Intro to Nitro
Cedar Park: Simrah Khan
Simrah always comes to practice with a huge smile. This past week Intro worked on a lot of race preparations and Simrah rocked it. She did a great job listening to her coaches this week when it came to dives and all her work was put on display at the meet this weekend. Great job Simrah, keep it up! —Coach Hannah
Bee Cave: Tatum Green
Tatum joined Intro to Nitro only a few months ago; over those months, she has showed tremendous progress and a true enjoyment of swimming. Tatum never comes to practice without a smile, and she always jumps out of the pool with that same smile. She nailed her dives this week in practice and then again at the meet this weekend. Tatum always gives 100% effort, consistently rocking our flutter kick warm-up. Thank you for being a joy to coach, Tatum! —Coach Raven
Bronze
Cedar Park: Ava Kennedy
Ava has really turned it up recently. She has been more focused in practice, meaning a lot of the basics, like interval management and streamlines off the wall, have improved a ton. This past week at practice, Ava worked really hard on her breathing position and distance per stroke in freestyle, and it showed with a great showing in the 50 free at Nitro at the Races. Put that with some other great swims, and it is easy to say Ava had an awesome week at Nitro. Way to go Ava! —Coach Adam
Bee Cave: Nitika Mohnot
Great streamline, strong kick, and just the best turns, Nitika has been working so hard in practice, the proof can be seen every time she pushes off the wall. This young lady has great form, whether its how she holds the kickboard on legs sets, or the movement of her arms during stroke drills. You can tell Nitika understands the feel she is trying to achieve in the water. She makes adjustments when prompted with great ease showing that she is learning not just reacting. This is why Nitika is improving athe a very fast rate. Great job young lady! —Coach Chuck
Technique and Fitness
Cedar Park: Clara Proulx and Jaewan Ok
These two swimmers really rocked it this past week with the diving that we did. Clara had an excellent Nitro at the Races swim meet on Saturday. She really showed us how to compete with focus but also fun. Jaewan is a silent but a determined athlete. Always present and ready to improve his skills. Great job you two thanks for being a part of NITRO and we’ll see you at the pool. —Coach Stephen
Bee Cave: Aditya Meganatha
In the last three weeks, Aditya has made outstanding progress. He’s done everything asked of him, as well as being engaged in every practice. By the way, he never misses practice. He’s always ready before practice starts, and I can tell he’s mentally prepared too. Aditya can also name every single thing we’ve learned up to this point (8 total)! I’m very impressed, and extremely proud of this young man. I can tell by his posture, manner, and attitude that he’s a man of integrity already. —Coach Jonny
Silver
Cedar Park: Katherine Votruba
Katherine demonstrated solid technique as we reviewed backstroke this week. She focused on core rotation, consistent kicking, and really using her catch to move her body through the water. We also worked on keeping the head still during the stroke by placing cups on the kids’ heads while they swam. Although all of the kids lost their cups at some point or another, Katherine managed to keep hers on her forehead while swimming backstroke for most of practice. Keep it up, Katherine! —Coach Claire
Bee Cave: Natalie Melhiser
Ever since I took over the Silver group, Natalie has impressed me literally every practice. Her attitude, work ethic, and overall passion for swimming are things a coach loves to see in a swimmer. She recently had a great meet at AAAA where she dropped time in 6 of her 7 events! It was an excellent meet for Natalie. If I could keep Natalie in Silver forever I would, but I don’t think I’ll be able to keep her around much longer. She has shown me everything I’m looking for in a swimmer ready to take it to the next level. Great work, Natalie! —Coach Peter
Advanced Silver
Bee Cave: Stefan Deac
Stefan is undoubtedly one of the young leaders time wise in Nitro; not only does he want to train hard & is eager to improve his races, but has only been swimming for several months! Stefan is becoming quite technically sound, has unbelievable speed, & keeps us all laughing at practice. Just this week, the following quote happened with a smile: “Well, if there are TX 50’s, and TN IM’s, is this going to be an Alaskan 100?” 🙂 Stefan reminds us all how important having a positive attitude, working hard and having fun is to truly swimming fast! —Coach Paige
Gold 1 & 2
Gold 1 CP: Kylie Farris
Kylie is a workhorse at practice. It doesn’t matter how hard the set is, it doesn’t matter what the focus is, Kylie gives it her all. She is very precise in her movements in dryland, careful that she is doing things correctly. This past week, Kylie rocked the house on the tough Bob Bowman set, sticking with the A intervals all the way through. Awesome job Kylie, Keep it up! —Coach Adam
Gold 2 CP: Minh Pham
I have never coached a group so willing to whatever is asked of them, and this is especially true of Minh. He is a workhorse and has absolutely fantastic control of his body. I encourage swimmers to get out of their comfort zone when swimming fast or trying to skills, but it’s almost as if Minh is instantly comfortable with every change we try to challenge him with. I can’t wait to see how fast you’ll be at meets, Minh! —Coach Alex
Bee Cave: Cali Adams
Cali is stepping up her game more and more. I truly appreciate when a kiddo is able to stop and ask the coach what they need to work, or what they are doing well. Cali has learned to be more and more comfortable with talk to the coaches about her swimming. She is always a great racer and competitor, and I can’t wait to see her hard work pay of within the upcoming meets/weeks. Keep kicking hard, swimming strong, and working towards your goals! —Coach Allison