Max Miranda Makes Top 10 In National YMCA Swim Rankings

Max Miranda doesn’t like losing. The 12-year-old swimmer has a strong competitive streak - one that’s served him well. Miranda learned last month that he had earned Top 10 ranking among YMCA programs nationally in both the 50 meter and 100 meter butterfly. According to Jason Buchanan, his coach at the Y, Miranda is the first Sea Otter to gain that distinction.

In the rankings, Miranda came in seventh in the 50 meter butterfly and eighth in the 100 meter. The ranking is for last year, when Miranda was still 11. In swimming, kids are grouped in two-year groups. Miranda was swimming in the 11-12 group, which means he has another year to compete in that group.

Buchanan, who has led the team for more than 10 years, has seen Miranda improve over the years but says he’s always been been a good swimmer.
“Since he was 8, he’s been very successful in the sport,” says Buchanan. “As an 8 year old, he was the top of his age group.

“He’s a big kid and he’s talented, he’s very talented,” Buchanan says. Last year, when he started swimming with the older kids, “Max kind of stepped up there in this new age group. He took a huge step.”

National standings aren’t official until the start of the next season (which is why they were only announced recently), but Buchanan says he kept his eye on the unofficial standings all summer.

“We were extremely excited about it,” he says. “It was fun to look every couple of days. And he just missed out in a third event - for a long part of the summer, he was a top-10 swimmer in a 200 medley.”

Ask Miranda, a seventh grader at Cole Middle School, what his favorite stroke is and he hesitates, thinking he should maybe say butterfly, since that’s what he’s best at. But when pushed, he admits that his favorite is freestyle. “It’s really easy and fun,” he says.

What’s his least favorite stroke? “Breast stroke.”

Miranda says that as much as he loves the competition - “I just like to win” - he also loves being on the swim team because he gets to see friends.

“I like swimming because it’s my best sport,” he concedes. “I like being on the team because of my friends. I like the swim meets especially because of the team spirit.”

In addition to swimming, Miranda also like basketball and baseball.

Right now, Miranda is swimming five times a week, up from four times a week last year. That’s a lot of time in the water, but for really serious swimmers, it’s common to practice even twice a day. Buchanan knows that Miranda’s not there yet.

“There’s a lot of natural ability in him. We’ve been able to harness that and make it grow,” Buchanan said. “We’re building that work ethic.”

“My big goal is to go to the Olympic trials,” Miranda says, “and maybe, if I improve a lot, maybe the Olympics.”