Camden Community Center

Just enrolled in my first class at Camden Community Center — a fitness class for «Active Adults» (seniors). The instructor is great: she knows her stuff and understands and accommodates the widely varying levels of fitness of participants. After just one class, I found the seniors here are much friendlier, welcoming, and down to earth than their counterparts at Almaden Community Center were over the course of a year. Camden’s physical infrastructure isn’t quite as aesthetically pleasing as Almaden’s, but I’m glad I decided to branch out from Almaden … if for no other reason than the people and atmosphere here.

I’m an underwater portrait photographer. I’ve been working with cancer survivors to heal their emotional scars through underwater transformation. I rented 2 lanes to do a photo shoot with 2 cancer survivors on Saturday. The pool manager, Charlie has been really helpful and gave a big support for my project. I would love to come back here to do more portrait session.

Newly renovated pool. Wow. Looks really good and there are finally real steps to enter the pool, etc. Nice job.

My daughter attended the Kinder Prep program from August 2014-​June 2015. She absolutely loved! Miss Dani was sweet, dedicated, attentive, loving, and caring! She definitely made the program such a huge success. There is a 10 student maximum and it was perfect! My daughter learned so much from this class. I’m so happy and pleased with Miss Dani. I highly recommend this program.

This review is especially for summer aquatic program they conduct every year during summer in their open pool area. i have hardly seen the pool managers there when the session is on going. Some parents just hog the showers with their items and will not let those kids who finishes first. I have complained many times in the front office about this and they were able to put some sign on each doors which no one cares to read. i hate dealing with some moms who are so rude if i explain the rules to them politely they will just shut the shower door in front of my face. Tired of dealing with these kind of craps. I suggest if they could send some supervisor every half hour to visit the shower rooms it would be great. This time i didn’t enroll my kids just because of this only reason. BTW the instructors are awesome!!!

This place brings back many good memories when my family and I use to go swimming in the pool during the summer, or take swimming lessons. I remember once some guy did a bunch of summersaults in the air on the diving board and almost got kicked out. Or that one dude who was dared to belly flop and made such a painful splash that the lifeguards gave him icecream. Good times.
However, there’s still something that irritates me. There’s a sign outside the pool fence that reads, «NOTICE: Persons having currently active diarrhea or who have had active diarrhea within the previous 14 days shall not be allowed to enter the pool water». Umm… No shit? No pun intended but uh… why would you have to post a sign for that if it’s common sense? Then again, it reminds me of those stupid warning labels on everything (warning: this product may be hot) — which means that in some point in the past, some idiot must of done it… so they made signs so they don’t get sued… lol.

This is the old Camden High School and the building is quite old but well maintained., They offer a variety of community classes in addition to their facility amenities, including the playground, grass field, basketball court (indoor and outdoor) and the pool that offers lap swim, which is currently under renovation. Locker rooms are clean and have plenty of lockers, a swimsuit spin dry machine, and private showers feature soft water! Kick boards and leg floats are also available for use. Plenty of free parking and shade.

2015 Unilocal 100 CHALLENGE — ⁰³⁵⁄₁₀₀
My family recently hosted a ginormous party for my great aunt’s 90^th birthday party here. I had very little to do with the party planning process, and only assisted with setup/​tear down, but here are my thoughts.
LOCATION:
— Easy to get to, right off Camden and Union
— Look for the big hand shaped statue in front!
— Lots of easy, accessible parking
BUILDING:
— A little dated, but in decent shape
— Nothing fancy, but did the job for our large family gathering
— We had 300+ people attend and the space fit about all of us, I think the max capacity was something like 361 or some obscure number like that
— Bathrooms in lobby
— Big kitchen in the back
— They had a bunch of tables and chairs that I THINK we used from them
— Our party served beer/​wine, so they required 2 off duty cops to supervise
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I thought the space was fine, but I didn’t think it was super amazing or anything. Got the job done, but that was it. I know there was definitely a deposit and 2 staff who popped in every and then to check up on the party. They had their own janitorial staff sweep up and clean the floors after we finished tearing down.

Dance Fit class for 50+ is a great way to get back into shape. I lost 25 pounds in 10 weeks!!! All ages can handle this class. One can march along if too fast or stay with teachers tempo. It’s a combo. class of Zumba!, low impact aerobics. Teacher is super knowledgable of the muscles used during the dances and states the move prior-​so one can stay with her. I worked hard and exaggerated my moves. I couldnt believe my eyes when I first stepped on a scale. 10 pounds at a time, I say to myself. Once you see the pounds come off you adjust food portion control. Shellie is one of the best instructors since Denise Austin. Swear the pounds are melting off.

I’m glad the Community Center exists and I’m really glad it’s been redone. I remember it before the remodel. Blech.
We don’t use it often, because we’re members of the YMCA. Recently I checked Camden’s summer day/​specialty camps for kids and was shocked to see that their camps (example: Jet Cadet) are $ 285 for 3 hours/​day!
For the same price, I have gotten my kids into all-​day Archery camps at the Y that run from 8am to 6pm. And they contract with an Archery Range and the kids are at the range for 4 hours, then after that they’re enjoying sports and games with amazing and caring counselors from the Y. We’ll be adding an Art, Tennis, and Sports camp too now.
After seeing the community center’s camp fees, I realize now what a tremendous value we’ve gotten from the Y.
I still love the idea that we have a community center in our neighborhood for people to use, I just have yet to find a compelling reason to use it for my family. Maybe we’ll check out the movie series.

