Intro to Nitro
Cedar Park: Hailey Paulick – Hailey really stood out this week as someone who is making a lot of progress! She comes consistently to practice each week, pays attention & works hard. It’s paying off!! Her underwater streamlines looked phenomenal, as did her backstroke! Great job, Hailey!! – Coach Jessie
Bee Cave: Alaura Webb – Alaura really worked hard this week! We had our challenge set on Thursday and she came in ready to go. I am so proud of how she led her lane and took charge of the set! Grey job Alaura! – Coach Meghan
Bronze
Cedar Park: Ethan Caldwell – Over the last couple practices we have been putting a very high priority on streamlining off the wall. He has one of the best streamlines in the group and never has to be reminded to use it. Furthermore he will do his underwater fly kicks past the flags every time. This is a skill that will continue to make him faster throughout his swimming career. Congratulations and keep up the good work. – Coach Travis
Bee Cave: Caleb Bui – Caleb has been a rising leader the past couple months. He has really stepped up his training all around. When it comes to racing, Caleb really sets the standard high for the group. I have really enjoyed seeing Caleb improve his endurance over the past few weeks. Great job this week Caleb! – Coach Adrian
Technique & Fitness
Cedar Park: Joanne Liu and Nicholas Swanson. These two swimmers did an incredible job with their relays this past week. Great encouragement for their team mates and a lot of positive energy. Great job you two thanks for being a part of NITRO and we’ll see you at the pool. – Coach Steve
Bee Cave: Jesus Gonzalez Albejar – This was a very tough week to pick one swimmer of the week as many swimmers are really improving. This week’s SOW for TF is Jesus Gonzalez Albejar. Jesus has been taking practice very seriously. He’s been very attentive to the new skills we are learning, and has also been swimming so well, he’s been the lane leader and getting to the wall fast! I’ve really seen his enthusiasm shine thru and Coach Hannah mentioned the improvement that she saw as well. Good work Jesus! – Coach Linda
Silver
Cedar Park: Paula Warren – Paula is always a bright spot in practice, from her general attitude to her work ethic Paula has really been putting in some great work these past few weeks. This past week Paula was consistently pushing her own limits on every stroke and every set. Keep up the great work Paula! – Coach Dakota
Bee Cave: Emilie Jones – Every day Emilie bounces out on to the pool deck with a smile, she is always one of the first swimmers to hit the pool deck for her group, I see her sitting in the corner waiting patiently for practice to start, when I yell out “Silver 2!” she jumps up and moves quickly to her lane, she is always one of if not the first swimmer in the water after finding out what warm up is! We talk about how to become a leader in the pool, what are the things that will make you a standout, how going that little extra will make you better, faster, and Emilie does all of that in the pool, but for me her pool performance is the way it is because of how prepared she is to perform before she even touches water! Watch the great swimmers behind the blocks, before the race, look at that determination, the game face, Emilie brings it every day, you might not see it, behind that big smile, but I see a young lady who is “Pure Swim!”, keep bringing it every day young lady! – Coach Chuck
Advanced Silver
Cedar Park: Kianna Kapa – Kiki has one of the best attitudes around. She is always super happy when she walks through Nitro’s doors and encourages others to be on her level. Not only does Kiki really enjoy swimming, but she also loves the hard work that goes along with it. Stay on the great path, Kiki! – Coach Alex
Bee Cave: Bailey Hodakievic – I’ve been really impressed with both Bailey and her sister Peyton ever since they joined the group a couple of months ago. However, what I would like to highlight about Bailey this week is her tenacity in the face of an injury. With their hand and forearm in a brace many swimmers might look for opportunities to kick or put fins on or otherwise lighten the load. When dealing with some injuries such measures are often employed and can be beneficial. That said, in addition to the fact that Bailey is not looking for opportunities to evade practice, she also doesn’t let her current condition get her down demonstrating an attitude and maturity beyond her age. It is easy to be frustrated when artificially limited but Bailey seems to take it in stride accepting her current limits but refusing to let them get in her way. Keep up the great work Bailey! – Coach Jeff
Gold
Cedar Park: Joshua Louie – He has been working very hard so far this long course. He is quickly turning into one the leaders of the group. When he gets to practice he does not go to a lane to be with his friends. He picks a lane that he can lead and race against his friends. This makes him work harder and everyone else around him as well. He had some great swims this weekend at the distance meet pick up some new cuts in events he had never tried before. Congratulations and keep up the great work. – Coach Travis
Bee Cave: Colton Etheridge – Colton has been having a great time in practice, always keeps it light when the pain starts to set in, smiles a lot even though he himself may be struggling, always has a high five ready for coach and team mates, and that demeanor is the surface of a very focused and driven young man! He and I talk all the time about how to fix parts of his stroke, where breakthroughs need to be challenged in the pool as well as dry land, for instance when he came to tell me of his improved push ups, a huge smile on his face told me the whole story, I didn’t need to see him do a single one, and for his efforts this weekend we saw a 31 second drop in his 200 free, a 21 second drop in his 200 IM, and not to be finished he had an outstanding 400 free where he dropped 63 seconds! Colton, thank you for giving me your very best every day! – Coach Chuck