Written Testimonials

To Anyone considering training with Judy Heumann or simply interested in my training experience,

To put it in perspective, training with Judy was the best decision I have made since marrying the man of my dreams and having my daughter! Though words still don’t do justice to what the experience meant to me, I have a few things I’d like to say to anyone considering training with her!

Judy’s experience teaching the Infant Aquatics curriculum to swim students and instructor apprentices is clearly unquestionable and I do not feel the need to focus on that specifically. Besides knowing I would be able to train with the very best and most experienced instructor, personally Judy was also a great match for me! She was sensitive to the emotional roller coaster I was riding, being away from my young family and getting used to such an emotionally loaded work environment, filled with worried and excited children and parents. But she also knew when to push me to work hard when I could handle it.

With the exclusive swim school set up and large team of instructors, I was also able to access a ton of experience and learn from their slightly different teaching styles. It also allowed me to spend the maximum amount of time possible in the water and practicing the technique. This is because in addition to the time of formal training with Judy, I was able to stay, observe, participate in, and eventually even lead private and group classes from as early as 7 am in the morning to 7pm at night most week days with lunch breaks amongst the nicest coworkers around and in an environment that quickly felt family like!

The access to many group classes and several different instructors for them, was also absolutely invaluable and often a nice change of pace! Each age and skill level was represented as well as an easy to follow, useful and absolutely transferable curriculum.

Judy’s daughter, Kyla Heumann, a seasoned instructor herself to both students and instructor apprentices, was an amazing addition my formal training as well. She gave me further opportunities to take kids through private session along side her and let me be as hands-on as I felt ready to, at the time. She also helped well-round the whole experience by giving me a head start in the water, even before my training formally started, practicing terminology and techniques with life-size dolls, as well as filming (with helpful and detailed commentary!) of my sessions with Judy, in the later weeks, which proved rather important in the polishing of my technique and confidence!

I was also able to learn a lot about the business side of swim instruction and the exclusive swim school business model and feel very encouraged and supported about my ideas and plans for the future. No questions remained unanswered and I quickly started to feel and observe the continued support in terms of technique, general business & marketing, which she would be able to provide in the long-term and how excited she is to do so. One great example is the marketing resource of professionally taken above and below the water pictures and videos by her husband, that have been taken of me in my final weeks and been provided to me with full rights.

I would absolutely recommend training with Judy and her team at SWIM•Float•SWIM! – it’s not just swim instruction that they provide, it’s an entire package of invaluable skills and resources and professional assets.

“Training with Judy was one of the most wonderful experiences in my life. She was always available for help and she was there to answer every one of my questions since the first days when I contacted her about the training course. During the training, she was very supportive and gave me the best training I could have. She shared with me all the knowledge from many years of experience, inspired me and encouraged me in my new path of career. After the extensive training with Judy, I gained a very strong knowledge base and felt very confident to start my own swim school. The training did not stop after 6 weeks at SWIM•Float•SWIM! but continued years after that. Judy is always there to help whenever I have questions and problems during my teaching in Vietnam. Despite the geographical distance between us, Judy is only a phone call or an email away. I’m very proud of my decision and very grateful for what Judy and SWIM•Float•SWIM! did for me.”

I was trained by Judy Heumann in 2014, and I am so thankful that I chose to train with her! From my first e-mail contact, she was really helpful with every detail I needed to know in order to make an informed decision. Judy not only took the time to answer all my questions and concerns about the Infant Aquatics training program, but she also helped me check out apartments, provided me with a car to rent, and assisted with many other details involved in international travel.

The training program is amazing and so is Judy. Her experience teaching aquatic survival, combined with all the children that I had the opportunity to work with, helped me feel confident about my training and prepared me to bring Infant Aquatics back home to Costa Rica.

To anyone interested in learning how to teach infants and toddlers aquatic survival skills, I would highly recommend training with Judy at SWIM•Float•SWIM! The support and knowledge she provides has been invaluable to me.

I can’t say enough regarding my training with Judy. She is the real deal! I think of Judy’s training like putting together a puzzle. She teaches you “piece by piece”. She breaks down each skill simply, and by the time you are finished you can put the puzzle together, and you understand completely where each piece goes and why it goes there. If I didn’t understand something, she never once made me feel uncomfortable. She explained it another way and showed me how to move forward and fix whatever it was I was struggling with.

