Mark Sand
Head Coach, Senior group
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Mark Sand began swimming competitively at age 10
for his local summer team. He then moved on to club swimming for
San Jose Aquatics where he remained until he left for college. Mark
swam all 4 years in high school and was recruited for Cal State
Hayward’s men’s team where he swam for 3 years until
the program was dropped. Mark fell in love with the sport of
swimming while in high school and began thinking about a future in
coaching. While in college, Mark was able to begin assistant
coaching for Castro Valley High School’s swim
team(1990,1991,1992,1993,1994). That led to his first Head Coaching
job for the Chabot Dolphins, now known as the
Marlins.(1991,1992,1993) Mark graduated with a degree in
Kinesiology from Cal State East Bay in 1993 and began coaching year
round age group swimmers for the USA Swim Team Mission San Jose
Aquatics.(1992 - 1999)
In 1999, Mark and a small group of parents from
Castro Valley and Hayward formed The East Bay Bat Rays Swim
Association. He also returned to coach Castro Valley High School
for 4 more years(1999,2000,2001,2002) bringing a 5th place finish
at NCS for the girls team in 2002. Mark earned a Master’s
Degree in Kinesiology from Cal State East Bay (2009-2013) where he
tailored all of his studies to the sociological, psychological and
physiological aspects of training as it relates to club swimming.
Mark has been a full time PE teacher for Castro Valley Unified
since August, 1996 and for the past 18 years teaches at
Creekside Middle School.
He and his wife are
celebrating 25 years of marriage this summer and have 3
children, Carson, Cassie, & Ashley.
Shane P Pelton
Masters Head Coach
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Shane Pelton enters his second season as the head coach of the
Cal State East Bay women's swim team in 2017-18.
Pelton's first season with the Pioneers was an historic one, as
he led the squad back to the NCAA Division II championships for the
first time in three years, and exceeded all expectations to take
15th place in the team standings, matching the best finish in
program history. Pelton also led CSUEB to its fifth straight
top-three finish at Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference
Championships, despite not fielding a diving team.
Under his guidance, the Pioneers set nine new school records
during the 2016-17 season. Two of them are owned by First Team
All-American breast-stroker Claire Beaty, and four of them belong
to First Team All-American Morgan McClure, who also claimed three
PCSC titles was named both PCSC Co-Swimmer of the Year
and Cal State East Bay Female Athlete of the Year. Pelton also
coached Mariam Lowe to a PCSC championship and a school
record performance in the 100 Back. In addition, the Pioneers broke
two relay records in 2016-17 (200 Free and 800 Free), and four
individuals earned All-American honorable mentions for their
performances at NCAA Championships.
Pelton spent nearly a decade in the coaching profession before
coming to Hayward, most recently as the assistant head coach and
recruiting coordinator for the men's and women's swimming and
diving program at Cal State Bakersfield.
At Bakersfield, Pelton handled a multitude of responsibilities
and helped lead a 2015-16 women's squad that won five dual meets
during the season and placed fourth at the Western Athletic
Conference championships. In addition to day-to-day coaching
duties, he was in charge of recruiting, travel arrangements,
monitoring academic progress, directing home meets, and
coordinating with the admissions, business, and compliance offices.
Prior to his stint at Cal State Bakersfield, Pelton spent two
years as an assistant coach at Arizona State, serving as lead
recruiter for the women's program while completing his master's
degree in liberal studies. Before that, he spent five years as the
assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Bridgeport
University. There he coached multiple Division II national
champions, including the national record holder in the 100
backstroke.
Pelton was also a successful student-athlete at the Division II
level, competing for Southern Connecticut State from 2004-08. He
earn All-American honors as a senior in the 800 freestyle relay and
400 individual medley before graduating with a bachelor's degree in
business management. Following his swimming career, Pelton coached
YMCA and club swimming for nine years in the Connecticut area.
