Midwest Aquatics Swim & Scuba Center

When I moved to Kansas City in 2000 I discovered Midwest Aquatics. As an avid scuba diver, I needed a place to get into the water to check out my equipment before going to dive in the Caribbean. Their pool is wonderful. They have a full service equipment facility and have serviced my regulators many times. I’ve been pleased with equipment I’ve purchased from them. Although I did my dive training elsewhere, I’ve talked with people who’ve been certified through this shop and they speak highly of the training. When I go for my Nitrox Cert I will definitely consider them. From what I can tell their children’s program is first rate.

It is January, and now is the time for my three year old twins to learn how to swim. Although Midwest Aquatics is located in the back of beyond, over half an hour’s drive from midtown Kansas City, from the recommendations of several other mothers, Midwest Aquatics is a facility that will have young swimmers safe and confident in the water.
The group lessons meet at different times based upon level of proficiency in the water. New swimmers wear a floatation device called a bubble, which is a foam block strapped to the back of the child by a belt worn around the waist. It assists with buoyancy without impeding arm movement (unlike the Puddle Jumpers or similar water wing devices); the bubble helps to keep the child afloat, but unless he is working with his arms and legs to swim or tread water, it will not effortlessly suspend him in the water (your child works to swim).
The group lessons run 25 minutes and 5 minutes free swim at the end. The instructor, Secille, teaching my daughters is fantastic; she is kind and dedicated to her task. She works well with the group class of four students, and everyone seems to thrive.
My only complaints are the driving time to get here and the fact that the «family changing room» is inadequately small and rather gross with a dingy wet floor. Otherwise, there is nothing about the facility of which to complain.
However, I will add that one will lower his esteem for Midwest Aquatics if he speaks to them on the telephone. The customer service over the phone plummets immensely, especially if speaking to Angie – who is, as she reminds one over the phone, not the owner (thank goodness!) – who is rude, unpleasant and REMARKABLY unwilling to leave messages for either the swim instructors or the owner. Everyone else seems to be very nice, the owner, the deck monitor, the instructors, but if you find yourself speaking to Angie over the telephone, I highly recommend asking her when you might call back to speak to someone else…
If you are in need of swim instruction or wish to become scuba certified, Midwest Aquatics certainly seems to be the best option for Kansas City residents!

Read Google reviews to see the true ratings for this place. Or just hop on any forum of KC moms to learn the truth. Seems like everybody has a negative history or knows someone that has. I’m actually shocked there aren’t more reviews on Unilocal,but I think most people think of Unilocal as being for restaurants. Back to Midwest Aquatics– Awful instructors — intimidating, rude, just flat out nasty instructors (the worst one I believe no longer works there but her daughter still does…) The male owner seems so rude and they are money hungry. Don’t expect them to work with you if you have to miss a lesson. You’re s.o.l. They put too many kids in each lesson so your child may only have a few minutes in the water. They told me they would cap the lesson at 4 – 5 kids but they snuck in a 6^th every week. When the lesson is only 30 minutes long and the last few minutes are used as «play time» (open swim), that doesn’t give your child much time to actually learn to swim. They also only do 1x a week lessons unlike many other places that recommend 3−4x a week, especially during the summer months. There were a few instructors we have had and did like, but they have all quit, not surprisingly. I really don’t know how this place stays in business. They must do a hell of a lot of business on the scuba side since there isn’t many other businesses like that in KC, but for swim lessons — keep looking. I suggest Blue Valley Recreation if you’re in OP. After many years of enduring the owner’s BS at Midwest we finally switched and have wished we’d done it a loooong time ago. Their semi-​private lessons (2 kids) are almost the same price as Midwest’s huge group lessons and are SO much more effective. And a better atmosphere. At Midwest you have to sit in the totally LOUD pool area where it is always way too hot because there is no air circulation. At BVR you sit in a nice air conditioned lobby area and get to watch through a huge observation window.

This place does it all — from outfitting you to teaching classes to lessons.
Showed up right at opening time on Saturday and got the personal attention of the owner for an hour as we systematically worked through the outfitting of a diving/​snorkeling novice. Really appreciated his care/​thoughtfulness. Gear served me well in Grand Cayman. Am looking forward to geting more certifications here.

If you enjoy your child being sent to boot camp and yelled at instead of taught to swim, then just MAYBE this is the place for your child. Yes, safety and knowing how to swim is EXTREMELY important but by NO means is it appropriate to yell at children instead of instruct! We had THE WORST experience ever. My daughter is now scared to death to go to a swim lesson ANYWHERE. If you do «try it out» stir far-​far away from Ms Ann!

Amazing swim instructors!!! Highly recommend!!! My son is stronger swimmer and feels comfortable and safe in the water thanks to Midwest Aquatics!!!

We went for an intro SCUBA lesson from Mike through a Groupon offer and were quite happy with the lesson.
Mike gave us an hour + lesson in his 14 foot pool. We got to try the basic SCUBA equipment and got lots of time with Mike as the class was only 4 people.
The water was warm, the facility was nice, and Mike was very patient, friendly to talk to, and made the scary experience FUN! It was neat swimming underwater with the fins (required minimum effort) and being able to not worry too much about breathing.
If his facility was closer to home, I would strongly consider getting certified through him.
The pool area gets slippery, so beware!

I have been training and diving with Midwest Aquatics since 1998. Back then they were located at College and Quivira. I learned to scube dive with Gordon and Darin and I loved how patient they were. I ask a lot of questions, and they did a great job answering everything in a way that I could understand the concepts. This was important to me because I want to be safe while diving.
When they built their new facility at 161^st and Metcalf, I was excited. They finally had a pool that was located in the same building! The classrooms are large and comfortable and they have a ton of room for equipment that you can rent or try out before you buy.
With any hobby, a thriving community makes it more fun for everyone involved. Once I learned how to dive (I got my advanced certification as well) I was interested in getting to the ocean. Midwest Aquatics has a bunch of organized trips every year. I have been to Cozumel, Bimini, Saba, Barbados, the Sicorro Islands and the Bahamas on liveaboards and more. Not bragging, just saying that having a bunch of regular diving friends to share new experiences with is what keeps me coming back for more.
I highly recommend the people at Midwest Aquatics. They are good people and want to make sure you are a safe diver and having a blast doing something that many never get to experience!