Coach's mantra: "Play Hard, Respect the Game"…read more Exactly what you get at his camp. We've been going to Coach Max's regular weekly junior hoops sessions twice a week since he started them up - lots of high intensity workouts, in addition to lots of fun playtime and basics of basketball. All in an hour twice a week. This year we decided to step it up, my kiddo (9) was actually home for the summer and finally had an opportunity to check out Coach Max's summer camp (he goes from 9am-3pm). Let me just say, my kid is NOT sporty kid, he's not a lanky shrimp...I wouldn't go as far as calling him lazy, but he does prefer horizontal positions to vertical...This is kid not only LOVES camp, but he's the one waiting for me in the morning to get out of the door. 3 weeks in a row! When I pick him up, he's limping because he's sore and literally goes to bed at 8pm the whole week...up at 7am to get ready in the morning! Which kid does this over summer break?! Now coach...Max is a wonderful human, amazing friend to all, and someone all kids can look up - at any age. For any new kids, he is incredibly warm and easy to get along with. For parents, it's a joy to watch your kid interact. His crew of assistants are patient, friendly, but also mean business on the court. Kids learn teamwork, respect, create friendships, and begin a more detailed and rigorous basketball regime. Recommend to ANYONE. Boy, girl, teen, child... Hot tip: The most affordable camp in the Alameda/Oakland area by far for the kind of sessions offered. Thank you to Coach Max and his crew!!

My 5yo daughter and 7yo son just completed a week of basketball camp with Coach Max Camps and they…read moreabsolutely loved it! Initially, my daughter was a little hesitant to join because she does not know anything about basketball, but by the time camp ended, she got the basics down and made some new friends. It was also nice that they have smaller hoops for younger kids. As for my son, he now has a stronger understanding and appreciation for basketball after doing drills, running the ball and playing scrimmage. He also slept very well that week. Coach Max is such a down to earth guy! Kids tend to gravitate toward him. His staff are very welcoming, fun, and encouraging. I highly recommend this camp! It is a great way for kids to have fun and stay active. We will be coming back next year! My kids also enjoyed the snacks , stickers and Gatorade!

I have three kids between the ages of 10 and 17 (one girl, two boys), and they all fell in love…read morewith water polo after trying the Alameda Water Polo Club. The coaches understand what kids need to keep them motivated and keep it fun...and how that changes for each developmental stage. This team is a great find; you can try it for free before committing, so you know whether it's a good fit for your own child. I wish other sports teams did that!

Really great place to learn basic water polo skills and to connect with other players. My daughter…read morehas been with the Neptunes for several seasons now, and we've been really happy with the team. The coaches are approachable and work really well with the kids to teach them everything from the basics to advanced skills that they can use when they advance to their high school teams. There is no risk to trying it out as they give you two weeks to see if it is a good fit...

This is a critical review because there is nowhere else to criticize the programs I have issues…read morewith. Alameda Rec blanket covers these bad programs and allows the to continue despite obvious shortcomings. My daughter took a variety of summer camps in 2023. We went through the catalogue in the spring and had no issues picking any of our selections. She enjoyed, Hanabi Judo: Pokemon Camp, Young Rembrandts: Colorful Critters Workshop & Children's Aikido. The issues were with: CRTW: Oodles of Noodles, Play-Well: Minecraft Engineering w/ LEGO & Play-Well: STEM + Animal Architects w/ LEGO. Oodles of Noodles was the main offender with an additional $150 for materials that were is definitely overpriced. My daughter chopped vegis for two days of five and not much more than that. She did not learn a single sauce recipe or even tired various sauces to learn what's out there. The teachers were often on their phones bragging about the door dash being delivered to eat in front of the kids but not share. The Lego classes were generally a disappointment, with minor projects loosely tiesdto a theme but most of the time was just freeplay. My daughter was excited for weeks looking forward to the minecraft camp, but left deflated. I honestly felt like I let her down because there wasn't an opportunity to switch another camp, just money paid for "glorified" childcare. We will never sign up for these class again, will advise all within my social circle the same and will do thorough research before selecting future classes within Alameda Rec. I do think there are worthy camps to select.

