Pacific Swimming is seeing a merger between two powerhouse programs as the Crow Canyon Sharks have merged into the Pleasanton Seahawks. The clubs, which are located about 11 miles apart from each other, are in Danville and Pleasanton, CA, which is in the Bay area, East of San Francisco and North of San Jose.
This is a very significant program merger, as Crow Canyon is a USA Swimming Gold Medal club for 2025, while Pleasanton Seahawks is a Silver Medal club. Pleasanton Seahawks reached Podium Club status within the USA Swimming Club Excellence program, as they were a Gold Medal club from 2017-2020. The Club Excellence program is one of USA Swimming’s metrics for evaluating the success of its club teams. Club Excellence points are earned once a swimmer reaches the Summer Junior Nationals cut in an event. In order to become a Gold Medal club, as Crow Canyon is for the 2025 season, the club must be one of the top 20 scoring clubs in the country with a swimmer that has achieved a gold time standard. The gold time standards are equal to the 150th-ranked woman and 200th-ranked man in the world in that event from the previous year (LCM times are only considered for Club Excellence). To become a Podium Club, as Pleasanton Seahawks did, a club must be a Gold Medal program in 4 consecutive years.
All of that is to say that this a merger of two high performing clubs who have a track record of being very competitive at the local, Pacific Swimming, Western Zone, Junior National, and National levels.
Here is the Instagram post put out by the Pleasanton Seahawks about the merger.
More information was given by the Crow Canyon Sharks’ Instagram post on the merger, which outlined that former Crow Canyon head coach Joe Natina will become the co-head coach of Pleasanton Seahawks alongside Steve Morsilli, their existing head coach, who also founded and owns the team. Additionally, all of Crow Canyons’ staff will be retained and make the transition to Pleasanton Seahawks as well. That IG post can be found below.
The language in the Crow Canyons post makes it sound as though they plan to merge the training groups as well, as opposed to retaining the separate sites and operating as they were before the merger, just under one banner.
Crow Canyon has been steadily making waves over the past few years. SwimSwam published a piece on their performance at the 2023 Winter Juniors West meet, as they won the girls team title at the meet with just 10 swimmers. They had a similar showing at the 2024 Winter Juniors West meet, where they finished 3rd in the girls standings with just 8 swimmers. Crow Canyon took 4th in combined scoring at the meet.
Pleasanton Seahawks have been making waves recently mostly for the massive success of Luka Mijatovic. Mijatovic, just 15 years old now, has already broken 11 National Age Group Records in his career. Most recently, he ripped a 4:12.34 500 freestyle to shatter Drew Kibler’s 15-16 NAG at just 15 years old. Mijatovic won the boys 200 free and 400 free at Junior Pan Pacs last summer.
This new era of the Pleasanton Seahawks will certainly be an exciting one to follow.
It’s honestly really sad that all the swimmers left that group. I see some of the kids who left at meets, most of them are now on SRVA, and they look genuinely happy and seem to really enjoy David’s program. It’s heartbreaking to see the Sharks disappear, and I hope Joe has already realized that the merger was a terrible idea.
My own coach still feels bad for the swimmers who were affected, and I personally feel for them too knowing many who left. I’m sure Joe was an amazing coach, but what always comes to mind is: why would you destroy an entire team’s legacy just to create a so-called “super team,” knowing no one wanted to move?… Read more »
There is a certain pathos in his current trajectory—transitioning from the architect of JNAT championship success to a mere subordinate in Morsilli’s shadow. For his sake, I trust the promised inheritance is worth the indignity, lest he be exposed as the West Coast’s most tragic case of misplaced trust.
Almost a year into the experiment, is Swimswam planning to publish an update on this whole mess? It is my understanding that 75% (!!!) of swimmers that were part of the Sharks elite group at the time have left the team for other clubs or to go to college.
Natina’s betrayal to the community for personal gain is now starting to come into focus. So many promises broken. To this day, he hasn’t written a single PLS set. Effectively he threw his entire elite team under the bus .
Using “some of his swimmers left for college” as part of your critique really undermines the rest of the statement.
From a group of approximately 20 swimmers in Shark’s elite group, the following individuals left to join another club. Several departed just months before leaving for college; this strengthens the argument, as they felt compelled to switch despite having very little time remaining in club swimming.
Swimmers who moved directly to another club:
1. Natalie Mak
2. Elayna Ling
3. Ayden Tan
4. Mikayla Tan
5. Katrin Otaegi
6. Ethan Suehiro
7. Rostik Khilko
8. Ethan Wang
9. Phil Lin
10- Lillyana Caples
11- Quinn Hung
Swimmers who left for college, most or all of which choose not to return to PLS training for holiday breaks:
1. Raya… Read more »
Add Kayden Wong to that list. The PLS elite group is such a mess: only Luka counts and the two head coaches are at odds… quite a mess.
Kaden, not Kayden🙄. He is as hard working and dedicated as they come.
Saw CIF NCS. Seemed like everyone is humming..what is your source?
Bottom line, Bay Club destroyed a children’s swim club. And with their malice destruction, they crushed children’s dreams, friendships, and future generations of young athletes looking for a place to belong. They should have done the morally correct thing instead of causing the children and families so much pain and heartbreak. As a member of the Pleasanton Bay Club myself, I have witnessed their greed and corrupt behavior and it is shameful. Their leaders at corporate lack any respect or integrity for families and have only proved to be for profit as they deceitfully claim to be a family gym. It is shameful that they could be so cruel and selfish in their actions and not even consider the consequences… Read more »
Crows exceptional coaches and their athletes positive, hard working and high standard culture will be blended with the Seahawks flawlessly – you are taking high character families to do what they all do best.. engage in team work, set and accomplish personal goals and in the end, enjoy the sport of swimming in their team community. Congratulations to both teams and to Coach Natina for having the courage to make change to respect his athletes bright swimming careers over supporting corporate private equity greed! LFG!
Wish nothing but the best for all the families! As a former Seahawk family, we loved the team and the families. We also enjoyed spending time with the Crow families during competitions!
Some of yall need to chill! It is all about the kids!
Joe, at his heart, is a winner and he creates winners, hence the progression of swimmers he’s seen ascend to Olympic level. He drives a meritocracy and while that’s tough he produces winners who want to win. He taught both my daughters to swim. For that I’m grateful and any team that gets his passion and fight to win is gonna win. The details are gonna best lost in legal bs and narratives to feed your narratives. This sucks but Joe produces, and for that, thank you Joe!
Crow did not lose their pool, but did have to rent pool space at multiple locations to accom. the large size groups. Bay Club wanted to build teams at all their locations, Natina felt that was not a good plan personally. Folding the team into PLS instead. It’s sad that there are no teams left now at Crow Canyon CC with the end of Sharks after the end the summer rec team a few years ago. Sharks was formed in 2005 by Ethan Hall & Dan Cottam. Some incredible swimmers passed through that tiny 6 lane pool!
Btw, Natina is taking a huge risk, as Steve retains control of the “merger”.
Training schedules will be Seahawk schedules, uniforms will be PLS uniforms. Team name will be Pleasanton Seahawks, and Steve will rule the way he always has: with no regard for the toxic environment within the team, disdain for paying parents, and an org structure of lap dogs doing everything he says.