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| Testimonials |
I began one to one sessions with Marc approximately 12 weeks ago now, never having swum before. During the first session Marc wasted no time in making me feel comfortable and confident with him and in the water. Marc is very friendly coach who knows what he is doing and gives me some invaluable advice. I have been improving incredibly quickly with Marc's guidance and find myself being able to swim unaided 3 lengths. Each time I get in the pool now I feel stronger, more confident and definately more skillful. The 30 minute sessions are short enough to allow me to soak up the advice, but long enough to practice the drills etc effectively without fatigue. I recommend these sessions to anyone who has the drive and wish to improve significantly.
When Rohan started one-to-one lessons with you he was an average competition swimmer, you have improved his techniques so much he is qualified for most of his strokes for County champs next year and for several strokes for Regional Championships next year. He could not have done this without your way of teaching. The way you explain and show strokes is very clear and it makes him understand why he needs to do it that way. I have never seen any coach do this before. Most of all Rohan really enjoys your one-to-one lessons-Jane West -Lalit & Karin
As a newcomer I was pretty nervous and did not know what Marc might expect from me. I learnt a lot of new techniques which has helped me improve all my strokes. I enjoyed looking up swimming clips on the internet especially the Japanese Breaststoke swimmers who were kool. I thought it was very nice of Marc to use his video camera so I could see what I had done well and how I could improve. Marc was very patient and encouraging to me as a newcomer. I am still learning but this was a great start for me in improving my technique.
-Aisha
Your lessons have been challenging and well enjoyed by Shyam who seems to get a lot of inspiration from your one to one lessons.
-Hemant
I have always swum, but having spent many hours sitting by the side of a pool watching my children develop their technique, it was obvious to me that I needed to develop mine. Marc has a professional and friendly approach. He based his coaching during our sessions upon my goals. Sessions comprised of deconstructing strokes, turns and starts through a varied set of drills and practical advice before reconstructing them again. I won't be swimming in the next Olympics, but I have become a more effective swimmer as a result of the combination of Marc's clear guidance, patience and high expectations. This has provided me with the foundations for yet further development in my swimming technique.
-Sarah
I used to struggle with keeping up with my swim-mates. I was mainly at the back but since I had the one to one lessons with Marc, he has helped me with my technique in all the strokes and I have grown more confident and now I’m near or at the front of the lane. Marc is very friendly and has really helped me gain my self confidence and I’ve now set my goal to swim at the Olympics.
-Helen
I came to Marc as a self-conscious "splasher and thrasher" who swam poorly, with little idea of how to improve. After an initial assessment, Marc quickly broke the stroke down into easily understandable parts, ensuring that I understood the principles as well as the practicalities of how each part worked, and how all the parts should come together to produce a smoother, more efficient, and faster stroke. His patient, laid-back manner helped make the lessons relaxed and yet very productive. I would thoroughly recommend him.
-Chris
Marc combines a mix of instruction and demonstration in his lessons. He defines a basic structure to the sessions according to individual goals, and breaks the sessions down into manageable chunks of technique. He then tailors both the content and pace of each lesson to suit individual needs.
Marc has a relaxed and easy-going approach and is very patient, happy to teach all levels of ability. He is very encouraging and certainly makes his lessons enjoyable. Most of all, he never makes you feel foolish, no matter how hopeless you may be! As an initially reluctant swimmer I found myself wanting to go to the pool more and more as a result of Marc’s lessons and now actively enjoy my attempts at front crawl for the first time in my life! -Rhian
Marc coached me at one of the most important times of my career - European Juniors, Olympic qualification and World Short Course (2008). Establishing a comprehensive, personalised programme, Marc was very influential in my transition to a senior, international athlete. We enjoyed plenty of challenges and rewards together!
-Elizabeth Simmonds
Marc was able to convert an outstanding international swimming career into an outstanding international coaching career. His ability to communicate, educate and develop an extremely talented group of young individuals was extraordinary. His capabilities as an athlete and a coach are supported unconditionally by the outstanding and exceptional results he was able to produce in both arenas. Marc is a fine young man and is acknowledged and accepted by his swimming peers as successful coach whose pursuit of perfection in performance is second to none. As National Performance Director of British Swimming (2000-2007), I was able to observe Marc at close hand and work closely with him on many occasions.
-Bill Sweetenham As a run-of-the-mill triathlete, and not even a club swimmer, I was rather anxious about having coaching from an Olympic swimmer. However, as soon as I met Marc I found him engaging, a good listener and very eager to help. He soon established the issues in my stroke and was encouraging in the way he delivered the coaching. The video analysis helped me to understand what I'm doing (and shouldn't be doing) in the water and has been useful as a reminder of those things I should be practising.
-Julia
I had poor crawl technique and struggled to swim more than 25m. Marc took me through a programme of five 1 hour sessions in which he focused on the main aspects of my stroke. This involved demonstration, specific drills and excellent visual analogies which were extremely helpful in appreciating how I was forming a stroke compared with how it should be done. I particularly liked ‘using your nose as a rudder’. At the end of the training programme, much of my technique had been re-constructed and I’d achieved my goal of being able to swim greater distances more effectively. Marc is a fun guy to be with, which is important as I needed rest periods at the end of each drill to recover. His Olympic experience and coaching familiarity working with numerous club, national and novice swimmers was clear. I would strongly recommend that you challenge Marc to a race at the end of the programme. He will beat you with both his arms and legs tied together! It was a good experience, an experience I would recommend to swimmers of all standards.
-Simon
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