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Cal Women’s Rowing Camp

Al Acosta, Head Coach

T. Gary Rogers Boathouse 2999 Glascock Street, Oakland, California 94601

4.80/5

10 Reviews

Average Rating 4.80 / 5 Stars

Limited

High Performance Training | DAY 7:00AM - 2:00PM

Jul. 22 - Jul. 25, 2025

Girls | Ages: 13 - 18

Boys welcomed as coxswains only. Camp is open to participants of all abilities and is restricted only by gender and age. This is a day camp only.

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$725 Tuition + $30 Registration Fee

Limited

College Rowing Prep | DAY 7:00AM - 2:00PM

Jul. 29 - Aug. 1, 2025

Girls | Ages: 13 - 18

Boys welcomed as coxswains only. Camp is open to participants of all abilities and is restricted only by gender and age. This is a day camp only.

Add to Cart

$725 Tuition + $30 Registration Fee

* Pricing is subject to change based on availability. Enroll today to secure current rates.

Improve Your Skills And Have Fun at Cal Rowing Camps

US Sports Camps is pleased to once again partner with the top ranked Cal Women's Rowing Team for another summer on the water. The camp sessions will be directed by the highly accomplished and experienced Cal Women's Rowing Coaching Staff. This is a program that has established a tradition of excellence at or near the top of the women's collegiate rowing.

All Cal Sports Camps are open to any and all entrants. For your safety and benefit, we recommend you choose a camp that fits your level of development. All events are subject to change based on NCAA and Covid-19 restrictions. Due to high demand and limited capacity, prices are subject to increase as camp exceeds 25%/50%/75% capacity.

Highlights Include

In depth view of a top collegiate women's crew program in the country
Train at state of the art facilities and experience what it would be like to be a student athlete at Cal
Will be able to meet our current coaches and athletes
Learn more about training plans, the recruiting process, and will get exposure to college coaches.
Receive the official Cal Rowing Camp shirt
View More Details ⟩

Head Coach Al Acosta

Al Acosta, a 1993 University of California, Berkeley graduate who became a five-time National Coach of the Year leading the Stanford women’s lightweight team, is in his third season as head women’s crew coach for the Golden Bears.
View Al Acosta's Bio ⟩

Acosta, who grew up in Berkeley, attended Berkeley High School and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cal with a degree in fine arts in 1993, started the Stanford lightweight program in 2001 and guided the Cardinal for 13 consecutive years. He led the squad to four straight IRA national titles from 2010-13 before the school posted a runner-up finish this past spring. Acosta was honored as the National Lightweight Coach of the Year for the first time in 2008 when Stanford earned a bronze medal at the national regatta, as well as for each of the team’s national championships.
In 2013, Rowing Magazine named Stanford as the “Crew of the Year” as the top collegiate rowing program in the country. In addition to on-the-water success, Acosta’s student-athletes have achieved a 100 percent graduation rate during his tenure.
Prior to accepting his role at Stanford, Acosta worked with the country’s top junior programs, the Oakland Strokes rowing program, for eight years. He served as head girls’ coach from 1994-96 and as head boys’ coach from 1997-2001. His boys’ varsity eight captured California state titles in 1998 and ’99 and finished among the nation’s top three in 1997, ’98 and ’99. In addition, Acosta was the head men’s master’s coach for the Lake Merritt Rowing Club in Oakland from 1997-2001.
On the national level, Acosta served as chair of the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Lightweight Committee from 2007-09. He has also been a head coach and associate head coach at national team development camps for both high school boys and college women.
Acosta and his wife, Linda, have two children and reside in San Francisco.
Camp Director Kirsten Girard

Kirsten Girard joined the staff in 2022 and is in her first season as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
View Kirsten's Bio ⟩

She joins the Bears after serving as an assistant coach for the Loyola Marymount women's rowing team for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Prior to that she served as the Novice Coach and Assistant Varsity Coach at Harvard University and the Head Novice High School Girls Coach at Arlington Belmont Crew.

Girard’s coaching experience also includes serving as an assistant coach for the Northwest Rowing Center in Vashon Island, Washington and teaching the basics of rowing as a Learn-to-Row Coach at Stanford University.

Prior to beginning her coaching career, Girard was a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll and two-time Big 12 Academic All-Conference rower for the University of Tennessee, competing in the 1V8 boat for the Vols for all four years. Girard was a member of the Tennessee crew that finished second at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in 2018, and she assisted the Vols in winning three bronze medals in the 1V8 event at the Big 12 Championships.