Lots of programs for Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Kids. We are doing My First Art Class and my son loves it and his sweet Teacher. Was a little bummed to have classes canceled on us since low enrollment though. Very Clean Community Center but no warm water in bathrooms or classroom. Also do not like the playground by the field. It’s very unsafe in my opinion for kids.

Cynthia F. /​Camden Community Center
I have been a member since last year in June when they had an $ 89 special for 3 months of their GX classes (Great Deal!) I got hooked and didn’t mind paying the $ 10 for use of other centers. They have spin classes, zumba, boot camp, hot hula, other classes and but my favorite is Thursday U-​Jam with ML!
They currently have a special ($ 199) for the year which is quite reasonable, but it’s only for one dedicated community center. Like I said for $ 10 more a month you can use any of the community centers for GX classes (which is what I do.) It does get expensive that way. What I wish they would do is run the GX special again because I don’t use any of the other benefits, just GX classes.
I have a membership at another gym that stays open later than 8:00 which is one of their big drawbacks. Also, they are closed for major holidays and most of the time closed for longer than just the holiday.
What I’ve also found is that their personnel doesn’t have an effective way of communication when an instructor cancels or is missing from a class. Believe me when I tell you I’ve found myself scrambling to other centers to get my exercise in. That means more gas and running around when ‘really’ I just want to get my workout in.

The staff at the pool sucks! The LGS Rec staff sometimes never show up! When I call to ask if the pool is open no one answers the phone! Horrible! STAY AWAY!

We’ve been comming here for a few years now. And I def enjoy comming here for the swim lessons. THey’re prob the cheepest i’ve found around san jose. but you need to book it in March because of the high demand.
Another problem is there isnt much shade on days like yesterday where it was 102 degrees. besides that the school is great and the instructors and very friendly and helpful.
Also, Starting this fri they will be having free movie nights on the park. I’ll def create an even for this one! keep an eye out for it!

This is a review for the «Friday Night with the Free Movie Series at the Camden Community Center» hosted by the Cambrian Park Kiwanis and Unleashed by Petco.
Wow! I wish I had known about this series of events sooner. They had an opening band, free popcorn, free coffee (Thanks Peet’s!). Backyard Flicks set up the movie screen and tonight we had the pleasure of watching the movie Despicable Me.
We brought our own blankets and pillows and crashed out with the kids and some friends. What an awesome event. If you get the chance to go to one of these outdoor movie nights, it is wonderful. It’s like the drive-​in but better.
As far as amenities, there was a snack booth (some free but some for purchase), a raffle, face painting, and restrooms.
Since tonight was the final showing of the series, I sure hope that they run this event next year because now I’m a huge fan!

Review for volleyball:
I came here on a Thursday with a group of friends to play volleyball. It cost $ 5 to play from 5:00 –8:30pm. After paying at the lobby, we were able to walk to the gym.
I noticed 2 empty courts and 1 packed with players. Me and my friends decided to play on the court near the door. We were only able to play for 5 minutes, before some guys kicked us off the court. I thought it was really rude! Since all the courts were taken, we were all waiting on the side for a court.
I really thought we wasted 5 bucks, and we won’t be able to play at all.
When the middle court finally opened up, we quickly grabbed it.
Later on, I realized the court near the door was for intermediate players. Those guys could have been nicer and told us. It was our first time at the Camden Community Center, so we didn’t know which court is dedicated for beginners. I like the Campbell Community Center better, since there is always 1 court dedicated for beginners.
Some of the players here are fairly nice, while others can be rude. Me and my friends probably won’t come back here for volleyball. Even though we are beginners, some of the players can be nicer about it.

We are in our 3^rd session of dance at the CCC organized by SJ Parks and Recreation. Dance Force teaches the class. Andrea has been the teacher each time. She’s great with the girls. She makes sure their all engaged in the class and knows when to move on when the girls get too distracted.
Our 2 yr old tried the Tiny Tots class twice and is now doing the Princess Pre-​ballet. She isn’t quite 3 yet, so we had to get approval for her to join the next class, but I’m so glad we did.
Our LO is also taking the Time for Twos class on Mondays. Husband was expecting a bit more teacher led preschool oriented instruction but said it was more like a Gymboree class with art included. The other kids seem like young 2’s. The Wee Threes may have been more her speed.
With regard to the center itself, it appears well taken care off. Parking is plentiful even on busy days. Facilities and playground are clean. People seem friendly.
There are probably four or five community centers closer to where we live in South SJ, but it’s worth the drive.

When I noticed a turd in the water, I got out quickly and will never go back.

This is where I come to do my laps before work. It has started to get really busy, especially now that the weather is getting better again. You have to share a lane with somebody, so don’t be rude and hog a lane. It is mostly retired people doing their laps. I’m not that fast myself so I feel right at home. The pool is always warm and never too cold. Showers are provided and lockers, remember a lock. Not a shabby place for the price, $ 27.50 per 10 visit card.

Besides the pool, they have an outdoor basketball court in good condition, youth activities (indoor and out), a play ground, picnic tables, large open fields for soccer, football, baseball, kite flying, etc… The weekends can get pretty packed, as I have had trouble parking here on the weekends.