Swim Lessons
Learn to swim, kick, turn, and flip! Whether you’re looking to become a recreational lap swimmer or the next Michael Phelps, you’ll gain essential skills in our private and group lessons. Our instructors will help you develop your technique, endurance, and confidence in the pool. Group lessons are available to Students, Campus Affiliated Members, and Community Members.
Questions? Reach out to us at lessons@recwell.wisc.edu.
Masters Swim Private Lessons
Interested in honing your technique? Training for an event? Choose between a 30- or 60-minute session with one of our Masters Swim coaches to grow your skills!
Private Lessons
Private lessons provide personalized, one-on-one instruction for all levels of swimmers. Private swim lessons are offered at select times during Open Recreation swim. Registering for one session includes three, 30-minute lessons that are scheduled by you and your instructor.
UW–Madison Students: $90
Members: $120
You must have an active Rec Well Membership to view and register for these offerings.
Prerequisites:
- All fitness levels are welcome
Class components:
- Focus on the specific skills and techniques that will improve your swimming experience, regardless of your current ability
Group Lessons
You must have an active Rec Well Membership to view and register for these offerings. Registration for our next session of group swim lessons is currently open and closes at 9am on October 21.
Level 1
At the beginner level, you’ll be introduced to the basics of swimming and become comfortable in the water. With the help of an instructor, you’ll learn to float and glide, and swim freestyle and backstroke.
Level 1 (1 class per week)
Lessons occur once a week for 6 weeks and are 60 minutes long.
UW–Madison Students: $90
Members: $120
Level 1 (2 classes per week)
Lesson occurs twice a week for 4 weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays and are 45 minutes long.
UW–Madison Students: $90
Members: $120
Designed for:
- Swimmers with little or no swimming experience
Prerequisites:
- No experience required
Class components:
- Safe water entry and exit
- Basic breath control
- Body balance (float on your front and back)
- Glide on front and back
- Flutter kicking with a kickboard
- Introduction to front crawl (freestyle) and back crawl (backstroke)
Level 2
At this level, you’ll expand your knowledge of what you learned in Level 1, further developing your freestyle technique and endurance while learning new skills. Increasing endurance, gaining confidence in deep water, and open turns are all skills that you’ll learn at this level.
Level 2 (1 class per week)
Lessons occur once a week for 6 weeks and are 60 minutes long.
UW–Madison Students: $90
Members: $120
Level 2 (2 classes per week)
Lessons occur twice a week for 4 weeks and are 45 minutes long.
UW–Madison Students: $90
Members: $120
Designed for:
- Swimmers who can comfortably swim freestyle independently in shallow water
- Swimmers who are comfortable in shallow water and have been introduced to deep water
Prerequisites:
- All skills from level 1 or, the ability to:
- Float for 30 seconds on front and back
- Swim independently for 15 yards
- Demonstrate freestyle stroke technique
Class components:
- Improve technique and increase endurance for freestyle and backstroke
- Rotary breathing
- Open turns
- Treading water and deep water safety
- Introduction to breaststroke kick
Level 3
At our highest level of group lessons, you’ll begin learning advanced strokes and lap swimming skills, including butterfly, sidestroke, streamline positioning, and flip turns. Upon completion of this level, you’ll be ready to move into our Masters Swim program, lap swim on your own, or work with one of our instructors in private lessons.
Level 3 (1 class per week)
Lessons occur once a week for 6 weeks and are 60 minutes long.
UW–Madison Students: $90
Members: $120
Level 3 (2 classes per week)
Lessons occur twice a week for 4 weeks and are 45 minutes long.
UW–Madison Students: $90
Members: $120
Designed for:
- Swimmers who have experience swimming freestyle, backstroke, and have been introduced to breaststroke
- Swimmers who are comfortable swimming in deep water
- Swimmers who are comfortable swimming the length of the pool
Prerequisites:
- All skills from level 2 or, the ability to:
- Float on back for one minute in deep water
- Swim at least 25 yards of front crawl and back crawl
Class Components:
- Streamline positioning
- Flip turns
- Improve breaststroke technique
- Introduce butterfly and sidestroke
Swim Clinics
Swim clinics are free, single day instructional programs focused on specific swimming skills and techniques. Clinics are perfect for any swimmer looking to improve their swimming experience or build new skills.
You must have an active Rec Well Membership to view and register for these offerings.
Masters Swim
You must have an active Rec Well Membership to view and register for these offerings.
The Masters program offers programmed workouts led by an experienced swim coach three times per week. Masters Swim Pass holders have access to all weekly workouts to complete on their own. Programmed workouts Practices will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30 – 7:45am at the Bakke and on Sundays from 10 – 11am at the Nick. Masters group swimmers should be capable of swimming 400-500 yards non-stop front crawl with side breathing.
UW–Madison Students: $95
Members: $150
Masters Swim is at capacity for the fall semester.
We encourage you to register for the program in the spring.
30-Minute Masters Private Swim Lessons
Masters Swim private lessons provide personalized, one–on–one instruction. Participants may choose an area of focus or may rely on the instructor for suggestions. Private swim lessons include one 30–minute lesson that is scheduled by you and your instructor.
Prerequisites: Proficient in front crawl (freestyle) with side breathing and able to demonstrate basic skills in backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly.
UW–Madison Students: $45
Members: $50
60-Minute Masters Private Swim Lessons
Masters Swim private lessons provide personalized, one-on-one instruction. Participants may choose an area of focus or may rely on the instructor for suggestions. Private swim lessons include one 60-minute lesson that is scheduled by you and your instructor.
Prerequisites: Proficient in front crawl (freestyle) with side breathing and able to demonstrate basic skills in backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly.
UW-Madison Students: $70
Members: $75
Meet the Masters Swim Coaches
Petra Kilian
Petra Kilian is a dynamic endurance coaching professional, currently a masters swim certified instructor, certified USAT Level One triathlon coach as well as Revolution Running coach. Petra’s endurance coaching style centers on building tight, trusted relationships with athletes using charismatic, honest communication and leveraging her vast personal experience as an endurance athlete. Originally from Germany, Petra is an active member of the tri- and running communities in Madison, and a regular volunteer at local Ironman and marathon events. Petra loves coaching Masters swim sessions, water aerobics and anything pool related as well as teaches strength classes and cycling and has been teaching fitness classes for more than 20 years.
Tom Sheehan
Tom Sheehan is a Level 3 certified United States Masters Swimming (USMS) coach who enjoys helping swimmers reach their performance goals for competition or personal improvement.
Competitive swimmers, triathletes, and others will benefit from Tom’s focus on technique as a means to increase speed and efficiency in the water. He can also help swimmers improve starts and turns, develop race strategies, set goals, and take on new challenges.
Tom’s background as a competitive swimmer, instructor, coach and USA Swimming official guides his work and approach to swimming and coaching. He was an NAIA All-American swimmer at UW-Eau Claire and has worked as a part-time assistant swimming coach at UW-Whitewater and with teams in Janesville, Madison, and Verona. Tom is a current USMS competitor, having achieved top 10 individual finishes in his age group at USMS Spring Nationals in 2024 and 2025. In addition to USMS coaching certification, Tom is a USA Swimming accredited coach (provisional), Unattached-Wisconsin.
Swimmers who will benefit the most from Masters Private Lessons with Tom include past and current competitive swimmers, Masters program participants, and those returning to the pool after a break from the sport. He’ll meet you where you’re at and help motivate you from there.
Areas of focus include:
- Stroke technique development
- Speed, power, timing and efficiency
- “The fifth stroke”
- Starts and turns
- Planning and preparing for competition
- Orientation to masters swimming for performance or participation
- General and specific goal setting