Clear instruction. Real progress. A coach who sees the whole swimmer.
I teach swimmers at different ages and stages, adapting each lesson to their comfort, goals, and learning style.
01
Babies & toddlers
Playful water introduction, safe habits, trust, and foundational movement—with parents included when appropriate.
02
Children & youth
Learn-to-swim skills, stroke development, confidence, stamina, and preparation for more advanced swimming.
03
Adult swimmers
Supportive instruction for true beginners, returning swimmers, and adults building efficient technique and endurance.
Meet Coach Leroy
A lifelong connection to the water.
For Coach Leroy Haynes, swimming has always been about more than strokes, times, and technique. It’s about confidence, perseverance, and discovering what you’re capable of.
His journey in aquatics began without formal swim lessons. Growing up, lessons weren’t something his family could afford, but an early love of the water kept drawing him to the pool. After a near-drowning experience during a childhood swim test, Leroy could have walked away from swimming. Instead, he became determined to learn. He practiced until he could return, pass the test, and finally join his friends in the deep end.
Read More About Coach Leroy
That determination eventually took him from a largely self-taught young swimmer to three consecutive Most Improved Swimmer honors and a member of East Kentwood High School’s Michigan Division I state championship team. His competitive events included freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly. He later served as a U.S. Navy Rescue Swimmer before an injury ultimately ended his competitive swimming career.
Coach Leroy began coaching in 2002 and entered professional aquatics in 2003 with the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids. Over more than two decades, he has worked as a swim instructor, lifeguard, lead instructor, lead lifeguard, aquatic fitness instructor, curriculum developer, manager, and Aquatics Director. His experience includes helping launch the East Kentwood Aquatics Center, developing and adapting swim curriculum, mentoring instructors, and leading swim-school programming and operations.
His coaching experience is equally diverse. Leroy has worked with babies and toddlers, children learning to swim, pre-team and competitive athletes, adult beginners, triathletes, and swimmers preparing for professional water-safety requirements. He has helped competitive swimmers achieve regional and state qualifying standards and has privately trained firefighters, police officers, and military personnel preparing to meet swimming requirements for their careers.
One of Coach Leroy’s greatest strengths is his ability to meet swimmers where they are. He is known for his patience, encouragement, technical problem-solving, and ability to adapt instruction to different ages, personalities, learning styles, and abilities. He has developed his own progressive adult learn-to-swim program and co-developed a stroke clinic curriculum designed to introduce younger swimmers to advanced competitive technique in an age-appropriate way.
As a Black aquatics professional, Leroy also understands the importance of representation and access in swimming. His own journey—from a child without access to formal lessons to a lifelong aquatics professional—has shaped his commitment to making the water a place where more people can feel safe, capable, and welcome.
Whether a swimmer is putting their face in the water for the first time, refining a competitive stroke, building endurance, or overcoming years of fear, Coach Leroy approaches the goal the same way: see the swimmer’s potential, develop a path to reach it, and help them learn to see that potential in themselves.
Because for Coach Leroy, success isn’t simply teaching someone how to swim. It’s helping them accomplish something they once thought they couldn’t.
My approach
Progress that feels earned—not rushed.
I break swimming into obtainable goals that connect. Swimmers understand what they are doing, why it matters, and how one skill prepares them for the next.
1
Meet swimmers where they are
Comfort and trust come first. The lesson adapts to the swimmer—not the other way around.
2
Build technique with purpose
Body position, breathing, balance, and timing become repeatable skills instead of vague instructions.
3
Turn confidence into independence
Each success becomes a foundation for the next challenge, whether that means a first independent swim or a stronger 200 freestyle.
Lessons built around the swimmer.
Private and shared instruction at select residential and partner pools in Chicago. Availability depends on location and pool access.
Private lessons
Individual coaching with focused feedback and a progression designed around one swimmer’s goals.
30- or 45-minute options
Semi-private lessons
Two swimmers learn together while still receiving personalized instruction and meaningful practice time.
Great for siblings or friends
Adult beginner coaching
A patient, structured path from water comfort and body position to breathing, freestyle, and continuous swimming.
No prior experience required
Stroke & stamina development
Technique-focused training for swimmers preparing for teams, improving efficiency, or building endurance.
Freestyle • backstroke • all four strokes
Triathlon swimming
Pool-based coaching for triathletes who want a more efficient freestyle, stronger breathing control, sustainable pacing, and greater swim endurance.
Technique • efficiency • endurance
Competitive stroke refinement
Detailed technique and stroke correction for competitive swimmers working to improve efficiency, body mechanics, turns, pacing, and race-ready skills.
All four strokes • starts • turns
Join the lesson waitlist
Fall schedule currently full.
Coach Leroy’s fall lesson schedule is currently at capacity. Complete the form to join the waitlist for a cancellation opening or upcoming availability. Openings are offered based on schedule, location, pool access, lesson type and swimmer needs.