There has got to be some serious Happy Juice infused in the water that the ARPD staff drinks…read more Seriously, I don't think I've ever used any city's parks, camps, after-school daycare, teen center and field trip operation with such a collectively friendly, helpful, and patient staff. Personally, as the victim of constant 'Mom Poisoning," which typical symptoms often include: random forgetfulness, sleep deprivation, looking constantly dazed and confused, referring to one of your children in a conversation when you were really meaning to refer to another one, talking to the imaginary little plump fairies flying around you a lot of the time while in mid-conversation with a real human being, and sailing away merrily alone in your car after forgetting to make sure that your child actually managed to make his/her way physically into the car with you when you came to pick him/her up. Despite all of my Mom Poisoning symptoms, the ARPD staff has always treated me with the utmost cheerful understanding and respect. Let's look at a few examples of my interactions with them, and compare the responses to what Your Average (anyplace) City Schmuck Park Employee (YACSPE) *could* say to me, the Mom-Poisoned ("MP"). Me (MP) to the ARPD WOW camp staff after taking 6 year old wild child to the completely wrong park thinking it was a the week of a certain soccer camp that actually wasn't happening for another two weeks. MP: I can't believe I got this soccer camp week wrong by two weeks. ARPD staff: No problem, Ms. S. Turns out his regular camp park group is coming over in about 45 minutes for a camp-wide special event at our park so they can just give him a ride back to the correct park and camp after that. MP: I feel like such a ditz ARPD: Don't worry Ms. S., it happens all the time. What a "Your Average Daily City Schmuck Park Employee" (YACSPE) would at least think: What the hell kind of mother are you? That camp isn't for two more weeks! Don't you ever look at a calendar and write these things down? Nutso parent! Get a clue! MP: To the ARPD counselors at the Teen Center after my then twelve-year-old son questioned the existence of God a bit too bluntly to some both very sensitive and even more "very* Christian home-schooled tweens there: MP: I'm really sorry that he offended those kids. Anything that seems "Fundamentalist' to him when discussing religion gets him as riled up as a particular very openly opinionated, sarcastic, swearing, liberal uncle who means well and advocates free speech....and I've reminded him time and again that it's okay to ask questions, but try not to offend people when you do, even if you don't agree with them one bit. ARPD: That's okay. We discussed that he needed to think through what he is going to say in advance since it really did hurt those kids' feelings. However, there wasn't any real harm done. YACSPE might say: Why isn't your son on some serious meds to keep him sedated? Now we could face a major lawsuit against the local churches those students attend! MP to the ARPD RAP (after-school care) staff after wild child decided to get in a tussle with an older kid over wall ball and taking turns that turned into a huge brawl. MP: I'm so sorry he got so worked up. He didn't get enough sleep last night and has been in an atypical bad mood most of the day. He knows he should be using words, not hitting. *migraine ensues* ARPD: Well, we took each of the boys aside and explained how hitting isn't allowed and then eventually had the two of them talk it out. They seem to be good friends now. YACSPE: Christ, I bet you or your Old Man beat the crap out of that kid at home or something for him to get into a fight like that. We're calling CPS! ARPD's staff is even kind enough to call around the night before your kid goes on a field trip and remind you what time to be there the next morning since the tour bus will depart at a set-in-stone time. You know how certain, *ahem*, Night Owls definitely need these reminders so we can set at least two alarm clocks with the loudest one being placed at least 10 feet away from the bed in order to even get out of bed early. Even the person I typically deal with on the phone for scheduling changes and payments is always cheerful and courteous. They now have an online scheduling/payment system too. How convenient is that? There is something in that Happy juice going on, and I'm telling you it's a wonderful thing. Thank you, ARPD staff for your graciousness and your programs. You make a single, working, full-time parent of three kids' schedules so much easier to plan when they all too typically border on the impossible to coordinate.

To be taught by Harold is a blessing. Patient, kind, encouraging and helpful, his technique has…read moremade my son more focused and better at taking direction.

