On October 22, 2006, Long Beach lost a coaching institution with the passing of longtime Wilson aquatics coach Klaus Barth, who helped cement Wilson’s (and Long Beach’s) status as a marine powerhouse.  Barth also did extensive work at the club level, most notably with Shore Aquatics.

In the three years since his death, Barth’s name has been carried forth by the hundreds of young athletes he coached.  If you’ve ever driven around Belmont Shore, you’ve likely seen the ubiquitous LIVE LIKE KLAUS bumper stickers that urge people to practice his competitive fire, as well as his compassionate nature.

But more than just his memory lives on—the two final groups he coached at the high school, and club level, are both experiencing great success in the current season.  Wilson boys’ water polo, whose seniors are among the last Barth coached at the school, is currently number three in Division 2 CIF, and looks poised to contend for a title under Tony Martinho, as Barth did with the Bruins so many times.  And at the club level, Shore Aquatics’ 14U team (Barth’s last group of Shore athletes, currently coached by Chi Kredell and John Foster) has qualified for the prestigious Speedo Cup at the University of Michigan in November, joining 13 other teams from around the country.

If you’d like to learn more about Klaus, the foundation for cancer research that’s been established in his name, or how to get one of those bumper stickers, please click here to visit LiveLikeKlaus.org.