Intro to Nitro
Cedar Park: Nathaniel Sharples and Amber Sun
There was a lot of strong swimming this week, but Nathaniel and Amber both stood out in particular. Their backstroke looked fantastic, and both of them have great underwater push-offs with body waves and tight streamlines. This is huge for the Intro level! The tipping point for making them SOW was their attitude in practice. Nathaniel was attentive, receptive to feedback and did a great job demonstrating. Amber has been hesitant to demonstrate in the past, but she showed off the half-streamline skill for the group this week (flawlessly!). Awesome job, Nathaniel and Amber! —Coach Lindsay
Bee Cave: Rachel Lee and Emma Sciaraffia
Rachel and Emma stood out to me this week with breaststroke. Rachel started Intro to Nitro only few months ago. She recently turned FIVE, but don’t let her age and size fool you. Rachel has made huge strides in her freestyle kicking strength and ability; getting used to a kickboard can be difficult when the kickboard is the same size as you. This week Rachel demonstrated flexed feet during breaststroke and a better understanding for a small breaststroke pull. Emma is a beast; she is very powerful in the water from her streamline underwater to her strong freestyle kick. This week Emma really focused on the glide phase of breaststroke getting her ears below her arms for an efficient glide and not rushing into the next pull. With her longer glide, she demonstrated a tall bodyline. Both girls are full of light walking on deck with big smiles. Thank you both for your hard work. Keep it up! —Coach Raven
Technique and Fitness
Cedar Park: Kailey Turner
Let me give you a bit of a background on Kailey. For a very long time she has had knee problems that required surgery. In spite of it all she kept coming to practice swimming freestyle and backstroke pulling all the time. I MEAN PULLING ALL THE TIME! Coaches commented on how strong her upper body strength was. She finally had her surgery and has really impressed all of us with her stamina and grit during the fall season. Awesome job in the pool Kailey! Thanks so much for being a part of the Nitro family and we’ll see you at the pool. —Coach Stephen
Bee Cave: Curtis Chui
Curtis showed up big this week in more ways than one. He got after our fly set multiple times without complaining once. Even though it was hard, he never stopped or missed his interval. That shows the sort of work ethic this young man has. The fact that I didn’t hear a peep out of the 9 year old spoke volumes of his character. I’d also like to mention that Curtis worked long and hard on his butterfly over the summer. All those private lessons definitely paid off big time this week! It just goes to show you that sometimes the swimmer of the week isn’t just earned over one week. Curtis is the perfect example of a swimmer who shines bright because of the many months he put in prior to this week – all in preparation for some epic butterfly! —Coach Jonny
Bronze
Cedar Park: Madison Tisdale
A great week of butterfly work, followed by not one, but two outstanding meets for Madison! First, she was a diligent worker in practice, feeling the rhythm and timing of her butterfly beautifully. When it came meet time, though, she had her doubts about her butterfly…but with some help from the coaches, Madison found her courage and toughed out some hard races. Way to go Madison! —Coach Adam
Bee Cave: Hope Rieder
Hope has been doing a great job working on all of her strokes, tall streamline, fast kick, and very controlled breathing. She is learning how to race really well, it is a direct reflection on how she trains, building the kick through each swim, always finishing with a strong white water kick. I enjoy watching how Hope will work to race the swimmer in the lane next to her. We teach the importance of stroke technique, smoother, taller, tempo, and patience, but the heart of the swimmer is seen when the horn sounds and the race begins. Hope loves to race and it is very exciting to watch. Great Job Young Lady! —Coach Chuck
Silver
Cedar Park: Mary Ligarde
This young lady displayed tremendous perseverance while competing this weekend in several new & challenging events. It was fun to hear that other coaches noticed this as well. Additionally, she is getting recognized because each day, Mary can found working on her streamline and her strokes. I am sure she will be at practice this week, with her focus on the technique each lap. I am proud to coach you, Mary! —Coach Paige
Bee Cave: Addy Dowdy and Evangelia Spadini
Swimming is often a sport of inches. Not of seconds, but milliseconds. Every little detail, gets blown up and exaggerated, combed, fine tuned and perfected, all for a matter of a moment. We spend our time, focusing on doing the little things in order to shave precious time off our events, and to prepare ourselves for the performances of competition. Although there is nothing wrong with goals and a hunger for that competition, we can often get lost in the search for those lower times, those next standards, what place you got here, who you beat there, that we lose the thread on what swimming is all about. These two girls helped remind an aging coach this weekend at the Turkey Trot Swim meet. They both came to check in really, really… really early before the meet (a good start to anything), and I gave them a unique challenge – to be “Meet Buddies”, that way no one gets lost, and no one will sit alone. Next thing I know, I turn to find Lia screaming her lungs out for Addy, and then the other way around. They became each others biggest cheer sections, and it they didn’t stop there. They routinely found a familiar face and began cheering, and it turned the experience from one of pressure and personal achievement, into a selfless act of fun and excitement. I know the effects had to have rubbed off on the rest of the team, but at the very least, it did on me! With all that energy flowing, they in turn, jumped in the water, and busted out some solid swims! Although these girls aren’t the same person by any stretch of the imagination, I know 3 things: 1 – these girls BOTH are going to show up, eeeearly. 2) They are BOTH going to work HARD. 3) They are BOTH going to do it with as a force of positivity, and embrace each challenge that comes along with a smile. It’s no surprise, that every single day, I can see they are getting better. I can’t think of a better two to represent this week’s swimmer(s) of the week. They show what it means not to just be a swimmer in silver, but to be an emerging leader, and just a good person at Nitro. Great job ladies! —Coach Nick
Advanced Silver
Bee Cave: Lola Maciarz
Lola had a LOADED schedule swimming 5 events (including her first 200 Free and 200 IM) at Turkey Trot on Saturday and 4 events at ST TXLA at UT on Sunday. She dropped 5 seconds in the 2 Free and 2.5 seconds in the 100 from one day to the next. Every race counts! She also racked up a few BB times but more importantly executed on the small things that will serve as a strong foundation moving forward and will only continue to compound. Her zest for the sport and helping others shine is a marvelous gift to the group. Keep shining, Lola! —Coach Bobby
Gold I & II
CP Gold I: Dillon Shadowen
Dillon is a multi-sport athlete, and a talented one at that, so he a busy guy. The last few weeks, though, he has been more consistent with his attendance, and I think that has really paid off. Swimming in the Turkey Trot this past weekend, every time Dillon hit the water, something special happened. Whether it was an A time or just a crazy time drop, he impressed quite a few coaches this weekend. Keep it up Dillon! —Coach Adam
CP Gold II: Ian Redmond
Ian won this week’s title for his performance on Saturday! Ian signed up for his first official 500 freestyle at the Nitro meet, and as we got closer to the event, he started to feel a little unwell. Ian was nervous, perhaps a little sick, and asked me if he could scratch the event. I told Ian I’d very much like him to swim it, but if he was feeling too poor to complete it, he could choose to scratch. Despite those nerves, Ian got up on the block and busted out a new BB cut by thirteen seconds. You’re my guy, Ian! —Coach Alex
Bee Cave: Kaitlyn Phan
Kaitlyn’s personality is always the first thing that stands out to me. Her huge smile and love for the sport of swimming makes her easy to be around! This past weekend she got to do a lot of racing, one race I was particularly excited for was her 200 Free. She was rocking it! By the 3rd 50 her flip turn was SO fast the goggles slipped right of her face. But that didn’t stop her, she finished strong and came out with the biggest smile! I love the “you live and you learn” type of mentality. Keep it up Kaitlyn with a K!! —Coach Allison