Intro to Nitro
Cedar Park: Jonathan Luk and Alexis Osuna
Both our swimmers this week are new to Intro. Jonathan has been with me for just a few weeks, and from day one I could tell he was going to be great. How so, you may ask? He’s doing all the little things right. Listening, paying attention, asking questions when he doesn’t understand what we’re doing. He’s gotten better and better at kicking with a kickboard every week and with using fins, and he’s working hard on that side breath during streamlines and freestyle. Love the work ethic, Jonathan!
This week was Alexis’s very first week with Intro, and much like Jonathan she has jumped in with both feet ready to go. She did a great job on our freestyle drills and was fantastic at gliding underwater in a streamline. To cap it off, she swam in her first Nitro at the Races meet with only two practices under her belt–wow! Awesome with a capital A!
Great job, you two… I can’t wait to see where y’all go over the next few months!—Coach Lindsay
Bee Cave: Etta Fannin
Congrats to Miss Etta, who competed in her first Nitro at the Races this past Saturday. She swam all four strokes and seemed to thrive in the racing environment. Etta has really broken out of her shell and has begun to shine during each practice. This girlie is now outkicking her teammates and out streamlining them. The last two weeks her streamlines went from good to GREAT. In addition to her improved technique, Etta has a stellar attitude; she is always full of joy and ready to attack each new skill. Thank you Etta for your continuous effort and positive attitude. Keep it up! —Coach Raven
Technique and Fitness
Cedar Park: Alexandra Endres and Karthikeya Nambiyur
First note is what an awesome job at the swim meet this weekend. Alex you were in top form demonstrating how to focus and get into the game. Your freestyle was the icing on the cake. Long and strong. Karthikeya I just have one thing to say. ATTITUDE! ALWAYS POSITIVE!! At the swim meet you were encouraging the other swimmers and was always asking questions regarding the meet with the coaches. Great job you two this past week and thanks for being a part of the Nitro family and we’ll see you at the pool. —Coach Stephen
Bee Cave: Matthew Bynes
Matthew did something huge this week. He volunteered to switch lanes when he could tell I was about to ask someone from his lane to switch for me. It blew me away! So cool. It showed me respect, responsibility, integrity, maturity, and sportsmanship. I was honestly speechless when I looked over at Coach Raven. Finally I said, “Did you see that?” Apart from the most amazing display of what it means to be a team player, Matthew has been working so hard on his breaststroke kick, and it shows! The “wonky foot” as we coaches call it is one of the hardest habits to break. But Matthew was determined – and wow he’s actually got a really good breaststroke kick in there! Love it. If you don’t know who Matthew is, he’ll be the only one with two different colored fins (yet somehow the same size) and proud of it!—Coach Jonny
Bronze
Cedar Park: Reese Dodd and Gavin Wu
This has been a fabulous week for this dude! He hasn’t been in Bronze too long but I am so impressed with his willingness to learn. We have been working on breaststroke this week, specifically open turns, and he has been working tirelessly on nailing them. On another note, aside from breaststroke, he has been taking private lessons and has been focusing on dives. Since Reese has been with me in Bronze he has always been a little timid when we do starts, but now he ASKS for them! This is so exciting for Reese and I am so excited for his progress! He has such a huge heart and I cannot wait to see where he goes! Great job at your very first long course meet!
I was extremely impressed with Gavin at the TXLA Long Course meet! As a coach it is always heart warming to see athletes cheer on their teammates and not only did Gavin cheer Nitro on, he was cheering on all “humans” as he said. This guy was as cool as a cucumber at this meet and was so focused on how the team was doing. So proud of this young man and his performance! Way to kill it, Gavin!—Coach Makaylee
Bee Cave: Emma Sciaraffia
Emma has shown some really solid improvement in her strength in the water, there is the improved kick, a lower head position, good hand entry, and a nice feel to the length of her strokes. I think the timing of her breaststroke is a real standout, she holds her head so very still while the kick finishes, and you can tell she is becoming more at home with the longer glide. I can’t wait to see how it his improves her IM, she already has good hand speed on the backstroke so with stronger pullouts the middle of her IM will make a great race. Great job young lady!—Coach Chuck
Silver
Cedar Park: Stella Estipona
Transitioning to Silver very recently, I have been impressed with her rapid achievements so quickly in our group. Freestyle and Butterfly are her strong suits currently, and her kicking strength sure is developing! It is enjoyable to watch her move through the water so naturally. In addition, this young lady had a smile a mile wide after the first hour of the meet last weekend which made my day! Stella truly has in incredibly bright future in the sport of swimming, and I am honored to be her coach. —Coach Paige
Bee Cave: Karen Bui
Take two swimmers. One is better. The other, still pretty good. Tell me about them. Which one works hard, no matter what? Which one, works hard, now and then? I don’t need to know anything else. I’ll be back in a year…. and I’ll tell you, with a matter of certainty, which one will be better. Make no mistake about it, that’s how it works. Where you are at now, isn’t where you’ll be. And the true victors, aren’t usually the ones holding the trophy today. They are the ones, who make the goal, getting a little better, each day. We call this consistency. And consistency, is one of the simplest, yet challenging foundations, of progress. Karen Bui has been the most consistent swimmer I have ever seen. She simply does everything right. She shows up early. She listens and works hard. She makes the little things, her BIG things – great streamlines, underwaters, clean and compact turns, And her technique.. Let’s just say, textbook. In fact, on a side note, we should record her strokes, then bury the videos in a time capsule, just in case someone finds it in 20 million years, so they’d have no question what a beautiful butterfly breath looked like. Just a thought.
Anyways… Karen has a gentle, yet powerful energy about her. Just as she seems serious, yet profoundly happy at all times! Either way, this girl’s positive attitude has always been on the radar. But something has happened in the past few weeks. Her movement, got traction. All those little pieces, started coming together, creating friction, and she caught fire. I recall the moment I realized, something was different. We were doing a backstroke set. The swimmers were coming in for the turn. Her feet hit the wall at the turn, and she was a full two body lengths ahead of the group. For a second, I was confused. Not because she couldn’t be doing this, it just never had been so dramatic. The second lap. I kept watching. And then it became clear – She was pulling away! And it was easy to see why. She was taking each stroke, each kick, each flip, as if, it was the best she had ever taken. As if, that lap was the race. As if, we were going to be using it for that time capsule. So she was making, every single one, count. In the moment, she showed, it wasn’t just about being consistent. But being, consistent, with the right actions. The right effort. And hasn’t looked back. Every single day, every single set, every single stroke, she is putting everything she has into it. So while it may be surprising her lane mates, it’s clear how she got there. And it’s been my honor, watching it all come together. Great Job Karen! Now, Just stop trying to peek at the white board!—Coach Nick
Advanced Silver
Bee Cave: Pierce Arora
Pierce lit it up last weekend at the TXLA 10&U Kick-Off. He swam a 100 of each stroke in the big pool—racking up an A time in the 100 fly with three other new BB times. More importantly than the eye popping times, he made sure to speak with me before and after each race and planned his time to warm up properly before each race. Such ownership and focus. I have seen tremendous growth from this kiddo and now is a good time to celebrate how far he has come and the places he will go! Dream big and keep grinding, Pierce!—Coach Bobby
Gold I & II
CP Gold I: Rachel Miller
Rachel had an eye catching week at Nitro! To start, Rachel has been more on top of her dryland work, making sure she is doing all movements correctly. When she hits the water, it’s hard work until she gets out. Rachel has a strong freestyle, but her butterfly is really coming along, feeling the timing and rhythm work together. I was also impressed with the her narrow breaststroke kick. Keep it up Rachel!—Coach Adam
CP Gold II: Kyan Allen
Kyan is one of the most awesome goofballs out there. He brings a silly element to practice, but don’t let that fool you – he knows he’s there to work hard and get fast. Kyan started to spread his wings last season and now he’s really soaring as a leader in Gold II. He rocked the meet yesterday and even knocked out a AA cut in his 50 fly – that’s not an easy task without practicing LCM butterfly beforehand. You’re the man, Kyan!—Coach Alex
Bee Cave: Maren Gauntt
Maren was challenged this week. In the best way possible! She was challenged to change and get better and she rose to the occasion. I pulled her aside on Friday to work with her on her backstroke start. We recorded it and tweaked a few things here and there. Sure enough I was like okay were done, she wanted to do a few more. I am never going to stop a kiddo from wanting to do MORE, so we continued on. It was her perseverance and her overall desire to want to get better that makes her the perfect fit for SOW this week. Love coaching kiddos with drive. Way to go Maren!—Coach Allison