When I was training at SWIM•Float•SWIM! I noticed that in addition to being an amazing business woman with the highest integrity, Judy is a friend to everyone she comes in contact with. And that has been my personal experience. I can’t tell you how many emails I have sent Judy asking her advice on things. She has answered every single email and all of my calls. Judy is not only my mentor, but I am honored to say that she is my friend for life!

If I have one regret about getting trained in Infant Aquatics it is that I didn’t do it sooner. Judy is a wealth of knowledge and will prepare you for a great career teaching. Her methods will have your students swimming much faster than other programs and learning basic rescue skills. If you want to be the best, learn from the best. I highly recommend her.

After deciding to become an Infant Aquatics instructor, I visited the SWIM•Float•SWIM! website many times. I wanted to learn from the ‘source’. Judy has over 40 years of experience and is the founder of Infant Aquatics. Who wouldn’t want to learn from the best? Her pool facilities look attractive from the website photos, but wait until you see them in person. The pool and location are unbelievably awesome.

When I first started to communicate with Judy, she gave me the feeling that she “cares”. She cares about Infant Aquatics, and she cared about me even before I met her. She is a mother and a grandmother, so she understood my concerns and needs traveling all the way from Hong Kong to Colorado. It made a big difference knowing that there was someone I could truly trust during my training.

Longmont is located 20 minutes away from beautiful Boulder. Boulder is marvelous, and it was such a bonus to be able to enjoy two beautiful American cities during my training.

The training was overwhelming and intensive but worth it. It’s very hands on, informative and has a very steep learning curve. It requires both physical, and mental energy. But Judy is patient, warm, and savvy. She openly extended her arms to welcome me when I first arrived. She knows her business well and works efficiently and creatively. Even though she started her profession 40 years ago, she has kept herself updated with new skills and information for Infant Aquatics and is in tune with our continuously evolving world.

Judy has a great team at SWIM•Float•SWIM! They are helpful in so many ways. Whether answering questions relating to the training or simply wanting to know where to eat/visit they were always willing to give the best advice.

When I returned to Hong Kong and eventually found a pool to start teaching, I ran into numerous problems. Although I had handled a large number of babies and children during my training, every child is unique. There are times when I run into a situation which I haven’t seen before. Judy provides tips and advice over email and phone calls that help me solve the problem or expedite the learning of my students. I can even send her video of my lessons and she provides me with valuable feedback. This has been very important to me because I am the only Infant Aquatics instructor in Hong Kong and China. I have no other resource in the area. Judy’s quick response really helps because our lessons are 4 days a week. That means I need to figure out the issue before the next day’s lesson.

Providing technical advice was only a small part of my post training experience with Judy. In Hong Kong, many people do not understand or have never seen the teaching method of Infant Aquatics program. When people don’t know why our program works effectively to teach a survival life skill to a child, they tend to reject it or criticize it. Judy has provided invaluable support to me by helping me handle situations on an emotional level. Judy has also taught me how to educate people on what is Infant Water Survival, which has been tremendously beneficial for me.

Which brings me to my final point. In addition to the actual in-water training, learning the academic and behavior sides of the program, and post training support from Judy, there is one other thing that is irreplaceable. During my 6 weeks at SWIM•Float•SWIM! I also learned the business aspect of running an Infant Aquatics program. Judy showed me how best to handle prospective clients, new parents, veteran moms, and the students themselves; how to make a facility a warm welcoming place for children and how to deliver the right message to parents. She showed me that Infant Aquatics is not just a business, it is her life. Her passion and commitment to Infant Water Survival and to the safety of all the children is one of the greatest lessons I have learned.

It took me almost a year to make the decision to become an Infant Aquatics instructor. I had talked with several other instructors who were teaching in other cities, and did my homework on what it would take to bring this amazing program to Austin, TX. What really stood out, and ended up being the deciding factor for me was talking with Judy. I felt her energy and genuine love for the Infant Aquatics program. Her passion for children and water safety was so infectious, and I knew I had to make the trek to Longmont to train and learn from, who in my opinion was the Best of the Best! From the minute I walked into the SWIM•Float•SWIM! facility to start my 6 week journey I felt at home and welcomed by her and her wonderful staff. It is an overwhelming and intense 6 weeks filled with so much information, but Judy is there every step of the way to show, explain, troubleshoot, and guide you; giving you the confidence you need to take everything you learned under her instruction and start your own program. Through this wonderful training I have gained a mentor and a friend. If a student is having trouble mastering a skill she is always there to help me identify the issue and find a solution. She continuously gives me confidence in growing as an instructor to ultimately build a successful program in Austin. I am grateful for the community of amazing instructors Infant Aquatics has brought into my life. The constant support and encouragement from Judy is what keeps me going, and challenges me to be the best instructor I can be!

