South Tampa Family YMCA — Attraction in Tampa

The facilities here are decent, but...

I ended a membership at the South Tampa YMCA because I was disappointed with my experience. While attending volleyball games, we found that the reffing was of poor quality, and the rules set and progression for the athletes were subpar. The 12-14 year olds playing at an 8-year-old level was regressive for their development and frustrating for both players and parents.

Moreover, the tumbling program at the South Tampa YMCA is severely lacking. It’s a glorified Saturday morning daycare.

Additionally, my children were in the basketball program last year, and one of the coaches openly allowed his daughter to bully other kids. He had no control over her behavior, which made for a fairly unpleasant experience for other kids and families.

On top of that, the Sports Director, Kayla Schlichting, was unfair and disrespectful when my sister and I were playing basketball on a separate, empty court during my daughter's volleyball practice. Despite me having a membership, and my sister having a valid visitor's pass, we were berated and made to stop playing.

Meanwhile, a man was allowed to shoot baskets during warm-ups and in between sets during actual volleyball games. It was clear that this man had a close relationship with Kayla, which made us feel even more excluded and unwelcome.

Additionally, the South Tampa YMCA does not take into account your schedule despite openly claiming they will when you sign up for sports. This is frustrating for those with busy schedules who are trying to make time for activities.

It’s not that hard to implement better quality reffing, a more appropriate rules set and progression for athletes, more responsible coaching practices, and better scheduling practices in the future. It’s a matter of effort. Additionally, staff members should treat all visitors with kindness, respect, and fairness, regardless of their friendship with other members.

I also recently heard a member speak of witnessing an incident where there was a youth member lifting weights, being spotted by another youth. They were struggling to get the bar off of his neck and apparently there was no attendant in that area.

Overall, my experience at the South Tampa YMCA was disappointing and frustrating. This is why I’ve declined to continue my membership. There are simply better options for virtually everything they offer. It's important for the management team to address these issues and improve the experience for all members...

We’ve been members at the South Tampa YMCA for a while and were drawn in by the promise of family-friendly amenities, but the overall experience has been disappointing — especially during the summer months.

The family pool is now closed until noon on weekdays to accommodate camp programs. While we understand the need to serve campers, this schedule is extremely inconvenient for families with young children who typically swim earlier in the day before naps. It feels like regular members are being sidelined.

Even on weekends, when the slide is advertised to open at noon, it’s almost never operational. There are plenty of staff walking around supervising, yet no one ever steps in to actually open the slide. It’s frustrating to see excited kids show up just to be told it’s closed again.

Accessibility is also a serious issue — most of the handicap buttons on the doors do not work, which is unacceptable for a facility meant to be inclusive for all abilities.

We’ve also enrolled in swim lessons, and while they’re decent for beginners, they fall short when it comes to stroke development and refinement. Instructors rotate constantly, so there’s little continuity or progression. It’s more like playtime in the water than structured lessons for kids who are ready to advance.

This YMCA has potential, but poor scheduling, unreliable amenities, accessibility problems, and inconsistent instruction make it difficult to justify the cost — especially for families looking for a consistent,...

If I could give this place and its staff a minus 5 stars, I would. The staff are appalling, the teens they hire make fun of the kids that go there, the adult staff are unresponsive to the point that they want to roll their eyes at you. There is a racist vibe to the staff also that is unmistakable. The insane parents particularly the dads who "volunteer coach" on their kids' teams just so they and their children can abuse the other kids is unreal, and the staff bully you if you complain. Members and camp counselors proselytizing on the YMCA property un-checked by staff.

Everything this person wrote and more: Irving 85 2 reviews a year ago- Decent facility, not super clean.

Pretty overcrowded and disorganized.

Nice new pool.

Gym floors are always slippery because they need to be cleaned more frequently.

Worst case of Dadball I've come across in S. Tampa.

Don't know what Dadball is? It's when the dads who coach sports teams clearly favor their own kids over all the other players. Every kid pays the same amount of money to be on that team but that's where any fairness ends.

Dadball coaches never rotate their kids out of the game. They play them nonstop, even when they suck, while players who aren't coaches kids ride the bench.

People warned us about this kind of stuff at this branch and after two seasons of my kid playing there, I can't deny that they were right.

Do your kids a solid and send them somewhere else... unless you're...