Early in 2004, Skip Nitardy watched his combined girls and boys Piranha Swim Team from the YMCA in Darien, Conn., place fourth in the country at the YMCA Long Course National Championship Meet at the University of Maryland. The six-member boys team finished in second place.

Nitardy was nominated for National Coach of the Year and was the recipient of the Connecticut Senior Coach of the Year Award.

But when his wife Jill was offered the job as executive director at the Orono-Old Town YMCA, Nitardy ended his 11-year run with the Piranhas.

“[Jill] had the opportunity to be an executive director and that’s when the Bangor Y contacted me and needed a coach,” said Nitardy, who has been working in competitive swimming programs for 25 years. “It was really a career move for her.”

Nitardy, 44, inherited a Bangor program which had been through three coaches in as many years and was only returning 25 swimmers. The YMCA and YWCA were just beginning to transition into the Bangor Y, and after years of the Bangor team only hiring part-time coaches, Nitardy took on the role as the Barracudas’ full-time swim coach.

When the Bangor Y’s senior aquatics director left due to illness, Nitardy was elevated and took on that position as well, according to Bangor Y Executive Director Rob Reeves.

“He’s brought stability,” said Reeves. “He shows a great deal of interest in all the kids, which is shown in the growth of the program, no matter how good they are or if they are new to the program.”

Nitardy’s 25-member team grew to 45 by the time the 2004-2005 season started.

“When Skip came I’m sure that it was fairly tough for him the first few weeks,” said Bangor Y Aquatics Coordinator Holly Hatch. “The kids had seen such transition and would wonder, ‘are you going to be here in April when the season is over?’ It didn’t take long for him to win them over.”

The Barracudas took 11th place at the Maine YMCA State Swimming Championships, and brought home a 10th-place finish in 2005-06.

At the end of this season, the Barracudas had 111 swimmers and finished second at the state meet.

“He’s rebuilt the Bangor program which makes the entire YMCA program a stronger league,” said Peter Farragher, swim league coordinator for YMCAs in Maine and CEO of the Down East YMCA in Ellsworth. “When a program goes through transition and numbers change, it does affect the league as a whole. He’s done a fantastic job … look at the numbers, it’s just good stuff.”

At the state meet in March, Nitardy was named YMCA Coach of the Year. He’s also been nominated for the Maine Swimming Inc., the local chapter of USA Swimming, Coach of the Year, which will be announced May 19.

“I’ve seen [Bangor] go from 70-80 kids, then floundered down to 20-30, and since Skip arrived, it’s consistently grown, not just in numbers, but quality swimmers,” said Matt Montgomery, swim coach for the Down East YMCA Dolphins. “Skip is the ultimate professional when dealing with the kids and other coaches and parents.”

Nitardy is looking to keep the momentum going through the summer season with camps for kids interested in joining the Barracudas Swim Team or who just want to try competitive swimming. The Barracudas will compete at the Maine Swimming Inc. Combined Championships in St. John, New Brunswick, as well as the YMCA National Long Course Swimming Championships at the University of Maryland. They will also be traveling to Springfield College for the New England YMCA Long Course Invitational.

“We have a very organized winter league throughout the state and we have been trying to extend that into the spring and summer season as well,” said Montgomery. “He’s been instrumental in doing that. We’ve been following his lead.”

The summer meet schedule will feature YMCA teams from Kennebec Valley, Lewiston-Auburn, Dover-Foxcroft and Orono-Old Town as well as Down East in Ellsworth and Bangor. The season has already started, but any swimmers who are interested in competing can still join at any time.

“The growth of our team really is a product of how much fun the kids are having,” said Nitardy. “They tell their friends and next thing they know they are bringing two or three friends to practice.”

But those close the program agree, the work Nitardy does with the swimmers is truly unique.

“Every single kid comes in with a goal – some have Olympic aspirations, some just want to dive off the board,” said Hatch. “To Skip, every single one of those goals is just as important to him regardless of what it is.”

Added Reeves, “There aren’t a lot of coaches that will work the beginners and who enjoy working with the younger kids as much as he does. He is out of the norm and definitely broke the mold.”