Baltimore Blast
Overview
Expert Summary
Detailed Insights
The Baltimore Blast offers a unique and fun family sporting experience, particularly noted for a clean and friendly atmosphere at their venue, Secu Arena. They are involved in youth and charity work, appealing to families seeking community-engaged organizations. However, their children's soccer camps are a major point of contention, with significant issues reported regarding customer service, refund policies, coaching quality, and camp structure.
Key Highlights
- ✓Provides a fun and clean environment for families attending events.
- ✓Offers a unique sporting experience compared to other venues.
- ✓Engages in youth and charity work, indicating a commitment to community.
- ✓Secu Arena venue is praised for its very nice and friendly atmosphere.
Standout Features
- ⭐Commitment to a fun, clean, and family-friendly environment during events.
- ⭐Organizational involvement in youth programs and charity work.
- ⭐Modern and friendly atmosphere at the Secu Arena venue.
Perfect For
Ideal For
💡Pro Tips from Reviews
- →Thoroughly understand the strict no-refund policy for camps before signing up, as flexibility is extremely limited.
- →If considering a camp, inquire deeply about the specific daily schedule, coaching philosophy, and curriculum to ensure alignment with your child's skill development goals.
- →For general family entertainment, attending a live event at Secu Arena is recommended for the unique experience and friendly atmosphere.
- →Be prepared for potential customer service challenges if issues arise with camp registrations or payments, as responsiveness is a reported problem.
Things to Consider
- ⚠Poor customer service, specifically a lack of responsiveness to inquiries, emails, and refund requests regarding camps.
- ⚠Strict 'no-refund' policy for camps, making exceptions difficult to obtain even for valid reasons like school conflicts.
- ⚠Children's camps reportedly lack punctuality, starting late and ending early each day.
- ⚠Coaches at camps described as disengaged, huddling together and talking instead of actively coaching the kids.
- ⚠Camp curriculum includes 'silly moves' (e.g., balancing ball on neck, throwing/catching with hands) instead of practical soccer skills, leading to perceived low educational value.
- ⚠Camps accused of being a 'money grab' due to poor coaching and a focus on selling merchandise on the last day.
Price & Value
For camps, the perceived value is low due to reports of disengaged coaching, lack of punctuality, and a curriculum that may not prioritize practical soccer skills, coupled with a strict no-refund policy. Specific pricing for events is not mentioned, but the overall family experience for events is rated highly.
♿Accessibility & Special Needs
- •No specific accessibility details mentioned in reviews.
🍎Food & Drink Policy
- •No specific food or drink policy details mentioned in reviews.
🚗Parking Info
- •No specific parking details mentioned in reviews.
👥Crowd Levels
- •No specific crowd level details mentioned in reviews for events or camps.
🛡️Safety Features
- •Described as providing a 'clean environment' for families. No other specific safety measures are detailed in the reviews.
⏰When to Avoid
- • Parents seeking highly structured, punctual, and skill-focused soccer camps with consistently engaged coaching.
- • Families who need flexibility with camp schedules or expect easy refunds/accommodations for unforeseen conflicts.
- • If you prioritize direct skill development over 'fun' or unconventional training methods in a camp setting.
Pricing/Package/Events
What People Say
What's Great
- Fun and entertaining activities (mentioned in 2 reviews)
Recent Reviews
Valerie Whipp
2 years agoThe Baltimore Blast are a great sports organization! They do a lot of youth and charity work but also create a fun clean environment for families to have a unique sporting experience. I loved it and I think every family should go at least once!!!
AK Parks
2 years agoI'm writing this review as a last resort. I've made a handful of polite and patient attempts during the past month and a half to receive a response to my inquiry to no avail. I signed my 6 yr old up for soccer camp in August during the "oh my gosh you have to sign up for all camps right now or you won't get a spot" rush in January. In March, I received notice from his school about summer school that conflicts with the camp. Making education a priority, we decided to pull him from camp. I reached out to Mark Meszaros who was listed as the camp contact person and he let me know that while they have a no refund policy he was going to ask the GM, Gianni Tumminello, if there could be an exception in this case. After not hearing a verdict, I reached back out to Mark and asked if I could contact Mr. Tumminello directly and was given his email address. I have sent a few emails to Mr. Tumminello explaining our situation and my request and have received no response at all. If the answer is just "sorry about your luck," while I won't be thrilled, I understand policy is policy. The aggravating part is simply not being acknowledged at all. I get that in the grand scheme of the Baltimore Blast organization, my issue is a blip on the radar, but as an organization that I've followed since I was a little girl and one that I've been excited to share with my own kids, this leaves a very bad impression and doesn't scream "we care about the community".
Dana Seibert
a year agoI have been following the Blast since 1982 at the Baltimore Civic Center. I am sure glad the Blast moved to Secu Arena. Very nice friendly atmosphere.
Kaitlin Corey
5 years agoObvious total money grab/scam. Camp did not start on time and ended early each day. Coaches huddled together and talking to eachother rather than coaching the kids. My 6 year old came home each day with a “new move” to practice- such as balancing the ball on the back of his neck, holding the ball on his foot, dropping the ball then kicking and catching it and throwing ball up in the air and catching it with his hands. Why does a kid need to know these silly moves? All they cared about was selling the merchandise on the last day of camp.
tom gephardt
a year agoWorking for the blast is how do I say it....a BLAST. Keeping indoor soccer alive