The O’ahu Swim Academy

We don’t have a pool for private lessons and didn’t want to join a club just to get our girls’ swim lessons on a schedule that wouldn’t work with our schedule. Chris provided our 6-​year old twins with semi-​private swimming lessons at Ala Moana Beach Park on a schedule that worked well for my schedule and they girls’ school hours. If you don’t have a pool, the Ala Moana Beach Park is a great place for instruction with easy access to parking and showers. Getting our girls to focus when they’re outdoors and play is on their minds is sometimes like herding cats, but Chris’ no-​nonsense, yet friendly instruction kept the girls focused and got results. Our girls would frequently quote Chris’ instruction and now simply need to practice. Thanks Chris!

Took private swimming lessons with Chris, every week, for ~ 2+ months, and i could now swim with proper form and with more confidence. Our lessons were at Ala Moana beach park, which i admit i was a bit skeptical of — learning how to swim in the ocean and not a pool?, but i am glad Chris got me to do it. This beach was just like a giant pool, and i think the water is prob cleaner than the pool at our complex. Chris was always on time, and would always text if he’s a couple of min behind and very professional. He’s also very flexible and would work with you on your schedule. Would highly recommend him if you’re in need of lessons for either yourself or for your child.

Highly recommended for the swimmer looking to become a stronger swimmer!
I had a private swim lesson with Chris at Ala Moana Beach. I already swim regularly but was looking for some instruction as to how I could improve my technique and efficiency as a swimmer for triathlon events.
After one short lesson with Chris, he has already identified a few aspects of my current swim habits that could use some work. He gave me clear and useful instruction on how to improve in these areas. After my lesson I went for a long swim to practice what he coached me on and I feel confident that I will develop better overall swimming technique after applying what I learned from this one lesson. I definitely plan to take more lessons from him in the future to follow up and address any further aspects of my technique that could use some work.
Chris obviously has alot of experience in swim instruction and seems to have a well-​rounded knowledge on fitness in general. I would recommend swim lessons from him for anyone ranging from ‘can barely swim’ to ‘advanced swimmer.‘
Thanks Chris!

Chris has been teaching my 5 and 7 year old. He teaches adults as well, but this review is for youth swim instructor. Chris is a great swim instructor who is also great with the kids. He is firm and set rules for safety while teaching little ones how to swim. He is consistently dependable and always on-​time. He is great with our two kids, and at the same time I like his no nonsense firm discipline with the kids. I recommend Chris highly!

Basically, I credit Chris for teaching my then 6-​year-​old daughter how to swim. She had taken classes at one of the bigger swim programs in Honolulu, but did not come away swimming or even being water safe. I decided semi-​private and then private sessions with Chris was worth a try. And after once-​a-​week classes for several months, my daughter learned to freestyle and backstroke, with proper form. She can go the long distance of a good-​sized pool, taking breaths, with no problem. She’s extremely comfortable in the water, and although there are more strokes she could learn, she’s become a good swimmer. I think the reason Chris worked out for us is because he was a little tougher on her than past instructors. He was very straightforward about what he wanted to see from her, and then eventually, she just got there. Not sure how long it would have taken with another teacher who didn’t set a high bar.

Chris, the owner, is an excellent and patient instructor. I am someone who knew how to swim but needed to learn how to improve my technique. As an older person and had not been swimming much in many years Chris was a great help. I could not even swim 25 yards at first but after practice and some time I could swim up and back at Ala Moana. This is a mobile service that will come to you which is also nice. Chris was a pleasure to work with.

Not sure why my original review was filtered out, but I am still a believer in OSA. If you buy a package of lessons, Chris gives you 10% off. We’ve already renewed for a second set of (8) lessons, since both of my girls continue to show excellent progress. My 5 year old can now swim across the pool with confidence. My youngest will be 3 at the end of this month and she can now back float and flutter kick. It’s great having them in a class together where they can watch and learn from each other.

Chris is simply awesome !! I took personal 1:1 lessons from him. He worked very professionally and identified my weaknesses and help me learn swimming. This was very important, not everybody would have that skill to find out individual’s skills and weaknesses and that makes him a very good swimming teacher… I would highly recommend him for anybody to learn swimming… moreover, I have a busy life and he adjusted with my schedules and gave me lessons according to my available times…