Rising costs force shut down of Idaho Falls swim team

IDAHO FALLS – The Piranhas are no more.

After 30 years, the Idaho Falls Swim Team (IFST) has closed.

Rising costs were a big part of the equation, but the legacy the team leaves behind will be felt for years to come.

The goal of the IFST was to provide a positive healthy environment for all swimmers to grow and develop in swimming and in life. The team’s motto was “Excellence in life through excellence in swimming.”

“I believe swimming is an important sport because it teaches so many life lessons to kids,” said former head coach Denise Thompson.

The IFST, aka Piranhas, was a non-profit competitive youth swim club incorporated in 1987 with the help of many local residents dedicated to the sport. From the beginning, the team depended on parent volunteers and fundraising, along with club fees. 

“I have always thought that every kid should have the opportunity to swim,” said Thompson. “I hated to raise our fees even though we needed to do so. I think that hurt us in the long run.”

“With my retirement, qualified coaches are hard to find — especially coaches that will take a cut in pay and live in a small town,” Thompson added.

Swim team members ranged in ages from 4 to 18 years, with a masters group for 19 and older. The group swam at the Wes Deist Aquatic Center (built in 1986). When the team first started, there were about 20 to 40 people who swam competitively but membership kept growing.

“Over the past 30 years the team has had its ups and downs like any youth sport,” Thompson said. “I think in the last 10-15 years the sport really has taken off. Michael Phelps and the Olympic Swim Teams have really played a role in that.”

Thompson, who started out coaching swimming in Colorado, moved to Idaho Falls in the mid-1980s to be the assistant manager at the aquatic center. She began to coach the IFST Piranhas in the 1990s and later became head coach until her recent retirement.

The IFST was a member of USA Swimming and Snake River Swimming and produced a Junior National qualifier as well as Age Group Sectional, Senior Sectional, and Western Zone qualifiers. In addition, several former Piranhas have done water sports in college and even the Navy Seals, and some have gone on to become swim coaches themselves.  

“Swimming is a team sport and an individual sport, so it teaches kids about all of those important values one learns when they participate in sports and other activities,” Thompson said.

“Swimming is also a lifetime sport. When you are comfortable in the water your available activities multiply and so does your world.”

Thompson explained that swimming didn’t discriminate against body type or labels. It was a place where everyone could participate and learn and grow.

“I’ve seen kids with sleeping problems start swimming and it is no longer an issue. Other kids are labeled ADD/ADHD and so on, they start to swim and things in their life change,” she said.

Learning the skills to be a better swimmer were of course integral in winning races, but it was more than that. As the team closes, Thompson and scores of team members will always cherish the memories in and out of the pool.

Karen Smith remembers being invited to have her children on the swim team.

“It was an amazing experience,” Smith said. “Coach Denise got my kids in the water and coached them in a way that they could have success, and they were having fun. It’s not just about teaching kids swimming, they learned core values like character and being a part of a team.”

She remembered when her young son had his first meet, and the older swimmers were cheering him on.

“I wish everyone could experience that. He felt like he was the king of the world.”

For those looking for a local swim team, Voltage Aquatics is a local group that has received the former Piranhas with open arms, according to the IFST.