TJ verbally abuses many male swimmers and is a little too close to some of the female swimmers on the team. After 1 season I transferred and quit swimming because of his on deck and off deck behaviors.

TJ cares about his swimmers both in and out of the pool. I always feel like I can talk to him about anything and I know that he gives 100% to the team every day.

Swimming for TJ was the best possible decision I couldve made going into college. My favorite thing about him as a coach is that he is very understanding when a swimmer has an issue with anything. If you go to him with a problem, he will do everything he can to support you in and out of the pool. He is an amazing coach and wouldnt want to swim anywhere else.

TJ is a great coach and treats all of his swimmers with respect. He is very reasonable when it comes to balancing school, academics, and everyone’s college social life/experience. He makes sure classes and grades come first, followed swimming. Being part of the inaugural team and watching the team grow first hand, I can say I would not have wanted to do it any other way. I was on the fence about swimming going into my freshman year because I was feeling burnt out. However, after considering the great opportunities at Loyola for my major and swimming, I could not pass it up. TJ made it all that much better too. I ended my college swimming career in a great way. I went all personal best times and placed really well in our last nationals swim meet. He listened to what I thought I needed to become the best swimmer I could be. If you want to attend a phenomenal university and have the best of your swimming career in the best city best city, then you should definitely consider TJ Natal’s swim program whether you are a first year or transfer.

Swimming for TJ is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I almost gave up on swimming after having a really bad club coach but TJ helped me fall in love with the sport again. He is fair and only wants the beat for us. He always asks how he can improve his coaching and is very open to constructive criticism. I have never had a coach who values my opinion so much. 10/10 would recommend being a part of this amazing program

Having swam under TJ for all four of my years at Loyola University New Orleans I can say it was a pleasure to watch Coach Natal guide and grow this young team and create constant improvement year after year. He helps every athlete become the best they can be both in and out the pool.

TJ's program at Loyola has made me fall in love with swimming again. Each year on the team has gotten better and better, and that's due to the fact that TJ listens to his swimmers and genuinely wants the team to be something amazing. He focuses on the well being of all of his athletes, and is there for support through mental health, injuries, and academics. His practices are fun but challenging, and benefit those willing to put in the work to get results. He's made me confident in my swimming again, and I am forever grateful to be a part of the team.

TJ cares about his swimmers. All of them.

TJ puts his all into coaching and it shows. He cares a lot about not only the sport but each individual swimmer on the team. He is very focused on technique over "junk yardage" so practices tend to be on the shorter side yardage wise but we still get a good work out. He gets better with everyyear and that is largely due to the fact that he has one on one post season meetings with each swimmer in which a large portion of the conversation is not critiques about the swimmer but how he can become a better coach. He is very accepting of mental health issues and world closely with our trainers to make sure each swimmer is healthy in every sense of the word. TJ is not perfect, but no one is. But bad days are few and far between. What matters to me most as a swimmer is that I can see the effort he puts into this program every day, good and bad.

Comes off as an amazing coach to new recruits interested in the program. Once you commit and get scholarship money things change and TJ becomes verbally and physically abusive to his swimmers. New recruits should really look at the rosters of Loyola New Orleans Swim team from 2016-2019, more than 40 percent of the swimmers do not stick with the program. The ones that have stuck with the program (TJ’s favorites) have been known to “haze” new swimmers and stand behind TJ if he verbally abuses them during practice and swim meets. They have stood by wand watched him use vulgar language during practice aimed at swimmers that were not his favorites and at time those swimmers would vomit from the extreme hard work outs he would have them do and after they would vomit he’d make them continue while cursing at them in front of the team. He does not focus on the individual swimmers events instead he beats them down until they no longer perform like they had before swimming for him, and then he will curse them out in front of other swimmers and parents at meets for not swimming best times.