Oakland Strokes

I’ve spent a lot of time at the boathouse recently. It’s a wonderful organizational that is striving for excellent experiences and high level of competition. It’s always hard to balance the average athlete experience vs. the absolute team performance, but the strokes seem to do a really great job of it.
Also, FYI: The group has an outreach program that doesn’t get enough publicity. Service and community impact matters to this boathouse.
If you have a child that would benefit from a real team experience, give the Strokes a try. You won’t regret it.

Oakland Strokes cares only about it’s «A» boats. It thrives on the hopes of the lower boats desires to get into a «Top University» Well our daughter gave up much of her high school years to Oakland Strokes with the thought that she would only get into a good school as long as she was a rower. However, she got into a D1 university as an extremely happy, well adjusted student. She was relieved of the stress that crew brought on. Have you ever inquired about how much Universities actually give in rowing scholarships? Ask before you have your child make such a huge commitment and give up those wonderful high school events due to the rigorous rowing commitment demanded by Oakland Strokes.

One of the best competitive rowing programs in the country. They attract outstanding coaches and they do an amazing job of working with the students. They not only learn to row, but they also develop a sense of teamwork and commitment. The program offers opportunities for middle school children at both San Pablo Reservoir and in Oakland at the estuary. The team travels and competes not only in California but in the northwest and back east at the Head of the Charles. My daughter rowed with Strokes for 5 years and loved every minute. The program helped her develop a strong sense of self and she made lifelong friends.

My daughter started rowing as a Junior in high school, and fell in love with the sport and this team. The novice program gave her a real appreciation for the hard work necessary to succeed, and helped prepare her for varsity. She went from being athletic but soft to hard and fit over 12 months, realizing her dream of being recruited for college, too. She never made the varsity 8, as she was too small, but she earned her slot in college as a lightweight and is happily rowing at Georgetown now. Her younger sister started as an out-​of-​shape but skinny 8^th grader, and has now blossomed into a strong, muscular confident young woman. She has put on 20 pounds of muscle in four years, and wants to row in college. This team, and this sport, has provided her with opportunities for college recruiting she never would have seen if she had continued playing basketball. As her parents, we couldn’t be happier with the team and the new coaching staff. I can’t recommend it high enough as a life-​changing experience for teens where they learn to push themselves and develop the grit to succeed in life.

The Oakland Strokes is an outstanding organization. The coaching staff is extraordinary, well trained and excels in teaching the values that this unique sport embodies (ultimate team work, dedication, discipline, and the benefits of very hard work).
The parent organization is super and keeps the organization moving in ever increasing directions.
Their commitment to the kids of Oakland and available scholarships make it unique in the high school club sport arena.
Our children both went through the Strokes and they carry the lessons they learned and the friendships they gained while at the Strokes into their young adult lives.
The kids learn what it means to be «about the boat».

Very disappointed on how this organization treated several student athletes. Average to lower performing athletes receive less attention, less time on the water and less instruction but of course they are happy to take your money. The ⁸⁰⁄₂₀ rule applies here as 80% of the families pay to support the program that caters to the top 20 athletes. Don’t get fooled into the initial — welcome to our family BS that they dish out. Communication with parents is horrible and communications from coaches to athletes can be very unprofessional. If you are a junior high or high school student I would highly recommend that you stay in the programs that the schools offer. If you are commuting from the East Bay, South Bay or North Bay to attend this program it is not worth it. Don’t waste your time driving, life is too short and I would not waste a minute on this organization
In Summary
1. Unprofessional
2. Extremely expensive — total overall cost is very high
3. Abusive to average /​below average athletes
4. Poor communication with athletes and families
5. Not trustworthy

This is a great organization. A professional coaching staff, but it is run as a non-​profit by parents who really care about giving kids an alternative to «ball» sports. Rowing is demanding physically and mentally, but the athletes really seem to enjoy it. Rowers learn commitment and discipline, as they row as a team. Boat can’t leave the dock without eight rowers and a coxswain, and they can’t win a race unless everyone is pulling their weight! Crew is a great sport for high school kids, and Strokes is the best club in the Bay Area. Colleges love it too, both boys and girls.

Oakland Strokes changed my life. I was a fairly tall kid who could run about a 10 minute mile. I was no speed demon. I started rowing after my dad suggested it because it involved ‘no running.’ After a few weeks, I was sold.
The Oakland Strokes was a great experience for me. It taught me discipline, fitness, teamwork and responsibility. If you were late for practice, your whole boat would be stuck on land (a good reason to never be late). I also made friends with kids from high schools all over the East Bay. Where else can you hang out with kids from De la Salle and Oakland Tech together on the same team? Nowhere.
It also put me on a radars of colleges and universities around the country. Navy, Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Cal, UW (Wisconsin and Washington), you name it. It opened a ton of doors for me and got me into the college I wanted to go to.
I can’t recommend this program enough for your kids. And if you’re on the fence, they have a great summer camp every year.

Our daughter is in her 3^rd year at «Strokes». It is a fantastic group. The kids learn terrific sportmanship skills while also creating life long friends. A wonderful community to be involved with.

Unilocal has this explanation next to its 5 star rating: «Woohoo! As good as it gets!» And yes the Oakland Strokes is as good as it gets!
What makes this club great is the coaches! They are national champions from UCLA, Cal, Great Britain and Serbia. They care passionately for the athletes and the sport of rowing. They are exceptional role models to the young athletes and they work enthusiastically for the club.
Each year many of the Strokes graduating seniors matriculate to prestigious colleges with strong rowing teams. Strokes alumni are currently attending Harvard, Brown, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, Stanford, USC, UCLA, U.C. Berkeley, and Penn.
Boat races are personal, they demand perfect pitch. They can soar or falter on a gesture. The Oakland Strokes has perfect pitch!