Intro to Nitro
Cedar Park: Sophia Yahin
Sophia always comes to practice with a huge smile on her face ready to work hard. This week Intro worked on breaststroke. Sophia did a great job with her breaststroke kick and really worked on her glide. Also Sophia started to not feel well during practice but decided to push through and continue working hard. Coach Sam and I were so impressed and proud of you! Keep up the great work Sophia! —Coach Hannah
Bee Cave: Elizabeth Alpatova and Andrew Glaeser
Andrew and Liza are the breaststroke king and queen! Liza literally jumps up and down when she knows we are working on breaststroke. This past week she focused on the timing and patiently gliding with a low head position. She also demonstrated how to glide underwater past the flags while holding her legs very still and in a tight streamline. Andrew has shown tremendous improvement in all four strokes over the past several months. A natural breaststroke kicker, he’s had to over come the urge to flex his feet during our flutter kick warm-up, and he is now one of the quickest kickers. In addition, Andrew now has a low steady head position in all four strokes and breaststroke is no exception. He demonstrated how to hold a tall glide with his ear below his arms. Way to go Liza and Andrew! Keep it up the hard work! —Coach Raven
Bronze
Cedar Park: Elise Nguyen
Elise may be one of the younger swimmers in Bronze, but last week she picked up skills like one of the older kids! While working on freestyle, Elise hit all the focus points really well. I saw great underwaters, fast kicking and an awesome breathing position. Elise then showed off her strong freestyle catch and incredible body stability while racing her teammates at the end of the week. