Who We Are
Our mission is to help every person be safer in the water, whoever they are.
STRIDE Aquatics is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit swim school in North Hollywood, built on a simple idea: swimming should adapt to the swimmer, not the other way around. Our lessons are private and individualized, with adaptive instruction for swimmers of all abilities, including those with physical and developmental disabilities. We believe water safety is a life skill everyone deserves access to.
Founder’s Story
In the water, everyone is the same.
STRIDE founder John Manison knows better than almost anyone how transformative swimming can be. An autoimmune disease left him wheelchair-bound through childhood, yet he competed in three sports in high school, including swimming. He is the only known paraplegic in the world to fully recover. As he put it: "Swimming is the single biggest reason I am where I am today, able to walk again.
After years on both sides of the swim-lesson world, John grew frustrated with how rigid most instruction was: every segment on a clock, no room for the instructor's judgment, no room for the swimmer. STRIDE is his answer, a swim school where the lesson is built around the individual and adaptive instruction is the standard, not a special case.
Watch the full Swimming World TV interview
Our Approach
Dedicated to Eliminating Accidental Drowning And Building Passion for the water
Stride Aquatics Is working to ensure that all children and adults have access to affordable swim lessons. We are also dedicated to coupling swim lessons with awareness campaigns, disabled programs, and more...
Our main teaching method for children is the use of guided play. Although we adhere to teaching specific swim skills that must be learned, our lesson programs are flexible, allowing students the freedom to explore, share ideas and build on them, without sticking to rigid time constraints during each lesson. We use fun songs and games to keep kids engaged, and provide a positive learning environment that inspires a love for swimming and reinforces our focus on water safety.
Built For Every Ability
Children and adults with autism and other disabilities are at far higher risk of drowning, and rarely have access to lessons designed for them. At STRIDE, adaptive instruction is not a separate program. Our instructors bring experience from respite care, tutoring, and behavioral therapy to the pool, and adapt pace, communication, and technique to each swimmer. As a nonprofit, we also partner with regional centers and other third-party funders, so families can use disability funding toward lessons where their plan allows.
Swimming should be for everyone.
STRIDE Aquatics is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Through our Adopt a Child program, donors fund three months of lessons that bring a child from our low-income waiting list to fully water-safe. 100% of every Adopt a Child gift goes straight to that child's lessons.