The East Coast C-Cerpants (ECCC) USA Competitive Swim Team has been doing amazing things as a team, but because pool time has become limited, head coach Donny Cotter has been looking to expand his team into other regions to offer his swimmers additional training opportunities. His first expansion has landed a branch of the Ocean City-founded swim team in Medford.
As great timing presented itself for the team to partner with another great swim program to uniformly build into a U.S. Competitive Swim Team, the ECCC saw it ideal to partner with Future Fitness in Medford and, in turn, to provide a strong competitive swim program option for local swimmers.
“Burlington County has almost created its own unique swimming hub. There’s a great love for the sport and a need for the smaller personalized training environments,” Cotter said. “Not every child is ready or comfortable for larger programs or training environments. We see this as a great opportunity to fill a need and provide the quality training in a personalized setting.”
Priding itself on the quality of stroke instruction and maximizing each swimmer’s time in the pool for efficient training, the program progressively works to build skills at every level and for every stroke. The ECCC swim team puts a high priority on the longevity of the sport through healthy lifestyle and proper technique for injury prevention.
“Our foundation is built on drills that build solid technique without adding excess physical stress to the body,” Cotter, a lifelong resident of Egg Harbor Township, said. “It’s not about how much you squeeze in a practice if there’s no focus on how it’s done. Solid technique training, small class sizes, attention to detail along with an emphasis on the core values of integrity and sportsmanship makes us unique.”
Offering training opportunities for boys and girls ages 4 to 18, the team caters to all skill levels, beginning swimmers through national-level competitive swimmers. Focusing on the basics of swimming, the team’s personalized setting and close attention to stroke detail has made a difference to swimmers and parents alike. Cotter said thus far, he has received a very positive response from parents and that most swimmers are super excited at what they see they are capable of learning.
“Winning all the medals and the Mini-Champ High Point trophy is my favorite part. That’s because I’m going to the Olympics and winning a gold medal,” Ocean City resident Mackenzie Blizzard, 6, said.
The team competes in the Middle Atlantic Division and partakes in a variety of swim meetings in the Delaware Valley area. More advanced level swimmers have the opportunity to compete at the National level competitions in which venues span the East Coast and across the country. Competing at these meets with other swimmers their age helps swimmers on the ECCC to foster personal growth and confidence in the sport.
Additionally, the team seeks to maximize training efficiency and its time in the pool by running fast sets, while minimizing injury by utilizing kick sets to the maximum ability. It also retains the mindset that, to be a champion, swimmers have to adopt a healthy lifestyle and develop their self-value as well as a respect for their environment and competitors. Ultimately, the team projects the message that swim training builds life skills.
“I see this program reaching great heights. We will keep the swimmer-to-coach ratio low, and the focus on solid stroke technique high,” Cotter said. “We will train every swimmer to reach their fullest potential and fulfill their desire for achievement in the sport.”