As a swim school owner/instructor with 30 years of experience, why would I choose to invest in Infant Aquatics Instructor Training at SWIM•Float•SWIM! with Judy Heumann? Having a well-established swim school of my own and teaching the swim-float-swim method for many years, I am passionate about teaching kids to be safe in and around the water. However, I always felt there was something missing in my technique to help very young children and infants stay safe.

In my teaching experience, it was rare to have a child learn the life-saving rotation and float before the age of three years, but with Judy’s training, I’ve now mastered teaching survival skills to infants and toddlers! With older children, the life-saving skill of “fall-in, float, then SWIM•Float•SWIM! is achieved in half the time, now that I have this training under my belt! With Judy’s training, I’m able to give kids a stronger foundation, my skills have improved tremendously, and I’m seeing faster results.

The cost of this extra training was definitely worth it. The knowledge gained in this program has changed my whole game plan, proving that you can teach an old swim-dog new tricks! Judy’s ongoing support has been a lifesaver too!!

In the training, be at ease if Judy puts you with another training buddy. This helps balance the learning process because it allows you to be able to learn together and help one another. Most trainees have become life long friends!! You develop a strong bond going through this exceptional 6 week training! It meant the world to me to have accomplished so much in so little time and to actually be applying the skills I’ve learned to be more effective in the swim world!!

It was Judy’s training that bridged the gap for me & strengthened my programs all-around. I only regret not doing this sooner!

My journey to become an Infant Aquatics instructor started in summer of 2006. A tragic drowning accident claimed the life of a little 3-year old girl that went to the same daycare as my 6 months old daughter. A family based daycare with only 6 families, all neighbors, more or less. The little girl drowned in the family-pool, with mom at home and the pool gate supposedly locked. Ever since I was on the search for swim lessons that could help even very young kids to learn how to swim.

It took another couple years before I ran across a video of a toddler getting out of the house, unsupervised, waddling toward the pool. He falls in, rolls over and floats.

Immediately I was trying to find this program in my area. My older daughter was now 2.5 years old, and I had another baby girl of 6 months. After learning that the closest instructor is about 2 hours away I was ready to put my job on hold and enroll my kids into the program, which was several weeks long. Then I learned that instructor would only be there for a few weeks in summer and it dawned on me that I needed to become an instructor.

After a little bit of research, and a long phone call with Judy Heumann in Boulder, Colorado, the closest training instructor I could find, I was ready to visit her for a few days to see how lessons are conducted, how a training would look like, and learn everything that this would entail.

This short visit left me with the determination to become an instructor. My husband and I planned as much as we could; we knew it would be difficult since I had to put my job on hold and leave the state for 6 weeks, leaving him with 2 kids.

The training was challenging, mentally and physically. Long hours in the water, the constant worry about babies and very young kids in the water (this was all new to me), having to study after half a day of teaching lessons, me missing my family like crazy (my baby had just turned one when I left), and, I’m not going to sugar coat this, Judy’s high expectations.

As difficult as the training was, I left Boulder with a great sense of accomplishment, ready to jump into it. I started teaching for a few days a week over the weekend, still working as a research biologist. My daughters were my first students; they learned to swim at age 14 months and barely 3 years. Needless to say they are amazing swimmers now.

After 1 year I decided to teach the IAS program full time. It has become my career and my fulfillment. I do believe I have found my purpose in life.

Judy has not only given me the opportunity to find what I love to do but also taught me how to run a business. She asked a lot of me during the training, and I asked a lot of her- endless questions and worries. Now I am grateful to have taken the leap to a new path in my life.

Judy’s support and ability to teach are amazing, and even after 6 years, I am able to pick up the phone or send a quick email with a question, and it gets answered almost immediately.

Thank you, Judy, for who you are and what you do.

All of your help is much appreciated.

Love you!

What a delight it has been to study Infant Aquatics under Judy Heumann’s mentorship. Judy and I co-taught students ages 6 months-4.5 years during my six-week internship at SWIM•Float•SWIM! in Longmont, Colorado. Judy teaches both the student and student instructor with the same high expectations, positive attitude and challenging curriculum. Judy is incredibly systematic in the design of her student instructor course, from pre-teaching before instructors enter the water through the final comprehensive academic term paper. As a teacher at Saint Francis Xavier Elementary School, I hold high ideals for character and Judy has a natural affinity for teaching these ideals along with the subject matter for both the student and student instructor. Judy and her family could not have been better hosts for a visitor from a not so well traveled Phoenician. She has been instrumental in the formation and development of Goldfish Swim Academy; my new swim school in Phoenix, Arizona.

