SWIMMING LESSONS

AND

AQUATIC PROGRAMMING

Our philosophy

What is the Manning Method?

The Manning Method was developed across 30+ years of personal experience and coaching. From beginners to elite swimmers, one element of swimming that has remained consistent in three decades are the ever-evolving techniques and best practices. The conversation and debate on technique will continue to grow the sport. The Manning Method was established to provide a framework that would allow for the conversation to evolve, while still highlighting the most important elements of learning how to swim.

A majority of parents that have turned to The Manning Method share frustration on not understanding the proper swim lesson progression. They have brought their children from previous classes with adorable group names, but with little to identify their child's skill set or what group it translates to across different programs. The Manning Method has simplified the terminology to make the progression easy to understand for swimmers and non-swimmers alike:

SAFETY—COMFORT—TECHNIQUE—ENDURANCE—SPEED—PERFORMANCE

About Us

 ¨ EST. 2015 ¨

The Manning Method is a culmination of over 30 years of swimming experience. Officially established by Shea manning in 2015, our goal is to personally tailor swimming lessons to your needs.

Shea Manning

HEAD COACH

Coach Shea Manning grew up in Northern Virginia, outside of Washington DC. Comprising of 6 unique leagues, with over 200 independently owned neighborhood pools/teams, and nearly 50,000 athletes ages 5-18—the DC Metropolitan area has the world’s largest circuit of summer league swimming and diving programs. The success of the leagues would not be possible without early opportunities to learn how to swim in the lesson programs that feed into the competitive leagues. This is where Manning got his start both as a swimmer, and as a coach, spending a total of 21 summers involved in the largest league—the NVSL. Those 21 summers were a foundation of what Manning would eventually build on in his career and volunteer work:

• Attended Claremont McKenna College from 2003-2007 (All-Conference Performer each year)

• Assistant Coach at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges from 2008-2010—helped lead the Women’s Team to a pair of NCAA Top 10 finishes. 

• Assistant Coach at George Washington University 2010-2011—Atlantic 10 Men’s Team Coaching Staff of the Year

• Head Coach and Director of Aquatics at Occidental College 2011-2015—Coached 2x NCAA Champion, Conference Athlete of the Year, Tiger Cup team award for community and campus involvement

• Aquatics Director/Assistant Program Director for Special Love Inc’s BRASS Camp—Teach lessons and organize pool staffing for a camp of 110 campers whom have siblings with cancer

• Director of Occidental College Summer Swim Lessons 2011-2015

• California Triathlon Club Swim Coach 2011-2015

• U.S. Masters Swimming 2019 Kerry O’Brien Grass Roots Coaching Award

LESSON MENU

At THE MANNING METHOD, our staff are trained to teach everyone how to swim! Check out the range of classes we offer below:

Safety/True Beginners(6 months +)

Did you know that having a backyard pool is statistically more dangerous than having a gun in your house? It is for this reason that it is my top priority to teach in pools where there is the highest risk of accidents—in your own backyard. Children as young as 6 months can start learning the foundations of self-saving skills. Fences and floatation devices simply do not compare to the assurance of knowing your child can make it to the surface and float on their own! Our instructors will travel to you and establish those important skills in the most important pool in which to learn them. We also have limited availability at the Culver City Plunge. More info on our 'Locations' page.

Comfort—Technique—Endurance

Once your child has perfected the crucial self-saving skills, it’s time to progress to the next step—building his/her comfort level in the pool by developing confidence, sound technique, and endurance. This is the part of the spectrum where the majority of recreational swimmers exist. Our instructors will personalize the skill progression to the needs and abilities of each swimmer with the ultimate goal of minimizing any doubts in skill and a strong understanding of each stroke. A swimmer that has achieved the “Endurance” level in the Manning Method is comfortable swimming/treading for an extended period of time without needing to be in shallow water or near a wall.

It’s Never Too Late To Learn!

Our coaches are experts with adult lessons too! Swimming is a life skill—and it is never too late to learn. The biggest reservation with adult non-swimmers is the embarrassment of not already knowing how to do it. Our coaches are patient, positive, and use a unique approach to adult beginners that is catered to their own background, comfort level, and experience.

Open Water Sessions

Gearing up for a Triathlon? Inquire about our open water clinic opportunities. The foundations of swimming are best to set in the pool, but that confidence does not always translate into the ocean. It is important to learn how tide, temperature, visibility, and the vastness of the ocean impact your overall feeling in the water. Let’s address those influencers together so you are better prepared and completely confident when race day comes around!

Performance COACHING

VIDEO STROKE FEEDBACK

Stroke technique and efficiency is our forte. The best part? We’ll give you feedback for free the first time around! Send us a short clip (under 1 min) of what you’ve been working on. We’ll send you back a full breakdown of our suggestions and the swim/fitness theory that goes into our line of thinking. After that, individual clips start as low as $10 a pop with additional bundling options for athletes that want regular video analysis.

TRAINING PROGRAMS

Prefer to swim on your own or training for a triathlon? Let us put together a training program to meet your needs and goals—complete with ideal warm-up, race and interval sets, technique development, and out-of-water mobility. We’ll set up a timeline unique to your fitness background, training style, timeline, and motivation techniques with coach check-ins along the way.

 AQUATICS CONSULTING

TEAM COACHING & DEVELOPMENT

Schedule a free consultation to discuss your team’s unique challenges and all the ways we can help find the most effective solutions!

We are all susceptible to slipping into programming ruts. Sometimes all a team needs is a jolt of fresh energy and perspective to inspire wide team improvement—and it doesn’t take turning your coaching structure on its head to do so. Let us know what your team is struggling with and we’ll come up with a pathway to more enthusiastic buy-in from your athletes, coaches, and community. We’ll build the perfect plan for you whether you want us taking the lead through on-deck coaching or simply guiding your own coaches in implementing new, best practices in coaching and communication. We offer single-day clinics, short term programs, and long term projects that focus on skill development, heightened self-and-body awareness, and compelling team synergy.

ORGANIZATION FUNDRAISING & STRATEGIC PLANNING

We know how much extra work goes into planning and preparation away from the pool just to ensure swim practice and other aquatic programs are possible. Whether you are looking for a more sustainable organizational structure, or have your eyes set on ambitious growth—let us put together a plan that’ll help make those team dreams a reality!

FACILITY-USE OPTIMIZATION

Most pools are not engaging the full capacity of people and are thereby not being used to the fullest potential. If you’re looking for innovative ways to bring in more revenue without displacing your current clientele, let us do the brainstorming!

EVENTS

At THE MANNING METHOD, we understand that the best way to have fun in the water, is to know that you (and everyone around you) is safe in the water! So let us take care of the planning: tell us how many you’re expecting (age of swimmers, number of swimmers), what facilities you have available (backyard pool etc), and we’ll put together what we think is the best plan for your event! Contact us for a free quote:

INFO@MANNINGMETHOD.ORG

All coaches and lifeguards at The Manning Method are fully Red Cross certified, meaning that they are trained to respond to aquatic emergencies and to provide care for breathing & cardiac emergencies, injuries and sudden illnesses until EMS personnel take over. 

pricing & availability

At THE MANNING METHOD, we believe that many young swimmers make better progress when grouped together with swimmers of similar ages/levels of experience. For that reason, we welcome up to 3 total swimmers in each time slot! Perfect for sharing with siblings or buddies, whilst saving up to 67% off the listed value per swimmer! 

To check hourly rates & availability, please email us at:

INFO@MANNINGMETHOD.ORG

LOCATIONS

Did you know that having a backyard pool is statistically more dangerous than having a gun in your house?

It is for this reason that it is our top priority to teach in pools where there is the highest risk of accidents—in your own backyard. Children as young as 6 months can start learning the foundations of self-saving skills. Fences and floatation devices simply do not compare to the assurance of knowing your child can make it to the surface and float on their own!

WE cover all of GREATER los angeles, california.

Our instructors will travel to you and establish those important skills in the most important pool in which to learn them. Please contact Coach Shea directly to discuss these opportunities.

contact us

We believe that every swimmer deserves a lesson tailored to their needs, so if you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch; we are always happy to answer any questions you may have!

info@manningmethod.org