Tiffany combined a psychology and social behavior degree from the University of California, Irvine with experience as a California-credentialed school teacher, coach, and business owner to develop and grow My Swim Buddy. More than 20 years of business and sales experience honed her business sense and leadership skills, but her childhood athletics provided the foundation and passion for teaching swimming.

At age 12, she competed in the Junior Olympics for swimming. Tiffany still holds the 800-meter record in track and field at Laguna Hills High School, which earned her a college scholarship. She developed a passion for teaching swimming when she was 16 and her swim coach offered her a summer job.

Tiffany was inspired to start My Swim Buddy by a single question, “What would you do for free?” She knew the answer instantly, “teach swimming.”

“I have nothing but continued growth and satisfaction since I decided to follow my heart,” Tiffany Hoggard.

Today, she leads a team of My Swim Buddy teachers, relentlessly finding, training, and supporting the most qualified and passionate swim teachers who also strive to make a positive impact on our youth. She hopes that she and the My Swim Buddy team can help support you and your family not just to learn to swim but to also gain confidence, drive, and passion for life. The My Swim Buddy teaching methodologies are sprinkled with the influences of her favorite coach, John Wooden, and driven by his principle of success: “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”

When she is not in the water or helping her My Swim Buddy families and team, you can find Tiffany playing sand volleyball.

Julie discovered her passion for swimming and teaching when she moved to Texas from Chicago as a teenager. The first place she found “home” in Texas was when she joined the local YMCA swim team. This led to a summer job teaching swim lessons and coaching the swim team. Julie eventually managed the local YMCA swim program in her summers when she was home from college and early on in her teaching career. She took some time off from teaching swim lessons in order to raise her three fabulous children, one of which is on the Autism Spectrum.

Julie brings her experience and passion to teaching swim lessons as a former swimmer, swim instructor, lifeguard trainer, swim coach, and general special education teacher. As a diagnostician working with 2–5-year-old students, Julie has demonstrated her knowledge of young children’s overall development as well. She has extensive experience working with children of all ages in and out of the swimming pool.

Julie holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a special education certification, as well as a Masters degree in Special Education. During her career as an educator, Julie has worked in both general education and special education, including working as a Behavior Specialist for several campuses. After receiving an educational diagnostician’s certificate, Julie served as an Autism evaluation team member for multiple area school districts.

Lexi is a Montana native who grew up with a body of water always at her fingertips. Her summers were spent almost exclusively at the lake and from an early age she knew that her favorite place was in the water. When her family relocated for a short time to Florida she fell in love with the ocean and vowed when she “was big” she would, “live in a sandcastle on the beach.” She never did live in a sand castle, but she did return to Florida to pursue her degree in Dietetics at UNF in Jacksonville.

As a child with high anxiety and ADHD Lexi found that the sensory input of being in the water calmed her mind and her body. Now she is a new mom to sweet little boy with CP and a basset hound puppy who is obsessed with the bath. In this new phase of life she has decided to take a step away from her career in Corporate America and get back to her happy place – the pool. Being a swim teacher gives Lexi the opportunity to pass on a place of peace to other kids who might struggle being too “in their head” like she did and she can’t wait to teach the skills needed so that kids can be safe and find joy in the water too

Sara Chmielewski has always liked the water but really developed an appreciation for swim safety when she worked as a lifeguard for 5 years in college. As a soccer player since the age of 4 – and a current intramural Striker – Sara values the way participating in sports shaped her into a healthy and structured young adult.

Sara is a graduate of LA Tech and currently a substitute at Frisco ISD where she teaches art to high school students. Whether it is in the classroom or in the pool she loves watching students work through difficulty to grow in their skills. Being an athlete in team sports has helped Sara be great at reading the body language of her students which makes her a truly intuitive teacher.

While Sara seeks her certification to become a full-time art teacher she is excited to help the next generation of little fishes become safer swimmers. She believes that when you’re safe, swimming opens up a whole new world to explore and interact with. When not in the pool or classroom you’ll find Sara creating her own art, reading, or getting goals on the field.

Growing up around water – Dora’s mother and grandmother were both swim teachers – it is a natural extension of Dora’s talents to be a swim instructor as well. Prior to joining My Swim Buddy Dora gained experience as a camp counselor where she first realized she thoroughly enjoyed working with children. Dora is passionate about the next generation so she is pursuing a major in education at the University of North Dallas. Her passion lies in helping kids develop confidence and improve their swimming abilities.

We recommend bringing a towel, a change of dry warm clothing, drinking water, and a snack for after the lesson. Goggles are allowed and will be introduced when appropriate, but we request that they initially not be worn. 

We have our most recommended products such as goggles, swim fins, and wetsuits available to purchase at our pool if you need them. Please order through our online ProShop in advance to ensure we have your preferred size and color in stock. Check out this video to see why we stock and recommend the products we do.

Please take notice of parking signs and instructions on site. Parking is limited and at someone’s home. If we work together to follow a few simple steps there will be room for everyone to come and go easily.

For cars with one swimmer, please use the circle drive to park in front of the house.

If you arrive early to your lesson and are one of the last cars in the circle drive, please park and bring your swimmer to their lesson. When the swimmers attending lessons before you have left and your swimmer is with their teacher, we ask that you please move your car to the top of the circle drive so those that arrive after you have a place to park.

The two parking spots directly in front of the pool gate are reserved for cars with two or more swimmers and adult swimmers. This will keep the circle drive from becoming backed up with cars waiting longer than one lesson. Please do not park in these spots unless you have two or more swimmers or have adult lessons.

We also ask that you not park in front of the workshop to the far right, as that is the staff/resident parking.

Thank you for helping us make it possible for everyone to get and leave their lessons on time.

Cancellation/Withdrawal Policy

Please see our Terms and Policy section here.

Inclement Weather Policy

Rain and cold weather do not cancel a lesson! My Swim Buddy has a dome enclosure around the pool in the cooler months.  This and the heated (90 – 92) degree pool allow us to conduct lessons in the rain and in cold weather, so please plan to swim in the rain and cold weather. If this is a concern, please avoid booking in the colder season because for us to reserve our teachers for your lessons, we can not stray from this policy and must commit to the schedule you sign up for, rain or shine.

Lighting and/or thunder do cancel a lesson. If there is availability you will be allowed to reschedule your lesson for a later date, otherwise, you will be credited for the weather cancelation. My Swim Buddy must initiate the cancellation for you to be allowed to reschedule/receive credit for the weather cancelation. Do not assume a lesson is canceled due to the elements. My Swim Buddy will contact you and confirm the cancellation as soon as possible.

Late Policy

Your reserved time slot(s) will be the time period you have booked online. For example, if you reserve 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm and you arrive at 4:05 pm, your lesson will still end promptly at 4:30 pm. The time period before and after your lesson is allotted for other swimmers.