My name is Mickaël Malaper I’m from Rennes city located in the pretty region of France called Brittany, I’m 27 years old, teaching and coaching swimming for 8 years now after practising swimming myself since I’m 5 years old! I am really passionate about teaching swimming, as for me knowing how to swim and be safe and confident in the water is a real life changing ability!

After I got qualified swimming teacher/coach/lifeguard (yes in France we have one qualification for all of this!), I started my swimming coach career at 20 in a small club near Rennes in Cesson-Sévigné (Olympique Club Cesson-Sévigné Natation Pays de Châteaugiron). I can proudly say that in a two years’ time I managed to bring a non-swimmer boy to the inter regional competition level (level under national). I made my best to communicate the pleasure of swimming to participants of my groups, and I hope I influenced positively their personal development.

I used a lot the video tool to explain to members of my swimming squads how they could improve on their technique to have a more efficient swimming without wasting energy. I deepened my skills in using video with aim of performance enhancing for athletes during my degree and master degree in sport sciences. I based all my academic work on biomechanics analysis of swimming through the video: analysis of propelling efficiency in front crawl, and swimming starts analysis.

I had the chance to do my master degree internship with the “studies research, and performance enhancing service” of the French swimming Federation, it gave me a taste of high level sport and its organisation, it was an very enriching experience. After graduation I worked for two years as swimming teacher in different swimming pools, coming back to the basis of teaching swimming: How to start building a swimmer from the scratches, by developing confidence in the water, and then add to it step by step the core skills (breathing, buoyancy, body position, etc…) which will bring this individual to finally become a swimmer! I can say that I have a good overview of what actually means swimming, from the total beginner to the high level performing athlete. I’m still learning new things every day, some exchanging with colleagues on poolside, others taking part in some training, but I think that I can already already what I know while I’m still working on learning even more.

SWAN company is the result of a long reflexion (5 years!) and has been truly thought to bring something that can make a difference will it be for clubs or individuals. I believe that video is an amazing support for coaches and athletes for a better understanding of sport movement, race strategy, and how to improve them to reach their goal wether will it be high level performance or simply personal fullfillment to have a smoother swimming technique. It’s now 6 years that I’m using video as support for developing a more efficient swimming technique, and I can tell you that it definetely works!

If you share my opinion we could have a discussion about it, and who knows maybe I could give you some tips on how to improve your stroke!
Any question, you would be interested by my services? Don’t hesitate send me a message or give me a call me and we’ll see what I can do for you.

I wish you all a good swimming!