Our History

This program has been carefully constructed over 30 years! It was originally launched under the name North Baltimore Swim School (NBSS) in the early 1980’s. Cathy Bennett (then Lears), with degrees in child psychology and early childhood education, developed a program that focused on building comfort, confidence and a feeling for the water in each child. A young Michael Phelps was one of the first students!

Over the years, the program continually evolved, providing countless unique and un-matched experiences with teaching all ages and abilities. These experiences became the DNA of our philosophies and methods. 

In 2009, Michael Phelps returned to Baltimore, with Coach Bob Bowman, and began to invest in his dream, to grow the sport of swimming and get more children in the water. In the fall of 2009, Michael began to make his dream a reality, teaming up with NBSS to launch Michael Phelps Swim School and offer world-class swimming instruction.