Inexpensive swimming lessons for 11 year old novice

We have looked at UC Berkeley Rex and the YMCA but slots fill up fast. Friends suggested reaching out to a swim instructor from the Y or UCB and seeing if they’re available for private lessons with your kid which you can do cheaply at King or West Campus (or other public pool) during family swim hours. These lessons will be more effective than learning in a group setting. Friends suggested finding another friend/kid the same age and splitting costs among two sets of parents for the teacher to give lessons to the two kids. 

This will sound "over the top" but....when my kids were a toddler + newborn, my neighbor, who was a gold medalist swimmer for France, told me about La Petite Baleen swim school in Half Moon Bay.  They may have more than one location now.  Because my family spent a lot of holiday time at the shore and near swimming pools, I was adamant about my kids being water-safe. At the time, we were living in SF so we chose to try out La Petite Baleen ("the little whale").  I have never for one second regretted that choice.  Both kids became "water safe" within a few short weeks.  My youngest learned to swim before she could walk (and she learned to walk at 12 months). La Petite Baleen specializes in teaching kids & infants how to swim.  For us, it became a family adventure every Saturday to go to HMB.  Either before or after swim class, we would enjoy the little town of HMB or the nearby beaches for a picnic, or nearby farms for produce, etc. It was a commitment,  and one for which we are hugely grateful.  Best of luck to you!

Thank you very much for your advice, I like the idea of hiring a suimming instructor and find a public pool, thanks again.

It’s a bit of a hike, and perhaps not inexpensive, exactly, but we found Patti‘s swim school in Castro Valley to be very helpful in preparing our young children for swimming. We really wanted them to be water safe and found the group courses offered at the UC and Albany pools to be ineffective. Once we did some one on ones at patties, the kids really progressed.

If you can't find a private instructor to meet you at a public pool (that sounds unlikely, to me) check out Sherman Swim School in Lafayette. I HIGHLY recommend them, and found it absolutely worth the drive through the tunnel to Lafayette where it's always warmer and usually sunny! And they keep the pool really warm. All lessons are private, and their instructors are dedicated and have been there for a long time - not teenagers just in it for a summer or two. No pre-swimmer is too challenging for them! Good luck.