A parent or guardian stays at the pool during every class.

Who is in the water with my swimmer?

An instructor is in the water or on the step beside every swimmer.

Book a placement visit

Choose a time on our enrollment page. Bring a towel; swim shirts are welcome.

Book a placement visit
Phone(540) 555-0102
Hours
Monday to ThursdayToday
3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
SaturdayToday
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Friday and SundayToday
Closed