Barracudas move to Ellendale swimming pool

The Bayou Barracudas are moving in the right directionŠa few miles up the street.

The year-round swimming squad will set up shop at the Ellendale Country Club today (Wednesday), ending their current lease at Bayou Barracuda Pool, located off of South Hollywood Road in Houma.

&#8220The pool is a little smaller at Ellendale, but we feel it will enhance our membership in the program,” said Barracudas coach Frank Shepard. &#8220The pool (at Ellendale) is located in the middle of a housing subdivision, and subdivisions create a lot of traffic and a lot of interest close to home. We already have a dozen new swimmers signed up for the program.”

According to Shepard, their previous pool was &#8220very old” and would require more than $200,000 in renovations to elevate it to a proper standard.

&#8220Economically, it’s a lot better to move our program up the street because the Ellendale pool is in a lot better shape than ours,” he said.

The Barracudas have been in existence since 1984. The program has provided a competitive outlet for youth swimmers in Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Charles and St. Mary parishes for more than two decades.

Through it all, the Barracudas have developed scores of junior national and national qualifiers, high school all-Americans and state record holders.

&#8220Locally, we have developed a lot out of our small program,” Shepard said.

His swimmers held a going-away party on Friday to pay homage to their old pool, a place the program called home for 15 years.

&#8220It’s a little sad that we’re leaving,” Shepard professed. &#8220But it’s still a good move for the Barracudas, the Ellendale Country Club and the Ellendale housing subdivision. It’s a good move for everybody involved.”

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