The Cochrane Piranhas Swim Club capped off a sensational summer season with record-setting performances, standout provincial results, and an all-around surge of team-wide personal bests.
“This has honestly been a fantastic year,” said head coach Max Kruger, who stepped into his new role this season. “I don't think we’ve ever had this many personal bests across the board. It’s been incredible to see the progress with every single swimmer.”
This year’s success continues a recent upswing for the club, which entered the season with a revamped coaching staff and high expectations.
“We weren’t sure what it would look like starting with some new coaches, but we just kept going up and up. Every meet felt like another step forward,” said Kruger, who has been with the Piranhas since he was six years old. He's also a coach with the Cochrane Master Swim Club.
During his time as a Piranhas assistant coach, Max was part of a strong coaching team that designed and implemented effective practice plans which helped the club win the Provincial Medium Team Banner in two of those three years.
RELATED STORIES
The team sent 54 swimmers to provincials this summer—similar to previous years—but the depth and strength of this year’s group stood out.
“Other coaches kept saying, ‘Wow, your team is just so strong across the board.’ It’s not like we just have one dominant age group—we have talent in every division, which is really exciting for the future,” he said.
That strength was exemplified by standout swimmer Oli Johnson, who was awarded the Most Outstanding Swimmer trophy at provincials after winning gold in all of his races. The award is given to the athlete who accumulates the highest number of FINA points, a scoring system that compares performances across various events.
“It’s truly mind-boggling how fast Oli is in the pool,” said Kruger. “He just dominates. It’s insane.”
While summer swimming ends with provincials, many swimmers in the club also train through the winter with Cochrane’s lifesaving club—a combination Kruger says is a perfect fit.
“Doing lifesaving in the winter and summer swimming in the summer gives these kids so much year-round development,” he said. “They just grow every month, every week.”
Though the Piranhas won’t return to the pool for formal club practices until next spring, planning is already underway for 2026—and demand remains high.
“There’s always a waiting list,” he said. “The earlier families can get on it, the better. Registration opens in January and spots fill up fast.”
With strong numbers across every age group and a rising wave of young talent emerging, the Piranhas appear to be just getting started.
“We’ve seen some amazing swims from our younger athletes this year,” said Kruger. “There’s definitely a surge of talent coming up—and we’re only beginning to see what they can do.”
You can find the full list of results in a separate story.