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DVAC
I
f it were true, one could call Sally McGredy a mermaid,
simply because swimming has always been a big part of her
life for the last 40 years.
A swimming instructor at Delta Valley Athletic Club for the
last three years, who also oversees its nine highly experienced
swim instructors, Sally’s entire life revolved around water. “I
grew up on the Cape Cod in Massachusetts
and don’t ever
remember not swimming! I swam, sailed and raced Flying J’s,
which are small and very fast running boats,” says Sally. “That
was my life; I was on the beach, it’s what I did. You had no
choice when you lived on the ocean.”
The best thing she loves about swimming is that it’s the
only sport anyone can do. “Swimming is the only sport where
women have equal advantage to getting those scholarships.
And if you’re 5’2” or overweight, you can swim, but you can’t
do other sports,” she says. “Anyone can learn to swim and
swim fast.”
Before making her work-home at Delta Valley Athletic
Club, she coached varsity swim teams at San Ramon Valley
and Heritage high schools. She was a U.S. swim coach for the
San Ramon Valley swim team, and created a master’s team in
Pleasanton and an age-group swim team in Danville. She loves
getting kids in the water at an early age with their Mommy &
Me classes. “We have swim programs where we start them at
six-months-old with their parents in the pool with them,” says
Sally. “We also offer group lessons at two-years-old with an
instructor, and group lessons go up to 12 – 13 years old. Then
we run a swim team clinic, where we teach them to get into a
swim team, from ages 7 to 14.”
“My one grandson is three-years-old and is swimming across
the pool!” she adds. “It’s because I made sure he got in the
pool at six-months-old.” Amazed at how many people, young
and not-so-young, don’t know how to swim, Sally says she
can teach a person to swim in five to six lessons. “I understand
fear, and if you really do have a fear, you have to get rid of it,”
she says.
Delta’s pools are indoors and climate-controlled. “The
great thing about swimming here is that we don’t have an off-
season. We’re year-round, and learning needs to be repetitive,”
says Sally. “With our master classes, we are the only place in
Brentwood with an on-deck coach – basically a live person on
deck who can help with strokes and mastering swimming!”
Swimming
with Sally McGredy
For more information, hours, pricing
for members and non-members, visit
www.deltavac.com
and click on
aquatic/swim lessons.
120 Guthrie Lane, Brentwood, CA 94513
Monday thru Friday 4:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sally Mcgredy
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