Intro to Nitro
Cedar Park: Maya El-Abed
Maya joined the team in August and has constantly worked to better herself as a swimmer. Maya is on the smaller side of the kids in Intro but that never stops her from swimming like the tallest person in the pool. No matter what we are working on at practice Maya always wants to do her best. Through out the entire practice she does not stop smiling because she’s so happy to be in the water. Keep up the great work Maya! —Coach Hannah
Bee Cave: Emma Li and Jude Welch
Emma was a super group leader this week. She demonstrated to her teammates how to maintain a strong flutter kick during our swordfish-freestyle drill and keep a low head position when taking a breath. In addition, Emma’s underwater streamlines continue to amaze her coaches and teammates. Thank you Emma for your sweet presence and hard work! This leads me to Jude who joined Intro to Nitro in August. While Jude hasn’t quite mastered the underwater streamlines, he is such a hard worker and continues to improve each week. He always asks appropriate questions to better understand instructions and is constantly having fun. Jude did a great job with catch-up freestyle developing a better feel for a low head position and tall arms. Keep up the hard work, Jude! —Coach Raven
Bronze
Cedar Park: Kendall Fant
Kendall is blossoming into quite the swimmer. Kendall has become more focused and determined at practice, and it showed at the TXLA meet on Sunday as she had really awesome swims. Her breaststroke has always stood out, but it is her work with her other stokes that has really impressed me. Keep it up Kendall, you’re doing a fantastic job! —Coach Adam
Bee Cave: Pierce Arora
This young man loves to swim, every practice he walks out on the pool deck with a big smile, quick to jump in, ready for the first swim no matter what the group is about to work on. Pierce is your go to guy with any kind of underwater kicking, streamline, fly, flutter, fish, it doesn’t matter, he pushes out to the 15 meter mark almost every first swim of every set. Sometimes I have to reel Pierce in on those underwaters when we are working on stroke drills or I don’t get a good look at his mechanics! I believe you will not find another 7 year old who loves to race more than Pierce. This weekend he pushed the envelope to a new level, dropping 14 seconds in the 50 breaststroke, 27 seconds in the 100 backstroke, and 23 seconds in his 100 IM, all amazing swim, but the 100 free was where Pierce really showed true heart, on a false start he dove in the water, sprinted the first length, everyone was yelling for him to stop, second length done and he was out for his third, the official drops the rope and he swims right through it, third done and Pierce is racing for home, strong finish to the wall and he finds out it didn’t count! Most swimmers would have been done at that point but without any rest he steps right back on the block and does the 100 free again besting his current time by almost 11 seconds! A truly amazing display of heart! I could not have been more proud of a young swimmer! Pierce had a fantastic meet on Sunday one we coaches will tell stories about. Great job young man! —Coach Chuck
Technique and Fitness
Cedar Park: Agnieszka Jesionowska and Andre Pham
These two really rocked it on their backstroke this past week. Awesome job on your underwater butterfly streamline kicks past the flags. Great job setting a goal and meeting expectations. Nice hand, head and body position on your backstroke. Technique is key to a great backstroke and you guys impressed us this week. Great job you two thanks for being a part of NITRO and we’ll see you at the pool. —Coach Stephen
Bee Cave: Ryan Chui
Ryan is every coach’s dream swimmer. He’s always early, always prepared, an always eager to learn. He leads his lane with more than just competence. Ryan makes sure his lane mates know what’s going on before, during, and after a set. Recently, his younger brother, Curtis, joined our group; and, Ryan told him everything he needed to know about how practices are run and what to expect. I was shocked when Curtis knew everything our group had learned up to this point. Ryan also thinks of ways to make a stroke or a drill more effective in the water. He’s a student of the sport and a pioneer of new discoveries. I see big things in his future. —Coach Jonny
Silver
Cedar Park: Marcus Pineiro
This week I want to recognize Marcus Pineiro for not only demonstrating great technique as we worked on IM, turns, and dives this week but also for his perseverance and motivation to push through uncomfortable situations. Marcus recently came back from being out sick for a whole week. He got back in the water with fervor to do his best. And even though he had the set back of being out of practice for 8 days he still pushed himself this week and showed up ready to race at the 10 & under meet this weekend. Way to go this week, Marcus! Keep up the hard work. —Coach Claire
Bee Cave: Madeline Stokes
Our emphasis this week was breaststroke and all of the elements that go into making an efficient, fast stroke. Madeline did such a great job this week with all of the drills we did improve our breaststroke. Not only that, but she looked great in all of her breaststroke events on Sunday at the UT meet, setting personal bests in all of her events! I’m excited to see Madeline continue to grow as a person and swimmer! —Coach Peter
Advanced Silver
Bee Cave: Maika Ognoskie
Maika transitioned into our group this summer and is already becoming a leader and dedicated swimmer. He comes to practice every day early, ready to go, and asking for more. His turns have really improved due to this approach. Great job, Maika. —Coach Paige
Gold I & II
CP Gold I: Chloe Wilkins and Mariana Harper-Araya
These two girls came to mind for swimmer of the week because of the work they did on strokes that aren’t their favorite. For Chloe, something clicked on her butterfly, as she started to feel the chest press through the stroke. For Mariana, it is the breaststroke she has been working hard on, trying to get a little more flexible in the hips, ankles, and knees to get more power into the kick. As they have both worked hard to make corrections, their strokes have become stronger. Very impressive girls, keep it up! —Coach Adam
CP Gold II: Ashlyn Mehok
Ashlyn is one of our group leaders. She does a great job working hard and is a prime example of what kind of progress you can make with dedication. Ashlyn attended the TXLA meet on Sunday and not only swam fast, but had an air of confidence that helped her achieve those drops. She might have been the most mature kiddo on deck, treating every swim like it’s her last. Great meet, Ash! —Coach Alex
Bee Cave: Grace Koch
Grace, you are a shining star. You were a wonderful demonstrator this week of what a strong and powerful flip turn is, and thank you for that! You have so much natural talent, and it shows in how strong your practices are day in and day out. I am super excited to watch you to continue to get stronger and work towards your goals. Keep working hard and going to meets to see how hard you have been working! It truly does pay off. Keep it up and continue to drive towards your goals. —Coach Allison