[5] He began receiving swim training from Coach Dick Cavanah at the North Palm Beach Country Club, beginning around age 11.

[6] An attendee and 1992 graduate of The Benjamin School in Palm Beach, twenty miles South of Tequesta, he trained with their swim team, also coached by Dick Cavanah.

[5] Receiving recognition as an outstanding regional performer, he was named "Boy's Swimmer of the Year", and made the Palm Beach Post's "All Area Swim Team".

[10][11] In statewide competition two months before starting SMU, at the Sunshine State Games in July, 1992, he won five events, receiving a plaque for the most points in the Senior Men's Division.

[5] Berube attended Southern Methodist University beginning in August 1992, where he trained and competed with the SMU Swim team from 1993-1996 under Head Coach Eddie Sinnott.

[16] Prior to his Olympic competition in 1996, his coach Eddie Sinnott noted that Berube consistently performed well under pressure, and that he was usually able to maintain a fast pace without fading due to conditioning and a strong kick.

He later was a member of the 1995 U.S. Pan American Team in Mar Del Plata Argentina that won a gold medal in the 4x200 freestyle relay in a games record time of 7:21.61.

[5][18][19] Berube qualified for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics at the U.S. trials in Indianapolis, by capturing a third-place finish in the finals of the 200-meter freestyle with a personal best time of 1:49.37.

In addition to the enthusiastic home crowd in Atlanta, his parents, and Coach Cavanah were in the stands to cheer on Berube and the winning American team.