Nitro Swimming

Its a great place for kids to learn swimming but its getting a tad bit expensive.
Kids stayed on a couple levels for ever as well.

There are 2 parts to Nitro, lessons and swim team. I will attempt to review both as I have had children go through the lessons program as well as currently have a child on the year round swim team.
Before going into the review I will say the owner Mike is a great guy and does a good job of juggling a successful business and caring for as many kids as possible. And when I say care I mean making them better individuals in life, not just better swimmers.
Now on to the review.
Lessons: I have put 3 children through lessons and was happy with the program. I believe each child somewhat learns at their own pace and there is a time and maturity when they are actually ready to learn to start swimming. If you have a child that is not really ready, it will take them a long time to progress through the stations. This is going to be true no matter where you take them whether it is Emler or private lessons. They typically have 1 – 3 children per instructor which is a good ratio compared to the rec center or YMCA.
Overall I think this is a great environment for your children to learn to swim or at least learn water safety.
Swim team: Nitro has quickly built themselves into a state and national powerhouse. They have hired excellent coaches and really built a positive, winning, competitive attitude amongst many of the kids that swim there. Again like anything in life, the results depend on what the swimmer puts into practice. There is not a magic formula for success, but if your child has the drive to succeed, they have the coaches to match. Nitro is probably one of the largest teams in Texas so it is definitely not for everyone. If you prefer a smaller environment, there are definitely other options around town. You will find that Nitro is broken into groups of 30 – 40 swimmers though which is about the same coach to swimmer ratio you are going to find at most smaller teams as well.

My kid started hating swimming after starting at Nitro. He did pretty good in embler but in Nitro his interest went down the hill. Rude front-​desk people are inconsiderate about your issues.
Their fundamentals are wrong. They keep changing instructors. How will next instructor know what are your kids strong/​weak points. I will never ever go there again.

Organized, individual, focused. Nitro provides a supportive environment for youngs swimmers to gain confidence and master skills in the water.
Nitro has a station format for young swimmers. Each station is a lane where they master a small set of skills, then they move to the next station which is +1 of what they did before. It has built confidence and terrific FORM — which we love to see.
Young swimmers are encouraged to focus and succeed. Our kiddo has some special needs– and the swim instructors have been patient and supportive. This is extraordinary because a lot of other coaches just shrug and say «xx doesn’t want to learn.» — which is not the case.
Cons:
— Getting a time slot is difficult and challenging. The staff helps as much as possible, but it takes persistence and patience.
— There are single sex changing rooms, but if your swimmer needs assistance and you are a parent of the opposite sex… it can be tricky. Nitro recently added some cabanas — but they are so cute even the parents that do not need the accommodation use them. le sigh. Our child is still too young to change out of the suit without help — but too old to use the ladies room for changing.

Best. Swimming. Around.
My two older sons swam for years with Nitro. They have a lifelong love of the sport now… it’s part of who they are because of Nitro and the coaches.
They instill life lessons, not just swim technique. But to that, their swim technique is the best.
About to sign up my 4 year-​old at the Bee Caves location and I’m excited to be part of the Nitro Family once again!!!

Too loud.
Too competitive.
Parents must sit so far away from the pool that they cannot hear or sometimes see the kids.
One locker room for each gender which is crowded and not conducive for small children.
Staff is ok — not as friendly as Emler, which is where we go now and love it!
Teachers — all business and no fun — we are talking about kids here people so you need to make it fun or else you will lose their attention and respect.
All in all — very disappointing. Check out Emler in comparison.

This place is a decent option to take you kids to learn how to swim if you can’t teach them yourself. I would give it 3.5 stars based on the group lessons because I feel that they don’t get that much rep in when there are other kids in the group. It took my boy a little longer to progress so I had to pull him out of the group to get private lessons. I immediately saw progress so IMHO it is better to go with the private lessons if you want your kids to move along the stages quicker. I give the private lessons a 4.5 stars so let’s just call it a day at this being a 4 star business for me.

I’m changing my review from 1 star to 4. The owner reached out to us, in regards to our issue and we are going to give nitro another chance.

Let’s see where do I start. My experience with Nitro has been with the bronze group only so not to sway others from the other groups. If you want your child to become a swimmer that can compete then the bronze groups at nitro might not be the right place for you. We moved from a swim team that swam 5 days a week at 60 min. to Nitro where they only swim 3 times at 45 min. However, they truly only swim 30 mins. Because they are pulled out at least 3 times to give instruction. Rather than the instructors being in the water. I moved her because I thought nitro could teach her with only 2 hrs a week. I was wrong. The ratio is generally 2 instructors to 26 kids. My daughter actually lost her technique in butterfly and breaststroke since swimming with nitro for the last two months. However, she has a much better streamline and backstroke. She competed at a swim meet where all other teams cheered their teams on but the Nitro coaches never wished her luck or even helped guide her because it was her first. To be a strong swimmer an 1 hour and 30 minutes a week is not enough. You need hours of swimming to master a technique. There are about 12 lessons a month with only one of those focusing on Butterfly or Breast. It really comes down to whether you want your child an all around strong swimmer or not. I have watched kids bend their arms while learning the butterfly stroke and none of the coaches even corrected them. I have watched them socialize with each other and not focus on the kids. But on the other hand and in the younger groups they are wonderful. Nitro at Cedar Park may be indoors but if you want your child to actually learn the four techniques I would recommend taking them somewhere else until they are ready for the silver groups at nitro.

I absolutely love the staff at Nitro in Cedar Park! I’ve gone from 0 swimming skills to
preparing for a triathlon in November. A special shout out to instructors Jud aka Master Chief, Sam and Bonnie. You guys are patient, consistent and just all around phenomenal at what you do. Thanks ya’ll !

Since the last incident, I have switched to private lessons, I refused to make my life inconvenience due to one unprofessional experience. With private lessons for both my kids 4 and 2 years old, they get 100% learning experience, you don’t need to put up with the «unequal» crap. Most importantly, each kids learn so much more within shorter period of time compare to that of group lessons. My kids’ coach is awesome, he knows what he suppose to do with each kids. My kids have advance so much under his training. My 2 yrs old will cry occasionally in the beginning of lesson but she is 2. However she can jump, hold breath, and swim/​kick to surface for survival. This is after a little over 6 months. Just unbelievable!
4 stars not 5 stars because the bathroom could be cleaner.

I have mixed feelings about Nitro. It takes a LONG TIME for most to finish Nitro 1 and then also Nitro 2. I’m talking about 10 months to a year for each. I really expected to enroll my child in Nov. and expect to at least know how to feel comfortable and swim around with friends.
No that did not happen. After almost a year I still do not think my child could do what other kids can do like under water swimming, jumping in and having fun, swimming to get something from bottom, you know the basics of childhood swimming fun.
Nitro teaches from the beginning as if your kid will be a professional. Arms and leg kicks, everything must be up to their level before your kid can pass to next level. So although my kid can go across the water the way they teach, if my child jumped in a deep end, would not know what to do if was at the bottom of a pool or fell in a certain way. When my child practices elsewhere, has to get out of pool and sit on edge before starting just like Nitro taught, or else doesn’t know how to do what was learned.
They always have a different coach which some are really great and some not so great. The kids don’t get consistency and some coaches are fairly new.
There are no makeups a if you miss.

We have had all 3 of our kids take lessons at Nitro. Lessons at least twice a week seem to be most beneficial. Some coaches are certainly better than others. Overall, we like the program. Unfortunately, their policies are incredibly frustrating. I don’t mind that they make you cancel by a certain date. However, I hate that you cannot cancel and choose your end date. We asked in early July what classes would be available for our kids when school starts in August. They did not have schedules available. In early August when we asked, the only classes available with the number of spaces we needed were during school hours or so close to school release times that we couldn’t make it to Nitro in time. We waited until the following week in hopes of something coming available — still nothing. So although they do not have classes available, we still pay for the final week’s worth of classes. It’s not that we are unwilling to continue classes, but they don’t have any with space available. .yet they keep our money and refuse to prorate. The funniest part was they offered us classes in September. .when they don’t prorate for the Labor Day holiday… so we could again pay for more classes not provided. No, thanks. We are out.

