About Us
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Haley and Tracy Johnson
Owners
Haley Johnson (formerly Whatley), has been a swim instructor and lifeguard since 2006. She graduated from Texas Tech University in May 2012. In 2007, she began teaching private swim lessons in her backyard, and now Whatley Swim teaches all over the Austin area.
Tracy (Tra) Johnson is a cybersecurity practitioner and automotive enthusiast. For Whatley Swim, Tra helps create policies, procedures, and develop risk management protocols.
Meet Our Leadership Team
Sole Llorca
Program Director
Sole Llorca was born in Spain, in a small city in Alicante province, just 20 minutes away from the Mediterranean Sea. She moved to London for a few years but had to go back to Spain because she missed the food, the sun and the beach too much. She worked in the corporate world for 20+ years, and finally decided to leave that route and do more of what she loves, swimming and yoga. She started teaching mobile swim lessons with Whatley Swim in 2021 and fell in love with the students and the company. She loves to teach and learn from the students and is now Whatley Swim’s Program Director.
Kalia Hunter
Change Manager
Asst. Program Director
Kalia Hunter is Whatley Swim’s Change Manager and Asst. Program Director. She has helped us tremendously in the off season to find new software for our clients and instructors. When scheduling is a breeze this season, you know who to thank!
Jacey Wood
Senior Relationship Manager
Our former instructor Jacey Wood now works as our Senior Relationship Manager at Whatley Swim. She’s a wife and mom of 2 who loves spending time with her family, hanging out at the ranch, cooking, and off-roading. She loves people and is excited to love and serve our clients really well this year.
Meet Our Instructors
Instructors
We are hiring for the 2024 season!
Are you energetic, fun, responsible, and love to learn and share your knowledge? If the answer is yes, we would love for you to come work with us at Whatley Swim. We are a seasonal mobile swim school for students of all ages and levels. We cover Austin metropolitan areas (including Travis, Williamson, Burnet, Bastrop and Hays counties).
Hannah Ngai
Instructor
Hannah studies biomedical engineering at Texas A&M and is also a foodie. This will be her third summer teaching with us. Hannah is Lifeguard, CPR, and First Aid certified.
Natalie Uribe
Instructor
Natalie has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology from the UT Rio Grande Valley, so one of her greatest passions is working in the water, swimming, and diving. She also has a passion for teaching others beneficial skills, so teaching children to swim and working with clients in Spanish, her native language is right up her alley. She is Lifeguard, CPR and First Aid certified and is looking forward to a fun summer teaching and learning.
Ashley Angus
Instructor
Ashley was born and grew up in Illinois and has lived in Austin for 2 years. She loves hiking, swimming, and horses. This is Ashley’s second summer with Whatley Swim and she is Lifeguard, CPR and First Aid certified.
Klaus Reissenweber
Instructor
Klaus is a Junior Advertising Major at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a bilingual german and from Minnesota and has experience tutoring kids at his local elementary school. He swam on the high school swim team and enjoys spending his days outside swimming in nature. Klaus is Lifeguard, CPR, and First Aid certified.
Trish Detwiler
Instructor
Trish is originally from Houston and has three teenagers. She teaches 3rd Grade at Burnet ISD. She enjoys going to state parks, swimming, and finding good live music when we can. This instructor covers Leander and is Lifeguard, CPR, and First Aid certified through the Red Cross.
Lacey Gulley
Instructor
Lacey has been a swim instructor for about 6 years and was on a swim team for 14. She is looking forward to helping swimmers reach their goals and being safe in the water! This instructor covers Georgetown and is Lifeguard, CPR, and First Aid certified through the Red Cross.
Rebecca Barrilleaux
Instructor
Rebecca is 23 and has been teaching swim lessons for about two years, and she has 9 years of experience working with kids. This instructor covers the towns of Buda, Kyle, and San Marcos and is Lifeguard and EMT Basic Certified.
Grace Jackson
Instructor
Grace studies Chemistry at Texas A&M University and loves all things water and sport-related. She is excited to begin teaching others how to swim! Grace is Lifeguard, CPR, and First Aid certified and will teach in North Austin.
Savannah Epstein
Instructor
Savannah studies cybersecurity at UVA. She has been lifeguarding since she was 15 and this will be her third summer teaching with us. Savannah is Lifeguard, CPR, and First Aid certified and will teach at Ride on Center for Kids in Georgetown this summer.
Kris Puskar
Instructor
Kris has been swimming since he was 4 years old with several different Massachusetts swim teams: Lake Shore, OCY YMCA, Oliver Ames high school. He lifeguarded for the YMCA and taught private lessons. Kris is Lifeguard, CPR, and First Aid certified and will teach in Southwest Austin and Westlake this summer.
Nadia Abihanna
Instructor
Nadia is a pre-med student at Texas State University. She is from Houston, Texas, but is Venezuelan and Lebanese. She has experience coaching kids in English and Spanish, as she is fully bilingual. Nadia is Lifeguard and EMT Basic Certified.
Christian Smith
Instructor
Christian is originally from Illinois and is an acting major at Illinois State University. He has been a competitive swimmer, swim instructor, and lifeguard. Helping others to learn those skills is something he is very passionate about. This instructor services South Austin.
Eden Heinzke
Instructor
Eden studies psychology at the University of Chester. She has been swimming since she was 3 and coaching on her neighborhood swim team since she was 12. She is Lifeguard, CPR, and First Aid certified and is excited to help teach.
Our Core Values
Inclusion | Individualism | Integrity| Safety | Systemization
At Whatley Swim, we believe in creating an environment where any student can learn. We enjoy seeing progress in our students as they work through fear, language barriers, learning differences, and physical differences. In order to yield the best results, we look at our students holistically. We take into account the way they feel emotionally and physically and the way they think when planning their lessons. We aim, not only to teach them new skills, but to teach them to trust others and themselves. We believe that a sense of adventure is the most important precursor to learning. This mindset produces confidence, curiosity, openness and growth. Likewise, I cultivate these principles in our staff throughout instructor training. The system to which our instructors adhere is merely a template, and they work hard to customize it for each student they encounter. By focusing on developing students’ strengths, we reduce angst and accelerate learning. Lessons with us are a positive experience all the way around!
Happy Customers
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F.A.Q.
Can I choose my instructor?
Instructors are based on location availability.
What if I miss a lesson?
– We do not provide refunds for missed lessons.
– If you need to reschedule, you must cancel 24 hours prior to your scheduled class time to avoid the $20 rescheduling fee.
Can I take lessons at my HOA or neighborhood pool?
Yes, you may take lessons at the pool in the neighborhood where you live if the HOA allows visitors and swim lessons.
**For more information about neighborhood eligibility or to nominate your neighborhood, please email [email protected]. We try to add new neighborhoods each year!
When are classes?
We teach May-September between the hours of 9 AM-8 PM (hours may vary by location).
When is tuition due?
Tuition is due at the time of registration.
What type of lessons are right for my child?
Take our short quiz here to find out which type of lessons are right for your child.
When do you open registration?
Registration for the 2023 season will open in mid-February. Please email us at info@whatleyswim to be added to our email list and to receive registration notifications.
