Barracuda Swimming of Wenatchee

Barracuda swimming has helped me get to where I am in a lot of ways including developing my work ethic. While being on the Barracuda Swim Team I learned how hard work and dedication will pay off. I also learned that these pay offs are not always immediate. Many times you will have to work for a long time seeing little improvement because you know that in the end your work will eventually develop into something you can be proud of. The end may be 1,4, or 10 years away but it will come.

In high school I had a 2.0 GPA until my junior year. That is when my swimming and my grades improved dramatically. By graduation I had achieve a GPA of 2.7 and qualified for junior nationals my senior year. I connect these changes to my coach showing me what hard work can really do. Now that I am in college I have qualified for Sr. nationals and placed 29th there. I have also achieved a GPA of 3.07. After college I plan to find some sort of work over seas. I am not sure what exactly my work will be but I know that I have the ability to become successful in whatever job I choose because of what I have learned through Barracuda Swimming.

I am extremely thankful for what I learned through Barracudas and would recommend athletics and especially the Barracudas to any child who wants to learn, succeed, and become responsible a young adult.

Lex Howard—Junior National Finalist. 100 Fly Washington State Champion. 100 Back Washington State Finalist. 100 Fly Eastmont High School Team Captain#1 100/200 Fly  University of Missouri. 2006 Junior at University of Missouri

I was a Barracuda from age twelve to age eighteen and those were six of the most influential years of my life. Not only did I become better and stronger as a swimmer, but I also learned many life lessons along the way. Being a CUDA taught me the importance of time management, hard work, and dedication, and also helped me find a true passion for the sport of swimming. I learned how to set goals and work towards achieving them and how to believe in myself. I also learned how to socialize with other kids, forming friendships that lasted far beyond the days at the pool. For me, Barracuda Swimming was not just a team, it was a family of caring individuals—coaches, parents and teammates—whom I adopted and who adopted me.

Currently, I am a junior at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and I am co-captain of the women's swim team. Without Barracuda Swimming I would not have been able to achieve all that I have over the past several years. After my swimming career is over in the spring of 2008, I plan on attending graduate school to become a physical therapist, but I will never forget the lessons learned and friendships made during my years as a Barracuda swimmer.

Jenna Neff; Age Group Sectional Finalist 100 Fly Senior Sectional Qualifier 100 Fly Washington State Finalist - 100 Fly, 100 Free; Wenatchee High School Team Captain; University of Las Vegas Team Captain - 2006-2007; Junior at University of Las Vegas.

Hello!  I am Michael Calhoun, currently a student at the University of Montana.  I first began swimming when I was 6 years old on the Eastmont Summer Swim Team.  As I grew, so did my love for swimming.  At age 14, I decided to join the Barracudas.  Looking back, it was the best adolescent decision of my life.

The Barracuda’s were a positive influence on my life from day one, teaching me the values of hard work, time management, goal setting, and what it means to lead a balanced life.  Time after time, I have applied these lessons to my school work and daily life to only be met with positive results.  All the tools that help a person achieve success can be learned on the Barracuda Swim Team.

Life lessons aside, the Barracudas offer a prime environment for nurturing adolescent growth.  Comprised of families all wanting the same positive influences for their children has lead to a well-structured organization focused on the swimmers' needs first.  It is rare to have a parent worry about their child at practice or a swim meet.  With swimmers of all ages, K-12, everyone is looked over caringly. As a new swimmer to the team in 2001, I was met by smiles and future good friends.

My best of friends have been made on the Barracudas.  With them I have shared the exhilaration of a close swim meet hinged on a single race and the relaxing fun of just hanging out and watching a movie.  We all practice together, suffer though workouts together, stress together, win and lose together, and have fun together.  The team has become a second family to me and I wouldn’t trade the experiences we have shared for anything.

Michael Calhoun; High School State Qualifier - 200 I.M., High School State Qualifier - 100 Fly; Age Group Sectionals Qualifer; Eastmont High School Team Captain 2006, Eastmont High School Boy of the Year 2006

Hello! My name is Robin Teague, formerly Davidson. I started swimming on the Wenatchee Swim Team when I was 4½ years old.  The Wenatchee Swim Team and Eastmont Swim Team combined to form the Barracudas when I was about twelve years old.  Swimming has done so much for me that I barely know where to start!

I believe that any sport or activity that you can engage a child in will teach them lifelong lessons. Swimming in particular has taught me teamwork, goal-setting, determination, completion of a task, to push my limits, mind-body awareness, fitness and nutrition, to be coached, focus, competitiveness and drive.

I am especially grateful to the Barracuda Swimming Program and the families who were part of the program when I was involved. My mother passed away when I was 11 years old.  The swimming team became my surrogate family.  Not only was I constantly watched over, but I also found peace in the pool.  Looking back, I had so many “parents” on the team that were there to give advice, take me to a meet or offer encouragement.

Swimming also allowed me to start traveling at a fairly young age.  Local meets were a starting point, but at the Junior National and Senior National level, I was exposed to different parts of the US.  Now that I’m an adult, I truly enjoy traveling and meeting new people, something that I’m quite certain swimming meets prepared me for.

I was also fortunate to receive a full ride scholarship to Rice University in Houston, Texas.  With out a swimming scholarship, I would not have been able to attend an out of state university, and may not have been able to further my education at all.  Additionally, the coaching methods that were used with the Cudas were ideal to prepare me for collegiate athletics. Thankfully, the program that I swam under focused on technique and body awareness as opposed to over-training, so that when I did get to the collegiate level, I was still excited about swimming and was coachable.

Following college, I have since lived in New York, and now live in the Silicon Valley in California where I work for a software company in Human Resources. I am constantly amazed at how my life is affected by my swimming roots.  I have lifelong friends, a strong sense of self and a healthy upbringing.  I consider myself lucky to have been a part of Barracuda Swimming.  As I mentioned previously, I believe that a child who is nurtured in any program will be a better person, but my personal experience on the Cudas was a positive one that has forever shaped my life!

Robin Davidson; 3rd ranked All American in the 100 Breastroke Junior National Qualifier - 100/200 Breastroke Senior National Qualifier - 100/200 Breastroke 2000 Olympic Trials Qualifier – 100 Breaststroke