Year-round USA Swimming · eight practice groups · daily at Clarke
The nationally ranked Aquabears are a year-round competitive program. Head coach Mike Heaney, (925) 939-5990. The team practices daily at Clarke Memorial Swim Center in Heather Farm Park.
Live from Pool Relay · open the full calendar → — The team's own calendar: the eight practice groups at Clarke, and the whole team at Larkey from September 23 to 28 while Clarke's heater was repaired.
The calendar above is the team’s own. The team publishes each group’s practice times — but not which water it uses, and the city’s lane table does not mention the team at all.
The team's own progression chart says what the commitment is. Each group is offered five to eight practices a week, of sixty to a hundred and twenty minutes, every one of them in Clarke water that the city is simultaneously publishing as a lane count.
With the eight groups on the same calendar, three things are true at once: a parent sees which lanes their swimmer is in, the city sees what its pool is actually committed to, and lap swimmers stop guessing which twelve lanes are gone this afternoon.
From the team's own Progression through the Practice Groups chart.
| Group | Swimmers | Practice commitment |
|---|---|---|
| Purple 1 | New to the sport, 8–11, with lesson experience | At least 3 of 5 × 60 minutes |
| Purple 2 | 8–10, with team experience | At least 3 of 5 × 60 minutes |
| Purple 3 | 8–10, with team experience | At least 4 of 6 × 60 minutes |
| Gold 1 | 11 through 8th grade | At least 3 of 5 × 60 minutes |
| Gold 2 | 11 through 8th grade | At least 4 of 6 × 90 minutes |
| Gold 3 | 11 through 8th grade | At least 4 of 6 × 90 minutes |
| Senior 1 | 9th grade and above | At least 5 of 8 × 120 minutes |
| Senior 2 | 9th grade and above | At least 6 of 8 × 120 minutes |
Swimmers move up on age, on completing a group, or on coach recommendation after qualifying times — the chart maps every route.