Berkeley YMCA
Re: Afterschool swim team for 5th grade girls? (Jan 2004)
Albany Blue Dolphins is a recreational swim team that meets
every weekday 4.30-5.30pm at Albany's indoor 30 yard pool on
Portland and Key Route, just behind Albany High School. My
son, a 4th grader, really enjoys swimming with them, and I've
seen a huge improvement in his stroke techniques as a result of
the individual attention given by the friendly coaches.
Ariella
Re: Winter swim lessons for 5-year-old (Oct 2004)
Winter swim lessons and more can be found at Berkeleybears.com, the web page of
the Berkeley Bears swim team. In addition to the team they offer the best swim
lessons in town and our family of three girls, then 5, 7 and 11 learned more in a few
short weeks than we did anywhere else and loved every minute of it. I have watched
them teach all ages from toddler to adult and they are magnificent. The good part
is if your child takes to swimming they can then join a team and continue swimming
year round with in a kind encouraging environment. I can't recommend the Berkeley
Bears enough. Jolie
jolie
Re: Swim team for 14-yer-old son (July 2001)
My 16-year-old BHS son swims with the Berkeley Bears and enjoys it a lot.
They swim mostly at West Campus pool in Berkeley - workouts five days a
week. You can get serious and competitive or just get to be a better
swimmer. Good coach, lots of fun. My son also swims on the team at
Berkeley High, but this team is year round and good for sustained
improvement.
Sara
Re: Swim team for 14-yer-old son (July 2001)
I highly recommend Berkeley Bears Swimming. They are a local USA
Swimming club with age group work outs at King Pool and at West
Campus Pool. Daryn Glasgow is the head coach and can be reached at
(925) 299-9411 or call the team's administrative manager Janice Price at
(510) 527-9233.
My daughter's (ages 11 and 14) have been swimming with this team for
several years and my husband, Rick Arnason, is also a volunteer coach for
the younger kids. The team is open to all abilities - really! The high
school group is a great bunch. They come from Berkeley High, St. Mary's,
etc. and some of the kids are home schooled. The head coach, Daryn, is a
remarkable young women. She is very serious about swimming and also
about encouraging healthy habits.
My kids swim up to six days a week and sometimes twice a day. They
attend a lot of swim meets. However, many kids on the team only workout
a few days a week and only compete periodically. Either way works. The
kids really encourage each other no matter what their level. The focus is
on improving your skills and not on beating each other. The team is
offering swim clinics (one or two week programs I think) this summer,
which might be a good way for your son to "try it out". Swimmers are a
pretty wholesome lot. The high school kids seem to do very well in school
because they have learned to organize and balance their time.
Nancy
Re: Swim team for daughter in Berkeley/El Cerrito (July 1999)
The Bear Swim Team works out at King Pool and has different levels from
grade school to high school. There are no try outs. It's set up for kids
who like to swim and compete if they like. It's every weekday, but
swimmers can go as often as they want. Participating in competitions is
optional. The team is a private group that works out at King. I don't
have the phone number for them but if you inquire at King Pool, they should
be able to give you a contact number. My daughter was in it for several
years and it was great as an afterschool activity as well as for exercise.
Lisa
Re: Swim team for daughter in Berkeley/El Cerrito (July 1999)
Re: a Berkeley swim team. Both my kids were on the Berkeley Bears swim team and
loved it. I think it's a wonderful activity---in addition to all its other benefits,
swimming builds a comfort with your body that is lacking is other "less revealing"
sports. For more info., call Brian Nabeta, h. 243-1625 He usually returns calls
about the Bears swim team between 7 and 9PM at night so be sure to leave a number
where he can reach you then. Sally
Sept-Oct 1999
the Berkeley Bears have several levels--it sounds as though your daughter
would be at the Gold level which practices every afternoon at the pool at
West Campus (off University Ave). YOu can get the Bears coaches' number
from King Pool 644-8518 -- Albany also has some kind of swim team. So does
El Cerrito.
Kathy
I highly recommend the Berkeley Bears USS swim team. My 15 yr, daughter,
Sallie Oto has been with them for 5 years. I think they are the only USS team
on this side of the hill. Albany Blue Dolphins has just joined the Bears.
There are several USS teams in Contra Costa. Mary
The Berkeley Bears Swimming is a USS swim team. The workout at King is for
the younger kids. The high-school kids swim at West Campus every day after
school (from 4 to 6:45 pm) - as well as some early morning workouts. We
think the team is great. You can get more info from the head coach, Daryn
Glasgow,
925-299-9411, or the office manager Janice Price, 510-724-0529. There is a
website (which is partially under construction) http://www.isbest.com/bears
Website for the Oakland Barracudas: www.oaklandbarracudas.org
Sept 2004
We are looking at swim class options in Oakland for our 6-year-
old, who is a strong swimmer for his age and loves the water. A
country club membership is financially not an option. I saw the
postings from 2002 on the website about the Oakland Barracudas,
and am wondering if the organization is still thought of as
positively now as it was a couple years ago. And we'd also love
to hear any other suggestions about swim clubs we could look
into. Thanks for any input.
Wendy
My daughter was in the Oakland Barracudas for several years. We
were very happy with the program. The coaches are great, the
system runs well, and it is a wonderfully diverse population of
kids and parents. My daughter really likes it.
Barbara
Re: Racially mixed swim club around Oakland (Sept 2004)
My daughter participated in the Oakland Barracudas swim team
several years ago. It was the most racially diverse team we
found- mostly white but with a significant number of African-
American, Asian-Pacific, and other students of color. We all
really enjoyed the experience. The coaches are awesome, the
team members are very committed swimmers and nice students but
not oppressively competitive. Check out their website at
www.oaklandbarracudas.org
Diane
Re: Daughter would like to join a swim team (Feb. 2002)
Hello,
About swim teams for kids: my daughter has been on the Oakland
Barracudas for several years now and greatly enjoys it. See their
website at http://www.cudaswim.com/. They swim at the Oakland High
pool, near Park and MacArthur.
We've experienced several swim teams in the Bay Area and the Oakland
Cudas offer a great ramp from beginning competitive swimming
(kindergartners, even) to very skilled. And they have a masters
program for adults.
We especially appreciate the friendly parents of the Cuda swimmers.
They're not the pushy "parent coaches" screaming at the kids that you
see in some local swim teams. Nice people.
~Randall
Re: Racially mixed swim club around Oakland (Sept 2004)
Both the Baracudas and Undercurrents swim teams are a lot more
racially diverse and more affordable than the private clubs. I
would recommend checking out both and deciding which is more
convenient and feels more welcoming. We ended up with
Undercurrents because my daughter has friends from the summer
swim teams that operate at the Oakland public pools. (They're
the best deal in town: $20 for daily practice all summer long!)
Undercurrents practice during the school year at Laney
College's pool and can be reached at 594-4309 or
undercurrentswimming AT yahoo.com.
July 2002
Interested in being on a competitive swim team? The Richmond
Silver Dolphins, a USA swimming team, practices Monday
through Saturday in a new, Olympic-sized indoor pool at the
Richmond Swim Center at 45th and Cutting Blvd. in Richmond.
Training for beginning to advanced, ages 5-18; learn stroke
technique, build endurance and speed; USA swim meets, splash
days, water polo & more. Monthly dues from $65 to $83. For
information call 510-528-8227, 503-830-1667, or
503-703-2400, or visit the Richmond Swim Center, 4:00-7:00
Mon. thru Fri. Beginning swimmers must be able to swim one
lap of freestyle with side breathing.
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