Testimonials

Here is your opportunity to read what others have experienced and feel about Swim Lab International.

If you have something to add please email us: maria@swimlabinternational.com

These will be updated periodically and we appreciate all contributions.

Updated: November 2018

“I can not recommend SwimLab International highly enough.

Paul and Kris are very professional, they provide unique training tailored to the needs of each client .

Under their guidance within one week my son ( quad CP, GMCSF 4/5, non walker) has smashed so many milestones, has gone from a total non swimmer requiring armbands and full support in water to swimming 500 metres without any aids and with only minimal support and prompts from Paul.

Well, if that is not magic, then I don’t know what it is.

It was our first time in Lanzarote, but sure enough it’s not going to be the last!”

“The week in swim lab for my son meant he was included and active on our holiday as supposed to being bored and sitting in his wheelchair. He learned a lot of new skills in the water and on land which i hope we will continue further after we leave Lanzarote. It has been a very positive experience with two wonderful coaches Paul and Kris.”

“James has had an utterly fantastic five days with Paul and Kris. For us our sessions are not actually about James being able to swim faster or further, more about giving him a sense of pride, achievement and belief in himself.

The time spent with Paul and Kris does this emphatically and we have found nothing quite like it at home in the UK. James works hard for the entire session and pushes himself physically without any hint of complaint.

This is undoubtedly due to Paul and Kris and their hard work, encouragement, patience and teaching skill. James’ swimming has greatly improved but so too his overall strength and fitness.

Swimming our last session in open water in Playa Chica was a genuine achievement and an experience that James and I will treasure. Thank you Swim Lab for making it possible. ‍ .

See you in October”.

“Last month we tested out training with Swim Lab Lanzarote for the first time. Johan needed some intensive training, he loves “swimming” and while we have weekly access to a warm pool here in Jönköping we didn’t know how to make the most of that and had no one to advise us.

This video is long! It’s a compilation of some of the different pool-based and land-based exercises he did, a clip of his mini-golf reward and ends with his huge improvements in walking.

It was a real eye-opener for us to find out how many different muscles can be trained in the pool even if you can’t actually swim using different kicks, strokes and various pieces of equipment. We also got lots of new ideas we can use to incorporate training through fun games we can play at home from the land-based training.

Paul and Kris were great with Johan and his siblings. They made the training as fun as possible while also pushing Johan. They adapted things to incorporate Johan’s love of dinosaurs and kept him motivated by the promise of dinosaur mini-golf at the end of the week! (Being able to have his big sister train with him brought out his competitive edge and also helped his motivation levels towards the end of the block 😁).

Johan has gone from walking mainly with sticks but without support in high splints when he felt like it, to walking unaided in short splints and being obsessed with practicing his barefoot walking. He’s even working on turning. He is driving the progress himself right now.

We are amazed and delighted with the improvements he has made in the last few weeks and so thankful that we have been able to give him the gifts of SDR and PERCS as well as the opportunity to access great-quality intensive physiotherapy outside Sweden – none of which would have been possible without all the support we have received 💚”

“On Thursday Brooke was hesitant to take her feet off the floor. After 4 sessions with Paul and Kris her confidence was through the roof!! Thank you so much!!”

“Thank you both for a wonderful development week in London. It was a pleasure to see our son gain new techniques and confidence to improve his swimming skills. Paul and Kris’s inventive ways of ensuring the children remember sequences such as, ‘superman, chicken, pizza’ are imaginative and highly effective. Thank you for a wonderful week!”

Once again Paul and Kris have performed miracles. Our son is back on track, Stronger, fitter and reenergised” Tom Wooden

“My son James (aged 14 with diplegic cerebral palsy) had a fantastic few days with Paul and Kris in February.
Everything was well organised, the facilities were excellent and most importantly, the sessions in the pool and on land were highly beneficial to James both physically and emotionally.
In the pool, James completed the week with a greatly improved front crawl stroke. His overall strength had significantly increased as had his ability to swim longer distances. He ended the week swimming 700m and smashing his PB for 25m- 36 seconds.
Paul was fantastic- had great empathy with James and was able to push him and yet still be aware of the need to motivate and encourage him.
James enjoyed his sessions with Kris very much and they complimented his time in the pool, working on strength and balance.

As a teenager, who is more self-aware about his disability than ever before the week encouraged and motivated him. He came back from the sessions, fitter, stronger and with more self- belief.
Thank you Paul and Kris.

London disAbility Week…May
James attended two days of swim sessions and it was just what we needed to kickstart our swimming and fitness regime.
Academic life in Year 9 is hectic and fitting in swimming, stretching and exercising within the school week is a challenge. Seeing Paul and Kris again, albeit briefly, has helped to remind James of how much he enjoys swimming and generally being fit and active.
We are both greatly looking forward to seeing Paul and Kris in Lanzarote in July.”

Tricia Paterson (James’ Mum)

“Matilda (CP) and Fleur (hypermobility) swam with Paul and Kris during London disABILITY week. The girls have been with Swimlab for 3 years now and always get so much out of each visit, either to Lanzarote or when the team run a week in England. Paul and Kris always achieve so much striving to help the girls increase their abilities, yet making it fun. The girls love them, we love them and we love seeing how much difference they make to the girls. Long live Swimlab and their disABILITY weeks!”

