Today we’d like to introduce you to April McCarty.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Who is Aqua April? My story is a simple one. I was born and raised on Long Island, NY. My backyard was on the water—the canals and river of Idle Hour, the Great South Bay, and of course, the Atlantic Ocean. I spent my summers from Memorial Day to Labor Day on the beach with my entire family. The Atlantic Ocean is where I learned to swim as a baby and toddler, which was a necessity since we lived on the water. Besides the beach life, swim team was also a huge part of my growing up years from kindergarten to my senior year of high school, first with AAU Club Swimming, then on a State ranked high school team for four years. I also earned my first Red Cross Lifeguard certificate when I was 15, and my card is still current today. My family has water running through our veins.
After graduating high school, I moved into New York City and attended Parsons School of Design (yes, where Project Runway is filmed). I studied communication design, specializing in editorial and corporate design. My time was spent in publishing, first with newspapers, then magazines. Swimming wasn’t a major part of my life during my time living in NYC, while I was in school and working in my career. I still went to the beach on weekends, though. Either out to Long Island or down to the Jersey Shore, this girl still needed her water and ocean time.
Then after living in New York for thirty-three years, and three children later, I found myself living in Texas. I have been here since 1997. This is where my swimming career took on a new life in 2000. I worked with three swim schools in our area, as an instructor and as an Aquatic Director with two of the schools. I also coached with two local USA swim teams for 8 years. I then decided to start my own mobile swim program. I traveled to families’ homes and brought my own unique and extraordinary way of teaching swimming. In 2016, I was approached by Above the Bar gym to bring my swim program and business to their pool. I now lease their pool and run my swim program at Above the Bar, which has been an extremely rewarding opportunity.
Here is my Swimming Resume since being in Texas:
– Swim Instructor at Summers Swim Academy
– Developmental Coach with Space City Aquatics – USA Swim Team
– Aquatics Director for Texas Swim World
– Head Coach for Dickinson Gators – Summer League Swim Team
– Aquatics Director for AcroSports
– Age Group Coach with The Sharks – USA Swim Team
– Aquatics Director for the National Council of Boy Scouts
– Owner and Instructor with Aqua April Mobile Swim Program
– Owner and Instructor with Aqua April “The School of Swimming”
Has it been a smooth road?
When I operated my mobile swim program, the biggest challenges were with Mother Nature. The winter months were tighter because my clients had outdoor pools, so it was difficult to keep enough clients to sustain my business and pay my bills.
Overall, the transition from the mobile program to the pool at Above the Bar has been very smooth. The biggest difficulties initially were getting the word out that I had a new swim school in the area, as well as getting existing clients to agree to travel to a new location.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Aqua April story. Tell us more about the business.
Aqua April is a year-round swim program with an indoor, in-ground, heated pool. I offer small class sizes with a maximum of three students in a class, almost like private lessons. Because of the small class sizes, each student receives quality time with the coach, and spends more time in the water working on skills than they would in a larger class.
I’m known for my assertive teaching style. Swimming is a life-saving skill that I believe everyone should know. I take this very seriously and do not believe in dragging out lessons at the expense of the parents, because it does not take months to learn how to swim. Learning to swim can be scary, but not difficult. In just a few lessons, I get kids swimming with the knowledge to be in the water safely.
I’m most proud of my specialization in teaching children on the autism spectrum. My school serves a large community of children with autism. They can learn and swim like everyone else, and that is how I teach, with no unnecessary provisions. I teach everyone at the Aqua April pool the same swimming skills and water safety because I believe everyone can swim.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
– (1-2 years) Special Olympics (sponsoring a swim team to practice at my pool)
– (5-7 years) Another location (owning the property and build my own swim school)
– (7-10 years) Possibly Franchising
Pricing:
- 1 SESSION/Swim Lesson: $200 for 8 Classes (30 min each) max. 3 students
- 2 SESSION/Swim Lesson: $350 for 8 Classes (30 min each) max. 3 students
- 3 SESSION/Swim Lesson: $500 for 8 Classes (30 min each) max. 3 students
- 1 SESSION/Pre-Swim Team: $300 for 8 Classes (60 min each) max. 6 students
- 2 SESSION/Pre-Swim Team: $550 for 8 Classes (60 min each) max. 6 students
- 3 SESSION/Pre-Swim Team: $800 for 8 Classes (60 min each) max. 6 students
Contact Info:
- Address: Aqua April “the school of swimming”
431 Columbia Memorial Pkwy
League City, Texas 77573 - Website: http://www.aqua-april.com/
- Phone: 832-226-2344
- Email: mccarty_april@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aqua.april/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aquaaprilswimprogram/
Image Credit:
Personal photo is myself with my Sailor son Evan before leaving for the Navy Bootcamp.
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