Judy has long been committed to the study of Infant Aquatics and truly takes it to heart in every aspect. She is faithful to employing best practices and seems to always desire to improve some aspect of her teaching or the program she oversees. Judy has taken SWIM•Float•SWIM! to a higher level by using an underwater camera more suited for Shark Week on the Discovery Channel than a swim pool, taking awe-inspiring HD video of every child’s progress for use in my advertising. She has sent me numerous still photos and short underwater video clips that I can say have been priceless.

Judy is among the best of instructors I have known in 10 years as a teacher and coach. She is attentive to safety of all, both physical and social-emotional. Although I came to SWIM•Float•SWIM! with nerves and the fear of the unknown, I left with the confidence and skills to teach students back home life saving skills. I’m proud to say within only two months removed from my training, I have taught a 20 and 22 month old the SWIM•Float•SWIM! sequence with outstanding success! Even after my departure from Colorado, Judy was by my side through the entire progress; answering any phone calls, emails or text messages guiding me though my first independent lessons.

I offer my highest recommendation in support of Judy Heumann as an excellent Master Instructor.

I was introduced to Judy in November 2014 when she visited South Africa following my son in-law and swim school owner Brendan Varrie, attending her Infant Aquatics Survival Instructor Training program in April 2014.

In his search to bring a unique swimming technique that could add a new dimension to to his already successful swim school, Brendan identified Judy and the Infant Aquatics as the program that could grow his business in South Africa.

To support this growth in the family business, I attended the 6-week Infant Aquatics Survival training program in June/July 2015 at Judy’s SWIM•Float•SWIM! facility in Longmont, Colorado.

I found this to be a life-changing experience which left me in awe of Judy – her wealth of knowledge in Infant Aquatics Survival training, her teaching methodology and her world-class facility, have shown me what I would like to aspire to as a trained Instructor.

Judy is a master of her trade – displaying absolute passion and expertise, always acting in the best interest of the child, gaining the support of the parent and delivering results time after time – which serves to endorse her credibility as a Lead Instructor and the high standards of her training program. Watching her in action and how her hands gently control and shape the behavior of the child to achieve the ultimate success of SWIM•Float•SWIM! is inspiring. Seeing the children gain confidence in the water as they grasp this critical survival skill is exhilarating.

Judy’s training methodology, professional guidance, willingness to share her wisdom both in the pool and in terms of running a business and support throughout the 6-week training has equipped me with all the knowledge, techniques, tips, tools and confidence required to bring these newly acquired skills back to South Africa.

Judy’s support extends beyond the pool to the extent that once you have completed the programme you know that you have not only gained the skills to be an Instructor but you have also gained a trusted friend whose support and interest in your progress, will follow you in the months and years to come.

To be trained by Judy has left me in no doubt that I was fortunate to be trained by a true professional in every sense of the word and for that I am grateful.

My training experience with Judy Heumann was an exciting journey. Judy is highly professional, knows how to run a business and was 200% dedicated to my success during the whole training period.

Judy not only taught me how to teach babies and children aquatic survival skills, she also helped me to set up a business. She showed me how to engage families in the SWIM•Float•SWIM! program and make sure the children have the opportunity for continuing education. After the 6 weeks of training I went back to the Netherlands and I wasn’t on my own. Judy always responds very quickly if I have a question or need some backup or support. Due to the time difference I am always fully prepared for the next swim lesson!!

I can not recommend anyone else but Judy for the Instructor Training Program at SWIM•Float•SWIM!

The Infant Aquatics program is an intense 6 weeks filled with so much information and many challenges, but Judy is there every step of the way to guide you; giving you the knowledge and confidence you need to take everything you learned under her instruction and start your own program back at home. Through this extraordinary journey  I have gained a mentor and a friend. If I was ever having trouble mastering a skill she was always there to help me identify the issue and find a solution. She continuously gives me encouragement and confidence in growing as an instructor to ultimately build a successful program in California. I am grateful for the opportunity to lean on my fellow Infant Aquatics instructors if I ever need help or have questions. Choosing this as my life long  career was the  best decision I ever made, it is the most challenging and rewarding thing I could have imagined.