Fredericksburg Parent

8 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • April 2026 2 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • Special Issue 2026 WRITTEN BY CAMILLE TURNER Whether it's pool days, beach trips, or a ernoons spent at the Rappahannock River, for many families, me around water is one of the staples of childhood. But along with the fun comes an important life skill: knowing how to swim. At Li le Fish Swimming, that skill is at the heart of everything they do. Founded nearly two decades ago in a backyard pool and now serving families throughout the Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, and Stafford areas in four pools, Li le Fish Swimming offers structured swim lessons designed to build both safety and confidence in the water. The program welcomes swimmers as young as six months old and con nues through advanced levels for older children and even adults. They offer both private classes and group classes, which are inten onally small, typically no more than four swimmers in a group, to ensure each par cipant receives focused instruc on and steady progress. For CEO Keri Rayford and COO Aaron Rayford, swimming instruc on is about much more than learning strokes. It's about equipping people with a skill that can quite literally save lives. "It's why we've jumped into using the term waterproofed. We really want to waterproof our whole region," Aaron said. While safety is the founda on, progress is also at the core of the Li le Fish Swimming philosophy. Students progress through a structured series of levels that build skills step by step. Younger swimmers may begin in parent-and-tot classes before advancing through levels such as minnows, fish, and, eventually, sharks. Each milestone is celebrated along the way. From Backyard Pool to Community Cornerstone: 19 Years of Teaching Fredericksburg How to Swim Little Fish Swimming has grown from humble beginnings into a regional leader in swim instruction, helping families build confidence, safety, and lifelong skills in the water.

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