Team Elite Stingrays and Marsh Swim Academy

Press release courtesy of Team Elite.

Today, April 22, is the first official day of Southern California’s newest youth Swimming opportunities!

The Team Elite Stingrays is a new USA Swimming club that will be offered to San Diego area children ages 10 years and older. Additionally the Marsh Swim Academy (MSA) will offer camps, clinics, lessons and experiences that will be open to all swimmers of various ages and backgrounds. Coach David Marsh regarded by most as one of the world’s top swimming coaches has not only coached over 50 Olympic athletes, but has served as the head coach for several of the top USA swimming clubs in the United States during his 35 year career. Coach Marsh, the 2016 USA Head Women’s Olympic Coach In Rio, commented “My plan through Team Elite and MSA is to offer specific technique training and teaching methods that have proven to be profoundly effective for long term and highest levels of success. The programs will also create ignition opportunities by aligning with the world-class athletes training with Team Elite here in La Jolla, CA. Swimming at it’s best is an amazing positive character building activity that can be life saving, life enhancing, and even life transforming.”

The Team Elite Stingrays will initially offer 3 levels of swimming:

1. Varsity Swimming group. Designed for middle school and high school athletes who want to improve in swimming to be better for their school teams, be faster for water polo, or have goals of developing into a collegiate level swimmer.
2. Age Group Stingrays. Swimmers 10-13 with at least one National Age Group (NAG) “A” time standard that are accepted after their evaluation. The group will progress through age group development with GAIN Fitness total body dryland emphasis and “Marsh methods” in the pool to build technique combined with appropriately challenging practices.
3. Senior Stingrays. Swimmers 13-18 with at least one NAG “A” time and are accepted after their evaluation. The group will utilize GAIN Fitness on land and in the water focus on the highest level skill development while increasing the student-athlete’s training load when the coaches determine it’s appropriate. As the swimmer improves unique training and racing opportunities that could include training with the Team Elite Olympians.

Most of the programming will be offered at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center (JCC) in La Jolla, CA. The “Stingrays” will collaborate with the JCC’s development swim program, the Barracudas. The San Diego based Team Elite Olympic and National team swimmers will serve as role models, demonstrators, and at times – instructors for the Stingrays and Marsh Swim Academy students. World Record Holder and Olympic Gold Medalist, Kathleen Baker says “as one of many swimmers that has developed under the training philosophy and direct leadership of Coach Marsh, I can tell you all of us with Team Elite are very excited to help inspire and support the next generation of young swimmers in Southern California and around the US.”

The rest of April will serve as an open period for practices and beginning in May the full program will be implemented. There is a limitation to the team size based on pool space. Call or visit the website to set up an evaluation.