Intro to Nitro
Cedar Park: Shirin Kuhlmann
Shirin is one of the hardest working kids on the team. She always shows up ready to get better and have loads of fun. This week Intro focused on breaststroke and worked a lot on the kick. Shirin not only mastered how tricky the kick can be but worked hard to perfect the timing of the stroke. Keep up the great work Shirin! —Coach Hannah
Bee Cave: Fausto Diaz
Fausto is my most improved swimmer this week! Breaststroke can be a tricky stroke to master. Never lacking in energy, Fausto showed great patience this week slowing down to take the time to understand the breaststroke kick. He was able to develop a better feel for a flexed foot position in the water. Thank you for always bringing so much joy to the pool each practice, Fausto! Way to go! —Coach Raven
Bronze
Cedar Park: Myra Lawrence
Myra is one tough cookie. A few months ago, at a TXLA meet, Myra swam the 200 IM, a very long, tough event for an 8 year old. Although it did not go as planned, the distance did not scare Myra. In fact, Myra swam ANOTHER 200, this time freestyle, at the Turkey Trot sprints this past weekend. She swam the race with great technique and made it look smooth and easy, even though I’m sure it wasn’t. Myra even swam the 100 breaststroke right afterwards! Awesome job Myra, keep up the great work! —Coach Adam
Bee Cave: Coco Wu
Joining a swim team can be a life changing decision, it is becoming part of a sport that challenges the individual in from the very first moment they step into the pool. Coco found that kicking, the source for a great body position, is an element that is developed by feel, you don’t see your legs work, its not walking or running, this can be a very foreign feel at first. Coco’s first days were a struggle getting used to improving something she could not watch, but her effort and focus improved each and every day, you could see the speed of her kick increasing. Teaching your body that moving the feet three times faster than the arms can be a weird sensation! Coco has done such a great job catching up to the group with her leg strength, I can see a huge improvement in the development of her strokes, her efforts are going to reward her with some great times in her first swum meet very soon! Great job young lady! —Coach Chuck
Technique and Fitness
Cedar Park: Kayla Hess and Atul Errabolu
Kayla and Atul both rocked it this past week with the test sets we had prepared. Awesome job with starts, dives, and turns. They also have great positive energy when they get into the pool and are able to incorporate that into their swimming. Great job you two thanks for being a part of NITRO and we’ll see you at the pool. —Coach Stephen
Bee Cave: Ethan Chong
My man Ethan is a strong leader and a delight to have in my group. His lane is always in order and never out of line. He’s the kind of athlete that makes everyone around him better. Whether he knows it yet or not, he’s a natural-born leader. People will always follow his lead and do what he does. When he listens intently to the coach, so do his lane-mates. Ethan is a student of the sport as well. He adjusts his technique all on his own in order to create more propulsion. He’s made leaps and bounds over the last 10 weeks, and I expect him to continue inspiring others to do the same. —Coach Jonny
Silver
Cedar Park: Yash Mehta
Yash did a fantastic job at practice this week as we worked on starts as well as breast stroke. He understands how to lunge forward into a full glide and keep the tempo of his stroke up. He’s also the type of swimmer that when he receives a critique about his stroke he does his best to adapt and fix the problem. He also gave 100% at the meet this weekend blasting off of the walls, consistently giving good under waters, and racing for the finish. Way to go Yash! Keep it up! —Coach Claire
Bee Cave: Madeline Stokes and Quynh Tieu
Both of these girls swam in the TXLA meet this past Sunday. The reason why I’ve chosen these girls for SOW is because during their 50 Freestyle event, their goggles fell off when they dove in, but they didn’t quit. They still swam as fast as they could and still managed to turn in some good times. Coach Mike noticed this as well and complimented them on their effort. It’s this kind of toughness and tenacity that makes great swimmers. Way to stick with it, Madeline and Quynh! —Coach Peter
Advanced Silver
Bee Cave: TK Franco
This young man has consistently been improving each week during the fall season. He brings a can-do, respectful attitude to practice daily. Although TK’s butterfly is his best stroke currently, look for his freestyle to also improve dramatically this winter due to his hard work. Keep going after your dreams, TK! —Coach Paige
Gold I & II
CP Gold I: Tori Xiao
Tori has always been a breaststroke specialist, she gets a huge amount of power from her kick. We have been working on making her stroke longer, finishing the kick all the way, and getting into that body line, all things I saw vastly improved at the Turkey Trot this weekend. Tori has also been working on having her freestyle stroke be longer, trying to grab more water out in front, and you could see that change in her freestyle race. Way to go Tori! —Coach Adam
CP Gold II: Victoria Vujosevic
Victoria takes swimming very seriously. She is very deliberate in her movements and swims with a real desire to improve. Victoria attended the TXLA meet over the weekend, and while all of Gold II swam very well, she stood out as being the most hungry – attacking the walls, pushing her stroke rates, and staying uncomfortable in all the right ways. While everyone in the group swam like impressive athletes, she stood out as a bona fide competitor. Keep being you, V! —Coach Alex
Bee Cave: Whenchan Xue
Whenchan had an amazing weekend of racing and did a spectacular job of keeping calm. I have been able to work more and more with Whenchan and she has done a great job of committing to her practices and fixing her strokes. She has gotten back into the swing of training, after taking the summer off. She works well with others, and my favorite part is that Whenchan is able to bring a smile to my face! I love being your coach. —Coach Allison