Nitro Swimmer of the Week for October 7 – 12, 2013:

Intro to Nitro

Cedar Park:Anish Joshi– Anish always comes to practice with a smile on his face. He is excited to swim each day and it shows. He did awesome on the backstroke and breaststroke drills this week, and all around has really shown improvement in practice. Great job Anish!! – Coach Kirsten

Bee Cave:Alice Stockli– This week Alice showed great leadership and determination. Alice is always improving her stroke and works hard everyday. She always comes in to practice to work hard. When she demonstrates a drill she will have the biggest smile on her face and say “Who me”. I am very proud of how hard you are working. Keep up the great work Alice. – Coach Nikki

Bronze

Cedar Park: Raquel Hughes– Raquel has been doing a fantastic job leading her lane and working on her clock reading skills. She has just moved up to Bronze this fall and has progressed very quickly. We are very excited to see the rest of her progress through this season, great job Raquel!!! – Coach Kristyn

Bee Cave:Michael Cotton– Michael has been working hard to get back in shape after some time off over the summer in order to transition to Silver.  This Saturday we saw the progress of  the last couple of months of work when he did 5 X 100 IM’s all under the 2:00 mark!  I know it’s hard for some of our younger kids to stay focused on their goals and keep up the hard work and I’m extremely proud of his persistence. – Coach Hannah

Technique & Fitness

Cedar Park:McKenzie Hunninghake & Richie Amato – Mackenzie had an amazing practice this past week.  Her backstroke underwater streamlines were amazing.  Richie’s butterfly was really impressive.  We noticed some great technique with his arm recovery.  Great job you two thanks for being a part of NITRO and we’ll see you at the pool. – Coach Steve

Bee Cave: Natalie Brown– Natalie had a phenomenal week in the pool. She always shows up to practice with a huge smile on her face. She did a great job making adjustments to her flip turn this week. Keep up the great work! – Coach Adrian

Silver

Cedar Park:Samuel Zhou– Samuel ‘Sandwiches’ Zhou had a great week of practices.  Samuel has made consistent progress over the past few months and now seems ready to make a habit of taking everything he’s learned and putting forth his best effort while maintaining the technical improvements he’s been working on.  He always comes to practice with a great attitude and should continue to make great strides if this week is any indication of what’s to come.  Keep up the great work Samuel! – Coach Dakota

Bee Cave: Riley Dalton– Riley took a big step in her training this week. She has been tearing it up in the pool lately. This week she set herself apart during our pyramid swim kick set this Saturday. Her voice was definitely heard during our relays at the end of practice. Keep up the great work Riley! – Coach Adrian

Advanced Silver

Cedar Park:Evelyn Ngo– Evelyn has been working really hard during all of her workouts.  She’s taking the lead in her lane, she’s prompt for workouts and dry land.  Consistently prepared with her equipment.  She also helps her teammates understand sets and motivates others in her lane. – Coach Scott

Bee Cave: Macy Probst & Colton Etheridge– One thing that I like to talk with my group about is attitude. It directs our focus and empowers our growth.  It’s something we bring with us wherever we go and it affects the outcome of our efforts.  Perhaps most importantly, having the right attitude is what enables us to adjust to adversity and excel.  Two people who consistently bring the right attitude to practice are Macy Probst and Colton “Streamline” Etheridge.  They have a desire to swim, an eagerness to improve and provide energy and focus for those around them.  It is clear, when Macy or Colton are at Nitro, there is nowhere they would rather be.  That since of purpose servers them well in practice and will certainly serve them well in life.  Keep up the great work Macy and Colton! – Coach Jeff

Gold

Cedar Park: Bella Zapata– Bella has been a consistent trainer since the moment she moved up to the Gold group in August, this weekend we did a Test Set, to see how everyone is doing fitness level wise and Bella was our most consistent female swimmer, holding under 1:10, for all 8 x100 Freestyle. Congratulations to Bella and please continue to work as hard as you are because it will bring you great success. – Coach FLO & Travis

Bee Cave: Kayle O’Keefe– When you move the top ten swimmers in a group up to the next group you kind of go into a wait and see mode, who will become the new leaders, of the swimmers who hang to the back of the lane which ones will step out of the shadows? Kayle has done a great job pushing her pain threshold, any time you swim faster in practice on a timed swim than you have gone in a meet, not by a tenth or two, but by almost three seconds, you just have to say, “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” As coaches we say it all the time, challenge yourself, find a way to break through, Kayle has spent the last week exploring whole new areas of her ability, and along the way impressed myself and some of the other coaches as well as herself. Now here’s to setting goals and resetting goals event before your next meet! Great things are coming Kayle! – Coach Chuck