It seems that new Cal assistant coach Chase Kreitler is, by all accounts, settling in well in his new home of Berkeley, California. With over a month since being announced Cal’s new assistant after the departure of Yuri Sugiyama to Wisconsin, undergrads, post grads, and head coach Dave Durden are all singing their praise for the job Chase has done acclimating to the golden bear way thus far.
Of Kreitler’s arrival on campus, rising senior Mike Thomas shared that during the interview process, there was a group of 5-6 men who would ask all of the candidates questions about their coaching philosophy and vision for the team moving forward. Thomas states that about 15 minutes into the team’s meeting with Chase, they could see many similarities between Chase and Yuri, and they knew he was their guy.
Post grad Josh Prenot says that Kreitler’s coaching style isn’t too dissimilar from that of Yuri’s: the two coaches are both very technique oriented, with Kreitler already implementing some of his freestyle methods within the Cal team. Durden has expressed his satisfaction with the assortment of high level swimming experiences Chase has had, including coaching positions at CSU Bakersfield (2009-2011) Eastern Michigan (2011-2013), LSU (2013-2016), Texas men (2016-2018) and Stanford women (April-May 2018). Durden expressed he can see this amalgam of experiences has helped Kreitler shape his own coaching philosophy and vocabulary, which has in turn led to building better relationships with the athletes.
Frat🤙🏿
So glad to see such a great guy having success!
Looking good Chase!