I can no longer recommend Nitro Swim. While the teachers are good, the management leaves much to be desired.
After updating my credit card (in person) for online payment, they continued to use my old card number (which then declined since the number was no longer valid). When I called to discuss payment, I let them know that I would not be paying the $ 5 decline fee since I had done my part to update the card. They decided it was worth the $ 5 to lose two students who had attended for over a year.
Yes, it’s just 5 bucks, but I was taken aback when the man on the phone asked who I updated the card with and, after describing the person he replied, «We don’t have anyone here who looks like that.» Well, you *do* and he swiped my new card and assured me it was updated.

I would give them 3.5 if that were an option.
Nitro does a great job at teaching swimming but many of their policies suck. They do not prorate for missed classes due to holidays (Memorial Day). They do not allow any makeups for illness, vacation, etc. They make you cancel and reapply if you want to take time off for vacation or if you want to switch from classes to private lessons.
The parking lot is always full. I’ve had to park next door and hike in with two small kids. There’s only one family bathroom and I am a mom with little boys. However, I think the bathrooms and facility are very clean.
I do wish that I knew how the classes were going, you get no feedback whatsoever. Supposedly, they polled the parents who preferred spending more time in the water rather than be filled in on progress made in class. I understand the sentiment but wish I knew more about how the classes were going and what we can work on at home.
Edited to add: the owner contacted me to let me know that they do prorate for holidays and offered to refund if I was mistakenly billed. I have upped the review from 3 to 4 stars.

The likes:
My son is learning to swim and having fun, he really enjoys his classes and teachers. He had taken swimming at the Y and with the City before and it never «clicked» until he joined Nitro.
The dislikes:
Too crowded, not enough time to get feedback from teachers as the groups are brought in and out one right after the other. The parking lot is always full.
Only one family bathroom. Mom with boys or dad’s with girls keep in mind that if your kids are older than a certain age (3 maybe) they will need to go into the bathrooms to change, shower, use the toilet) by themselves as there is only 1 family bathroom and because of the crowded facilities is always busy. Why after the bathroom remodel they still left only 1 family bathroom I do not know.
Not so clean: I think the general cleanliness of the bathrooms and floors could be improved.
Summary: to pricey for the type of facility but my son likes his classes and he is learning so we deal with the other issues as best we can.

My son took a combination of group and private lessons. The coaches will vary during the group lessons, but all are teaching the same techniques with the same expectations. We chose private lessons to ensure that our son learned every technique possible in his own time. It was worth it. He is 4 years old and a confident, safe swimmer. He graduated Nitro 1 and took a few months lessons in Nitro 2. When we go swimming, instructors and patrons alike remark on his swimming ability and ask where we took him to learn. We are always happy to recommend Nitro!

Crowded but my son make better progress here than in another center in NYC. The waiting area could be improve.

A bit expensive, hard to get a slot in the best lesson time and they herd a LOT of kids in and out of there. But all for good reason! The lessons are well designed and technically sound. The instructors are knowledgeable, they care and best of all they get results.
My son is 3 and he loves it. I would not be surprised if he transitions from lessons to a swim team. It is/​has been a great experience.
Also add that they are remodeling the locker rooms (it was needed). And there is an air conditioned «fish bowl» for the parents to sit in. My wife and I always enjoy watching the seat exchange between classes as parents jockey for front row seats to watch the kiddos. People are funny to watch.

Nitro is very professional and the coaches make my kids feel confident in the water. They class size is small 2 – 3 kids per instructor. They rotate thru the different stations as they master each skill. The pool is heated and indoors so lessons can be taken year round.
My only gripe is that it seems like a very long process. I don’t recall it taking 6 months and hundreds of dollars to learn to swim 20 ft. (Nitro 1, station 10).
All that said, I have only heard positive comments from parents of children who have been here for a long time. Once the kids graduate Nitro 2, they seem to be expert swimmers.