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Piranhas double enrollment this season!

The CCYS Globe Miami Piranha Swim Team” kicked off the 2019 Swim season with an enrollment of 70 kids, nearly doubling their numbers from last season.

Despite the unseasonably cold weather for May and water temperature in the low 60’s, there was little hesitation from the kids as they all hit the pool for their first work out of the season.

Working out in the lanes . Photo by LCGross

This will be the sixth year they have had to train at the Miami Pool after the Globe pool closed in 2014. While the kids have learned to adapt to its shortcomings as a regulation pool, there is frustration that this is the 6th year with no solution clearly within sight.

Leslie Parker, a parent of three swimmers, and coordinator for the swim team said, ” Look, we have great kids, great parents and a great coach! And then, her voice trails and looks at the pool.

She points out that the Miami pool is 33 – 34 yards long – or nearly 30% longer than a regulation 25-yard pool, and the shallow end is too shallow for flip turns.

And this year there were issues with the pool which threatened the planned opening date of May 26th. Luckily they were resolved in time.

Coach Barry Schwenk is back for his second year of coaching the Piranhas. Photo by LCGross

Speaking with Jennifer Werrell, a parent whose son has swam with the Piranhas for the last eight years, she marvels at the tenacity of all the kids.

Afterall, she says, “How many kids are willing to get up at 7 in the morning , 5 days a week?”

The Piranhas have five meets this summer with the first one coming up this Saturday in Florence. Yes, after just 5 days of practice, the kids will compete in their first meet.

But then, that’s the way it is here when our kids have just ten weeks in the water. They jump in when its cold, they work out in the early mornings, they share 3, 4, 5 kids to the lane, they do flip turns only on the deep end… and they compete against kids who swim all year round. And they still rise to the challenge and come back every year because they love it.

Be sure to come out and support the kids at their hometown meets on June 22nd and 29th in Miami.

The Miami pool is 30% longer than a regulation pool. And the shallow end is too shallow for flip turns. Just a few of the challenges swimmers face in using an older facility like this – but the only choice they have in the area. Photo by LCGross

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