Intro to Nitro
Cedar Park: Jake Bailey – Jake is consistent. With his attendance, with his attitude, with his swimming improvements, and his smile. Every Friday I can count on Jake being ready to swim and get better. This week Jake was a superb demonstrator in the streamline and butterfly. Keep it up Jake! – Coach Ben
Bee Cave: Ansel Wong – Ansel shows up with a ready-to-swim attitude each day. This past week, he was the lead butterfly example because of his exemplary streamlines off each wall and long, straight arm during the butterfly recovery. Ansel’s hard work paid off this weekend at our Nitro at the Races swim meet, dropping significant time in three events! Way to go Ansel; keep up the good work! – Coach Raven
Bronze
Cedar Park: Nigel Nielson – Nigel has very quickly swam his way to the top of the pack in his Bronze group. Always willing to lead his lane and always willing to put in 100% effort, Nigel is becoming quite the swimmer. Just this past week, Nigel showed great focus as we did our perfect set, aiming for perfect streamlines and breathing control. Great job Nigel! – Coach Adam
Bee Cave: Kaitlyn Phan – “Who is Kaitlyn Phan?” that is what coach Travis asked after seeing Kaitlyn split 21 seconds for the butterfly leg of her first ever 100 IM! Yes this was a wow moment, her butterfly was great, fast arms over the water on recovery, powerful kick that kept pushing her forward, plus a smooth low breath that let the arms and legs do their job without adding extra motion or causing the tempo to break. This was the best her fly has ever looked! Thing of it is this was no accident, just the result of working hard on her technique every time Kaitlyn comes to practice. Kaitlyn brings a smile with her everyday and now has her coaches smiling, the result of some great racing this last Saturday. Great job young lady! – Coach Chuck
Technique & Fitness
Cedar Park: Isabella Smith & David Hoo – Great job on your backstroke technique and head position. Both of you really worked your backstroke underwater streamlines and over emphasizing the backstroke grab and pull underwater. Your spin drill technique was spot on and really showed great fast arm entry and recovery. You guys are always spot on when it comes to showing what it means to show up and really dedicate yourselves to the one hour practice and we see the results in the pool. Great job you two thanks for being a part of NITRO and we’ll see you at the pool. – Coach Steve
Bee Cave: Samuel Kim – Samuel has been a part of the Nitro family for a while now but has struggled a bit whenever we worked on flip turns. This week was a huge breakthrough for him though! The most difficult part for Samuel, and many others learning the flip turn, has been the somersault/front flip. This week, Samuel nailed it and executed his first successful flip turn! He came out of the water all smiles with his fists raised in the air. With his new found confidence, he did a few more great flip turns! Excellent job this week, Samuel! – Coach Peter
Silver
Cedar Park: Nicolas Wilmington & Zoey Moulton – Once again, I had to choose two swimmers this week, as these two have consistently brought their “A” game to practice. Zoey has really been stepping up lately, pushing herself no matter the set, and isn’t afraid to jump in front of the lane is she is needed. She listens, makes changes, and most importantly – she has fun! Fun. Friendly. Fearless. That’s Zoey! Nick is a racer who isn’t afraid of challenges, and it stands out when he is in the water. It really was illuminated during practice last week, when we finished with a challenge set of 100s – he not only chose the fastest interval, but pushed himself on every single one. Inspiring to see. Great teammate to be around. Couldn’t ask for more. Great job, both of you! – Coach Nick
Bee Cave: Hudson Ingram – Hudson’s attention to detail during practice has earned him Swimmer of the Week! His eagerness to learn brings positive energy to the group when he is in the pool. One of the newer members of the group, his focus and determination in the water has been exciting to see, especially while working on backstroke flip turns this past week. I can’t wait to see Hudson continue to improve and compete in his first meet with Nitro soon! – Coach Lianne
Advanced Silver
Cedar Park: Ethan Patterson – Ethan is an anchor in the group. I can always count on him to give 100% effort and he’s definitely not afraid to race. He’s a natural lane leader and great teammate. Ethan has improved tremendously with his time in Advanced Silver and I couldn’t be happier for him. Way to go, EP! – Coach Alex
Bee Cave: Mary Claire Fuselier – Well Mary, you did it! Swimmer of the Week can be defined as the one that opts to be DYNAMIC, PERSISTENT, COMMITTED, all those adjectives that makes you different in practice. One good piece of advice that I learned this past week, “be better every day by 1%”, that is a great motto. Good job Mary, keep it up! FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS!!! SI SI SI!!! – Coach Felix
Gold
Cedar Park: Trinity Hoang – Although Trinity is relatively young, she has established herself as one of the top dogs in the Gold group. Her work ethic is exemplary, and it’s paid off this past season, as Trinity has earned numerous TAGS cuts, and had an outstanding meet last weekend at STAGS. The coaches are really excited for what she can accomplish this Championship season! Keep it up, Trinity! – Coach Jeremy & Coach Adam
Bee Cave: Laney Kalsu – Laney had a great week! We talked about how excited she was for our Nitro meet next weekend, and how much fun it will be for her to race the 200 IM for the first time. I haven’t been able to watch Laney race very often besides practice, and I know that she will get in the water next weekend and push herself to the extreme. Laney has a great story for each set we do in practice. She gives herself a reason to work hard everyday. I am lucky enough to have Laney’s sparkling smile at practice each day. Way to go Laney! – Coach Allison