Goldfish Swimming School Coming to Kirk Road

Nearly two years out of college and close to fulfilling his goal of becoming a business entrepreneur, Alex Tyler is afloat in activity. He’s got the building, with room for expansion and parking. He’s hiring a general contractor to install the business’ key elements, and he’s meeting potential customers.

There’s fare more to it than that, of course. Opening a new business takes a lot of time and energy, which means Tyler is busy. Yet, he exudes confidence as he talks of his plans, which by his account are going, er, swimmingly.

Tyler is the general manager of the Goldfish Swim School, 3455 Legacy Blvd., which is just east of Kirk Road and south of Tyler Road. He hopes to open in June, but that will depend upon how long it takes to install the swimming pool in his building.

It’s a natural direction for him. He grew up in Birmingham, MI, where Goldfish Swim School got its start, and he also knew the owners and founders of the business. On a personal level, he was a competitive swimmer while attending Northwestern University, a sport he enjoyed and for which he had a passion.

So Tyler’s opening a swimming school is by no means a stretch of the imagination. He’s excited about this new chapter in his life, and in fact the excitement is infectious — it’s visible in his eyes and the animated expressions on his face as he talks and his command of just what Goldfish Swim School represents, what it has to offer.

First, it’s not about competitive swimming. It’s a out teaching kids to swim, and to enjoy swimming. The school is geared toward children from as young as 4 months to 12 years old. Consequently, the L-shaped pool is designed specifically for use in a teaching environment, Tyler says.

The pool will be heated to about 90 degrees, with an air temperature to match, to make getting in and out of the water as comfortable as possible for the students. The length of the swim lanes crossing the pool will be age- and skill-appropriate, with short lanes for the youngest children and progressively longer ones for the older children.

Further, he continued, the pool is just four feet deep, and the school keeps its student-to-instructor ratio to 4 kids per instructor to ensure good supervision and individual attention for the students.

Finally, Tyler says, is an award-winning curriculum Goldfish Swim School developed specifically for young children.

Tyler wants to start getting the word out now so that parents will know that, come summer, there will be another option serving the Tri-Cities area for swimming lessons. Further, he said, Goldfish Swim’s facilities also are available for family swims and parties.

Quick Facts

• What: Goldfish Swim School
• Who: General manager Alex Tyler
• Where: 3455 Legacy Blvd., St. Charles IL 60174
• Online: www.goldfishswimschool.com
• Phone: 630-584-3474