Manta Aquatic Club

yanish

Mini-Razor program of the Manta Swimming club offers very poor quality program for swimmers. Here's why: My son is a quick learner. He was in level 6 Red Cross class when he was only 7 years old. In fact, he was progressing so quickly that we needed to get the pool supervisor's permission to advance forward. At that point in time, he had almost learned the technique for proper freestyle and backstroke. He was also on course to learning proper breast stroke. Since he was progressing so effectively, I decided a professional swim team like Manta would be a good place for him to advance his skills. However, the experience did not go as I expected. My son was in the program for two seasons. During this period of time, I was noticing a grand lack of instruction, guidance and technical corrections for the swimmers. However, I had faith in the program and the club management so I decided to not raise my concerns in the first season. Nonetheless, when I observed the same poor quality of instruction persisting into the second season, I decided to raise my concerns with the club's head coach (Mr. N.). I explained that the instructions they provided for floating was insufficient, etc. To resolve the issue, he visited my son's class for a few minutes and personally directed the swimmers. The problems were beginning to be solved. Though, he then not only left early without evaluating any other aspect of the swimmer's skills, but he never came back to see how the program was running under the supervision of the younger coaches. Approaching the end of the second season, my son's butterfly stroke kick was absolutely incorrect and the coaches were oblivious to this error. The wrong technique had impacted my son and had caused him knee pain which resulted in difficulty in walking properly after the practices. For the second time, I asked the head coach of the team to come visit another practice (and observe instruction, correction, communication, and so on). Once again, he was able to come give proper instructions with the necessary corrections. This allowed my son to practice his butterfly kick correctly. Though my son has become more muscular during this time (that is to be expected), his stroke styles have gone from proficient to barely mediocre. He has almost completely forgotten the proper technique for freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. Additionally, his arms, legs, and breathing are now uncoordinated and lack proper rhythm -- something he didn't have before joining the team. Through my experience with the head coach, it seemed he disliked hearing the honest evaluation/feedback and indisputable unprofessionalism of his program. The occasions I would speak to him regarding these issues, it's important to note that he would often dodge the problems and shift blame elsewhere. For example, he suggested my son's knee pain was coming from somewhere else. This was not true because the pain went away after his technique was corrected. He had also suggested that my son was uninterested in swimming or that he was a reluctant listener. This was beyond false. Had either of the options been true, it would have been impossible for my son to have progressed as far as he did in regards to swimming in general. In final conversation I had with the head coach (at the end of the second season), instead of correcting this program and disciplining his instructors to teach better and value the swimmers more, he instructed me to join a different swim club. Not only am I completely displeased from a personal point of view but I am shocked from a professional perspective as well. The head coach's actions were very unethical and beyond any standard of practice or professionalism in the athletic world.

This is our first year being part of the Manta Swim Club. I have been extremely impressed right from the beginning. It's like joining a large swimming family, who sincerely want to see your child succeed and feel welcomed!! There is a concerted effort to get to know your child and nurture their love for the sport, as well as develop elite standards of skill. Additionally, the quality, integrity, and experience of the coaches is very evident:) I highly recommend this club!!