Meet your coach

Youssef Razzouk

Certified instructor, former competitive athlete, and the person who’ll be in the water with your child every single lesson.

Youssef Razzouk, National Lifeguard certified swim instructor at Champions Swim School

Time in the water taught me how to teach it

I spent several years competing at a provincial level and made it to OFSAA twice, once in the A finals and once in the B finals. That’s where I learned what good technique actually feels like, and just as importantly, how a coach can break something complicated into a step a person can actually do.

For over five years I’ve been teaching swimming full time, with more than 100 swimmers through my lessons. Some wouldn’t put their face in the water on day one, some were already on swim teams and chasing a faster stroke. What they have in common is that they left more capable and more confident than they arrived.

I hold my National Lifeguard certification, and I’m certified to train other lifeguards and instructors as a National Lifeguard Instructor and a Lifesaving Instructor. Safety isn’t a box I tick before a lesson. It’s the foundation everything else gets built on.

  • 5+Years teaching swimming
  • 100+Swimmers taught to swim
  • 2×OFSAA finalist, A & B finals
Qualifications

Certified to teach, and to certify

Not every swim instructor is qualified to train other instructors. These are the credentials behind every lesson.

  • National LifeguardCanada’s standard certification for professional lifeguards.
  • National Lifeguard InstructorQualified to train and certify new lifeguards.
  • Lifesaving InstructorQualified to teach lifesaving and water safety courses.
  • 2× OFSAA finalistOntario provincial championships, A and B finals.
How I coach

What every lesson comes back to

Technique matters, but it is never the first thing. These are the rules I teach by, whether it is a nervous four year old or a swimmer chasing a faster time.

  • Safe before fast

    A child who panics in deep water is not ready for stroke drills, no matter how good the kick looks. Comfort and safety skills come first, every time.

  • Meet the swimmer where they are

    No fixed script. I read where a child actually is in the first few minutes and adjust the plan, not the other way around.

  • Every lesson ends on a win

    Kids come back to the pool for the feeling, not the curriculum. Sessions are built so there is always something that clicked before they climb out.

  • Honest feedback, always

    You’ll hear what your child is good at and what still needs work. If they’re not ready for the next level yet, I’ll tell you.

Facilities & safety

Where your child will be swimming

A clean, well-kept indoor pool with a proper shallow end and a deep end, so every level from first-timer to strong swimmer has somewhere to work.

The bright indoor pool used for Champions Swim School lessons

The pool

  • 15 metres long, with plenty of room to build up distance as your swimmer progresses.
  • A shallow end and a deep end, so nervous beginners can stand up while stronger swimmers still get real depth to work in.
  • Indoor and heated, so lessons run comfortably whatever the weather is doing outside.
  • Depths clearly marked around the pool, so you and your child always know where you are.

Safety on deck

  • Rescue equipment on site, including life rings and reaching aids kept within arm’s reach of the water.
  • First aid and medical equipment on deck for the whole lesson, not stored somewhere down a hallway.
  • Your instructor is a certified lifeguard, National Lifeguard qualified and CPR certified, in the water with your child throughout.
  • Flotation aids available for swimmers who still need the support, and taken away as soon as they don’t.

Parents are welcome to watch. You’re never asked to leave the pool area during your child’s lesson.

Come swim with us

Book online in a couple of taps, or just call and we’ll talk it through.