I love this place. The coach is excellent, the space is gorgeous, and the fencers are both good and…read morefun. Harold, the owner and head coach, is excellent in both classes and individual lessons. I think he's particularly good for beginners because he is endlessly patient and genuinely interested in each person. Though come to think of it that lends itself to coaching advanced fencers, too! He's a deeply intellectual fencer and his classes are as likely to start with a history lesson as lunging exercises. His care of the club and its fencers is thorough and thoughtful. As for the space... wow. This is what a fencing club should look like: dark wood paneled walls, hard wood floors, a cream-colored domed ceiling, and comfortable built-in padded benches lining the walls. There are men's and women's restrooms and changing rooms and a lobby with a hand-made chess table. And the fencers are a good bunch. They range from beginner to competitive and tend toward good humor and kindness. During open floor hours there's generally a two-up-then-down rule, so each fencer directs a bout, fences two bouts, then the rotates out. Mondays and Wednesdays are the big open floor nights. If you fence, do yourself a favor and check it out. If you don't fence, do yourself an even bigger favor and learn here.

Great basketball program, absolutely great coaching. Practices are well organized, games and…read moretournaments are competitive. Coaches keep things very serious and are great role models.

The Pool is a fabulous pool with a Park surrounding, Beautiful. Everything about this pool is…read moregreat with the exception of the persons who are power hungry and want to be the Hitler's. I just left the pool after having a person named Kate raise her voice at me, to almost a screaming level telling me my 1 year membership, I paid $645.00 on June 15, was not good for a year, I must now pay $645.00 by Sat. April 18, or I can not swim. My wife had a person, Chris, yell at her about the rules at Lincoln Pool, and now Kate is yelling at me about the membership dues. It appears non of the would be Hitler's know how to speak civil to others. I never raised my voice to her, my wife never raised her voice to Chris, we practice better manners.

I am biased - I admit it. This was the rival pool when I worked at Franklin and even though they…read moreare essentially the same (two pools, "locker" rooms, BBQ area, kid cage, attached to a park), it was an unwritten rule that if you were a Franklin pool kid, you hated the Lincoln pool kids. Call it the swimmers version of West Side Story, I don't know, but that's how it was. I went to Lincoln pool a few times growing up (if you were a member of Franklin, you were of Lincoln as well) and ONLY came here for swim lessons when our favorite instructor switched to this pool. It is literally across town from Franklin, so it's kind of a pain to get over to from my house. The only real difference is Lincoln is set more inside the park while Franklin is right on the street. I give Franklin the extra points on this fact because since we were on the street, when the ice cream man rolled by, you were alllll over it. =)

We had such a fun and chill birthday party with JG! I am really impressed with their communication…read moresetting up the party and how friendly, flexible, and fun they were on the day of. When asked what did you think of the party my kid said, "It was so fun! Can we do it again here next year!?" Highly highly recommend. Perfect for a range of ages as well. Thank you JG coaches!!!

Jumpin' Gymsters is great for both camps & birthday parties! I first sent my then 5yr old son to a…read morefew of their summer sessions in 2023 and was really worried about how he would do. He really struggled at a previous camp but things were so different at Jumpin Gymsters. Carol, Carlos and the other staff members really helped him to feel safe and keep him happy and engaged. He had so much fun, he didnt want to leave at the end of the day. They really helped build his social confidence as well and he made a lasting friend there that summer. We had such a great experience with them that we decided to hire them for my son's sixth birthday party (which went really well) and also sent all three of our kids to some 2024 summer sessons. I can't recommend them enough!

Our son has been going to East Bay Fencers Gym for the past 8 years, and it has been a great…read moreexperience for him. The training at EBFG is rigorous and extensive, but each coach ensures to take the time to talk one-on-one with each individual student. Abdul, Joel, and Justin are passionate and truly care about the EBFG community and its members. Furthermore, the classes are relatively small so you will definitely find new friends and learn each other's fencing styles, slowly expanding your knowledge and improving your understanding of fencing strategy. Our son has just left for college, and with the time he spent at EBFG, he hopes to continue fencing for as long as he can. Also, he will make sure to visit the gym when he is back home. We are sure that anyone who comes to visit EBFG will see its vibrant community and see why it is a superb fencers' gym.

The best epee fencing gym in the bay area…read more Ive been a member of Abdul's gym for 13 years and can honestly say it changed my life! Abdul helped me get in shape, introduced me to his wonderful fencing community, and coached me to become a competitive athlete on a national stage which helped get me into college. If you're willing to put in the work, there's so much potential here. If you show up to a practice, you can expect the first 30mins to be a cardio packed calisthenics group workout. Afterwards there's 5mins of static stretching, followed by 10mins of group footwork. Then the open bouting begins, which can last up to 2hrs on a busy night.