Next year he wants to do it without a wet suit.

While Daniel is not the first child to make the Alcatraz swim, it is nonetheless unusual for a swimmer so young to want to challenge the rough waters, his coaches said. He made his decision just several months ago, and his coaches, seeing how strong a swimmer he is -- he practices four or five days a week -- signed off on the request. It wasn't just his powerful strokes, though, that won over the coaches; it was also Daniel's ability to handle the "mind games" of open-water swimming, Emich said.

"There are creatures out there," added Emich, who has experienced young seals in the bay treating him like a beach ball. "The visibility is limited. When you are in the pool, the water is 80 degrees. The water today was 57 degrees."

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