Learn to swim at the Gordon JCC! Offering expert swim lessons in Nashville for kids & adults. Sign up today!
The Gordon JCC offers a broad range of classes to meet the needs of our growing program in Nashville. We offer group swimming classes in a caring, yet firm learning environment for people of all ages and abilities. And because every child and adult learns at a different pace, our highly qualified swim instructors focus on individual improvement and building confidence in each swimmer.
We use programming from the Starfish Aquatics Institute. SAI has been in the aquatics industry for 25 years and are a leading provider of swimming lesson curriculum and safety consulting. You can learn more about them here
This curriculum is designed for students 6 months to adults. Benchmarks are established at each stage to assess both swimming and water safety skills. Student participate in experiential learning to promote independence in the water. Correct swimming techniques are taught from the beginning to provide an easy transition into swim team later.
Our swim instructors will be able to regularly communicate your child’s progression through the curriculum on a regular basis through a token reward system, as well as, online reporting.
Our Classes
Starbabies & StarTots
Starbabies: 2022-2024 birth year. Minimum of 6 months old at time of registration.
Startots: 2021 birth year.
For children aged 6 - 18 months (babies) and ages 18 - 36 months (tots) and their parent/caregiver in a group setting. The program has a water safety and life-safety skill focus taught in a positive, loving way. The student/instructor ratio guideline is a maximum of 10 parents/caregivers with their child to 1 instructor.
StarBabies/Tots provides instruction to the adult who accompanies a child. The goal is to help equip the parent or caregiver with methods to develop aquatic readiness and water safety habits that will result in self-rescue and swimming skills when the child is developmentally ready.
This course does not teach children of this age to become accomplished swimmers or guarantee survival skills in the water - no program can make that claim. It does use loving encouragement provided by a trusted parent or caregiver to help guide the child toward skill development. The areas of instruction include:
- Entries and holds
- Body positions
- Submersions using targets and launches
- Rolling to the back to rest and breathe
- Forward movement (swim-roll-swim)
The water safety messages include:
- Asking for permission before entering the water and the importance of adult supervision
- The selection and use of appropriate lifejackets
- The use of flotation for an emergency assist
- Recreational water illness (RWI) prevention
- Introduction to rescue breathing and CPR
Pricing: M: $100 | NM: $120
WINTER/SPRING 2025 SESSIONS
| Birth Year | Day | Time | April | May |
| Starbabies | Sun | 9-9:30am | 3/30-4/27 | 5/4-5/25 |
| Starbabies | Mon | 4-4:30pm | 3/31-4/28 | 5/5-5/26 |
| Startots | Sun | 9:30-10am | 3/30-4/27 | 5/4-5/25 |
| Startots | Mon | 4:30-5pm | 3/31-4/28 | 5/5-5/26 |
SUMMER 2025 SESSIONS
One day per week: M: $100 | NM: $120
Two days per week: M: $200 | NM: $240
| Birth Year | Day | Time | June | July | August |
| Starbabies | Sun | 9-9:30am | 6/1-6/22 | 7/6-7/27 | 8/3-8/24 |
| Starbabies | Mon/Wed | 4-4:30pm | 6/2-6/25 | 7/7-7/30 | 8/4-8/27 |
| Starbabies | Tue/Th | 4-4:30pm | 6/3-6/26 | 7/8-7/31 | 8/5-8/28 |
| Startots | Sun | 9:30-10am | 6/1-6/22 | 7/6-7/27 | 8/3-8/24 |
| Startots | Mon/Wed | 4:30-5pm | 6/2-6/25 | 7/7-7/30 | 8/4-8/27 |
| Startots | Tue/Th | 4:30-5pm | 6/3-6/26 | 7/8-7/31 | 8/5-8/28 |
Starfish Swim School - Ages 4-12
Students work toward the development of the five core swimming competencies and receive color stage awards for each of their achievements. The color stages are used to divide students into broad ability groups.
FALL/WINTER SESSIONS
Pricing: M: $100 | NM: $120
*Tuesday Session in December: M: $75 | NM: $90
Ages 4-12 | Birth Year 2015-2020
WINTER/SPRING 2025 SESSIONS - AGES 4-12
| Day | Time | April | May |
| Sun | 10-10:45am | 3/30-4/27 | 5/4-5/25 |
| Sun | 11-11:45am | 3/30-4/27 | 5/4-5/25 |
| Mon | 5-5:45pm | 3/31-4/28 | 5/5-5/26 |
| Mon | 6-6:45pm | 3/31-4/28 | 5/5-5/26 |
SUMMER 2025 SESSIONS - AGES 4-12
One day per week: M: $100 | NM: $120
Two days per week: M: $200 | NM: $240
| Day | Time | June | July | August |
| Sun | 10-10:45am | 6/1-6/22 | 7/6-7/27 | 8/3-8/24 |
| Sun | 11-11:45am | 6/1-6/22 | 7/6-7/27 | 8/3-8/24 |
| Mon/Wed | 5-5:45pm | 6/2-6/25 | 7/7-7/30 | 8/4-8/27 |
| Tue/Th | 5-5:45pm | 6/3-6/26 | 7/8-7/31 | 8/5-8/28 |
Adult & Teen Ages 13+
| Day | Time | April | May |
| Mon | 6:45-7:30 | 3/31-4/28 | 5/5-5/26 |
SUMMER 2025
One day per week: M: $100 | NM: $120
| Day | Time | June | July | August |
| Mon | 5:45-6:30 | 6/2-6/25 | 7/7-7/30 | 8/4-8/27 |
We offer multiple sessions year round! Register once for all, or register just for the session you want. We offer member and non-member pricing too! Please email swimlessons@nashvillejcc.org or call 615-354-1663 with any questions about our program or classes
Adult Swim Lessons & Clinics
Private Lessons & Adult Swim Levels
We offer private lessons for all levels and ages! Please contact swimlessons@nashvillejcc.org for more information. Adult Swim is designed for teens and adults who are beginners or intermediates. Depending on skill level you may be working on water comfort or stroke refinement. To sign up for this level, we are currently taking privates only.
Please note: Not all pools are deep enough to teach all the diving segments of all levels – program modifications may be required to meet safety guidelines.