Otters & Tots LLC

Hi there!

My love for the water began when I was a toddler, learning to swim. I started swimming competitively at the age of nine with the Koret Youth Swim Club, later joining Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep and the collegiate UC Santa Cruz swim teams. Go slugs! Those years in the pool taught me more than technique – they taught me dedication, perseverance, and discipline, and exposed me to the deep sense of calm that comes from being in the water. Swimming has always been where I feel most at home.

After graduating UCSC with a film degree, I moved to Los Angeles to explore a career in post-production. The 9 - 5 job I landed as an editor and DVD author wasn't exactly sustainable to live on, so to cover rent, I picked up a job at South Bay Aquatics Swim School on the weekends. I quickly realized how much I loved teaching! Helping kids gain confidence and discover the fun in swimming brought a different kind of fulfillment than anything I’d felt behind a desk. Watching children conquer their fears and beam with pride after learning something new reminded me of the real magic of swimming – that it’s not just a life skill, but a lifelong lesson in courage, growth, and self-belief.

I spent 6 years at the DVD authoring house, doing work so dry, I almost forgot what water felt like! When I later moved to Seattle with my husband, I decided to leave the niche post-production industry I was in and return to teaching full-time. At Little Fish Swim School and then Bellevue Club, I learned how to make swimming lessons more than just skill-building — they became lessons in courage, perseverance, and play. That experience led me to start Otters & Tots LLC, where I now get to share my love for the water with swimmers of all ages and create a safer, more confident community — one splash at a time!

Just keep swimming!

Dory, Finding Nemo

oatswim@gmail.com

Strattonwood Pool:
7616 139th Pl NE
Redmond, WA 98052