New York, August 29 : Olympic golden boy Michael Phelps left children at the New York YMCA spellbound when he swam with them, and taught them some tricks to be a champ.

"I was speechless. It was amazing," the New York Daily News quoted Valentina Monroy, 16, as saying, moments after she received a pep talk from Phelps.

Every movement of the 14-time gold medalist in the pool brought choruses of "ooh's" and "ah's" from the children in the water.

"Meeting him was like waking up from a dream and finding out it's real," Erica Flear, 9, said from inside the pool.

She also received some important lessons from Phelps on how to become a good swimmer.

"Try to hold your breath as much as possible and don't give up," she said, while telling what she learnt from the swimming maestro.

Phelps appeared at the YMCA to present a check of 20,000 dollars from Visa to support youth swimming programs.

ANI