About Us
Little Strokes was founded on the idea that swim lessons for children of all ages could be better. Not only would that improve them as swimmers and athletes, it would make our community a safer place.
About the Owners
Little Strokes Swim Academy is owned and operated by a local Waunakee family, Bill and Rachel (Brumund-Smith) Tygum. Bill and Rachel grew up swimming together on the Waunakee Rural Aquatic Team (WRAT), both were captains and MVP’s of their respective Waunakee High School swim teams, and each coached for local swim teams for over a decade! They took that passion for swimming and created Little Strokes right here in Waunakee, to give back to the community that they love so much. Bill and Rachel are proud to call Waunakee home and raise their three daughters here.
Our History
After years of coaching, Bill and Rachel noticed that there simply wasn’t a competitive swimming based lessons program in the area. Most were focused on safety and survival, and the Tygum’s knew swim lessons could be better. In March 2005, Little Strokes Swim Academy was founded in in a small hotel pool outside of Deforest. Little Strokes continued to grow and moved to the Madison Country Day School in 2006, where renovations made it a perfect facility for the instruction of young swimmers.
In August 2016, Little Strokes designed and built a brand new facility in the Arboretum Office Park on Quinn Drive in Waunakee. This custom facility features a 6 lane pool, large locker rooms, a family bathroom and a party room. Not surprisingly the local response has been overwhelming. Little Strokes Swim Academy continues to be a leader in swim instruction and a leader in the community.
Our Philosophy
Founded by former swimmers and swim coaches, Little Strokes Swim Academy stands out from other learn-to-swim programs because of our open secret: the most experienced and qualified instructors in the business.
All of our professional instructors are former swimmers and swim coaches who have years of competitive swimming and swim coaching under their belts. Competitive swimming experience is a job requirement at Little Strokes. We feel that someone instructing swimming should be a former swimmer, no exceptions. All of the training our instructors receive is spent on how to instruct, not how to swim. Being able to boast instructors who are themselves; swimmers, coaches and teachers, means that our instructors not only have the tools to teach the science of swimming, but a fundamental love and understanding of the sport.