“Once again Swimlab exceeded expectations and took my son to another level entirely- a level from which he can prove he can do this, earn badges and certificates and be a swimming superstar in his own right. For us, the most important thing is to see him enjoy swimming, be safe in the knowledge that he can get himself out of trouble and do what both his brother and sister can… swim for fun. What a gift and what an amazing skill.”

“Thank you once again for an excellent couple of session with Noah this May. The progress that he makes in each session is visible and his abilities continue to dramatically improve under your guidance. We look forward to seeing you again when you are next running a course in the UK.”

Haydn Jones “From the 5 days intensive swimming I get courage and fitness.  Paul helps me in all aspects in the water and you will gain a special bond with him.”

 As a parent “Paul is an amazing swimming coach.  He gives my son the confidence to try anything in the water.  My son works so hard in the 5 days and never give up.  Paul has a very special way of getting everything from the kids.  He has been working with my son since he was 3 years old and we continue to see such significant improvements.  I find the intensive sessions so beneficial.  It helps to focus attention and gives the children something to work on within a short space of time.  Paul gives clear goals and he has an amazing ability to see each child’s potential”. Sarah Jones

“– Benefits; because of his physical and mental disability, he does not get a rehabilitator to work with him since he does NOT help, but in water he got his muscles worked and moved

– what he brings in his life; get moved
– difference; before I did not want to walk I just wanted to go wheelchair and also does not get up just from his bed, now he gets this and no longer asks for a chair, thank you
I remind you that it is operating on the entire spine and the doctor who operated on it told me that it was very important swimming pool”

“Breath control.
Learn to swim within your possibilities
And physiotherapy is also done when doing exercises in the water”.

“Good morning, this wonderful project means more to me than you can imagine. I have a neuromuscular pathology called Charcot-Marie -Tooth. As a child they did not advise my parents anything to get my muscle atrophy and hypotonia to go away. In July, I confirmed genetically that my 4-year-old son had the same disease. He had symptoms of hypotonia, muscular weakness, he did not climb stairs, he got very tired when walking. I got down to work and started everything that I considered beneficial. And one of the therapies are with Paul and Cris. My son, Miguel, has gained muscle tone, goes up and down stairs, bends down without falling and seems to have less hypotonia. That siginofa this for me, the greatest feñicidad of the world! All the gratitude towards this project is little”.

“Adapted swimming has great meaning for both Fernando and his family.
In the months that it has been, we have seen an improvement in the way of swimming, also the joy with which it goes because thanks to its monitors it is very excited and in an area where there are more children and it feels included.
At a family level it gives us strength to see how he progresses and enjoys during his classes. In an area where many people go and not only people with disabilities.
In short we are all happy, he and his family, and happy to see his progress and how happy he is going to his classes.
It loads us with positive energy.
In the water you feel more independent since you can move without any problem.

Correct postures what benefits in your day to day.
Strengthens muscles that help maintain your muscles.
Increased lung capacity.
improve our psychic, affective and motor skills”.

“Hello, I am the mother of a 14-year-old boy who suffers from duchenn muscular dystrophy, for my son Ivan, the TRI WWW project is essential for his life and that provides a complete physicality at the level of mobility and breathing, since he started with the Adapted swimming ivan breathes much better at night and we suppress your oxygen machine that no longer needs help with this therapy, not to mention that your self-esteem is much much more and you feel much safer in the water.

I just wanted to tell you that we’ve just had a very excitable hour long explanation of how your session went today with Flynn. He couldn’t wait to show us all his new technique for standing up, climbing stairs and was convinced that he had a new definition in his arm muscle. He is full of hope and excitement and it’s so lovely to see that in him already. In his own words.. “Well mum, I can work on all of this from now on because I don’t want to be a disabled person by the time I’m 21 do I!!”.. It’s not often he uses this reference to himself, but it tells me that in his mind he sees new hope thanks to you. He says you are his favourite coach so far already and he cant wait to continue with you. So I just wanted to say a huge congratulations for reaching our son and giving him brand new goals. Thank you for your time”.

“We visited Paul with our 5 year old son (our son has cerebral diplegia (palsy).  As with our previous visits I had arranged for him to have 1-2-1 swimming lessons with Paul.  In July, 2014 our son was discharged from Great Ormond Street Hospital after undergoing a life changing operation called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR).  Our primary aim to come to Lanzarote was to provide our son with a week of rehab with Paul.

Our son had sessions every day with Paul; sometimes 2 sessions a day.  By the end of the week the difference was amazing.  He was able to walk for a longer distance with his feet flat on the floor (before his operation he walked on his tiptoes), swim on his back, put his head in the water comfortably, move his legs independently of each other, swim 25 metres on his front and back and cover the length of the Olympic pool with support.  These were things that were just not possible before his operation, and things that would not have been possible so soon after his operation if we hadn’t had the help of Paul. 

Paul is a very knowledgeable, professional, patient and experienced swimming coach who instantly commands the respect of the pupil, which with children is a fantastic skill to have.  Paul is also a very personable person who instantly puts you at ease.  Our son became so much more confident and relaxed in the pool, which as parents was so wonderful to see. 

The difference Paul has made to our son’s swimming is priceless.  I have no hesitation in recommending Paul; I just wish he lived and worked in the UK”.