Girard earned her BS in Education with a concentration in Recreation and Sport Management, and minors in Business and Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Institute for Rowing Leadership graduate program through Community Rowing in Boston which teaches coaches about all aspects of rowing coaching and program management, including subjects in sport science, team management and leadership.

2025 CAMP DATES

July 22-25 (T. Gary Rogers Boathouse)
July 29-August 1 (Briones Reservoir)

All camps will focus on sweep rowing. Please reach out to Kirsten Girard if you have questions about which camp would be best for you (camp descriptions are below).

All Cal Sports Camps are open to any and all entrants. For your safety and benefit, we recommend you choose a camp that fits your level of development.

CAMP SCHEDULE

- July 22-25 | High Performance Camp

Check-in: Tuesday at 6:30am at T. Gary Rogers Boathouse
Check-out: Friday at 2:00pm at T. Gary Rogers Boathouse
Daily Schedule: Tuesday 6:30am-2:00pm, Wednesday-Friday 7:00am-2:00pm

- July 29-August 1 | College Rowing Prep Camp

Check-in: Tuesday at 6:30am at Briones Reservoir
Check-out: Friday at 2:00pm at Briones Reservoir
Daily Schedule: Tuesday 6:30am-2:00pm, Wednesday-Friday 7:00am-2:00pm
Briones Reservoir Boathouse Address: WQ8P+QP, Orinda, CA 94563

HIGH PERFORMANCE CAMP

Ages: 13-18
Grades: 9-12

This camp is ideal for experienced rowers with at least one racing season completed who would like to take their rowing to the next level and experience what it is like to row at an elite Division I university. This camp is specifically designed to cover the breadth of rowing with a focus on skill development. There will be in-depth lectures and discussions of the rowing stroke, training regimens, and racing tactics. Coxswains will be given individual feedback and the opportunity to review recordings of their calls. There will be two practices, one starting at 7:00am and one starting at 11:30am with about an hour break from 10:30am-11:30 am. The first practice will be on the water and the second practice will either be another row, an erg/land workout, or a campus tour.

COLLEGE ROWING PREP CAMP

Ages: 13-18
Grades: 9-12

Develop your small boat skills to prepare for collegiate rowing! We will focus on technique, coordination and boat feel in pairs and singles and how to transfer those skills to bigger boats. This camp is intended for athletes who have at least two years of rowing experience, with at least one of those years being at the varsity level. Experience in small boats is not necessary.

TRANSPORTATION

Due to University and NCAA Policies, we are not allowed to offer any transportation to and from camps. The airport closest to the Berkeley campus is Oakland International Airport; San Francisco International Airport is also within a reasonable distance. There are several options that we suggest. There are a few shuttle services that offer transportation to and from Oakland & San Francisco International Airports.

LOCAL ACCOMODATIONS

US Sports Camps does not provide hotel accommodations for campers or parents. If traveling from out of town, we recommend the following hotels:

Hotel Durant (Please call 510-845-8981 to reserve your room)
Hotel Shattuck Plaza (Please call 510-845-7300 to reserve your room)
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Berkeley (Please call 510-548-1700 to reserve your room)
Double Tree by Hilton Berkeley Marina (Please call 510-548-7920 to reserve your room)
Berkeley City Club (Please call 510-848-7800 to reserve your room)

HEALTH & RELEASE FORMS

All registered campers are required to have a parent or legal guardian fill out US Sports Camps’ mandatory Health & Release Forms online before arrival at camp. This camp does NOT require a doctor's signature on the forms.

CAMP INFORMATION PACKET

A detailed Camp Information Packet containing check-in location and address, on-site staff contact information, a checklist of things to bring, site-specific forms, and more will be emailed to all registered campers prior to camp. To check if your Camp Information Packet is ready, click here

SCHOLARSHIPS

We cannot offer scholarships due to NCAA regulations. Our affiliation with NCAA coaches and schools puts us in a position where any scholarship money can be seen as an inducement to a future collegiate athlete. This puts our coaches and our host universities in jeopardy of damaging their status with the NCAA and incurring penalties at the hands of their organizing body.

GROUP DISCOUNTS

If five or more campers register together, each camper is eligible for a $20 discount. If 10 or more campers register together, each camper is eligible for a $40 discount. Teams can register online or via mail/fax.

To register your team online: Please have a team contact reach out directly to the USSC office at 1-800-645-3226 to receive a discount code to identify your group. Campers may then register individually through the website at their convenience and apply the coupon code during check-out.

*Please note, this information is subject to change.

*This Camp is open to any and all entrants.

Limited

High Performance Training | DAY 7:00AM - 2:00PM