The Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA Piranhas Swimming team continues to take a bite out of the competition from other teams around the state.
The squad, consisting of local kids from seven to 17, came in a strong second place at the recent sixth annual Elias Karmon Diversity Meet.  It was a marked improvement from last year’s sixth place showing.
“I was surprised that they actually came in second,” said Piranhas Swimming Coach Osei Doyle as he placed the team’s latest trophy on the shelf in Y’s Aquatics Director Anderson Seales’ office. “I’m really proud of the kids; they showed a lot of improvement.”
Doyle is very familiar with the competitive spirit of sports.  He was a soccer player who found relief in swimming. Through the encouragement of friends he made a career path out of his enjoyment of swimming. He worked for New York City Lifeguards where he made his way up the ranks to lieutenant as well as teaching private lessons. As a coach, Doyle strives to teach the kids life lessons in discipline, something that he believes they will carry beyond the swim team.
The team competes in backstroke breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. They have been successful in qualifying for the state championships in each of the past eight years.
Now, as the squad takes a short summer break, both Doyle and Seales want to add to this success.
“One of our biggest goals is to make the state championship in March,” said Seales.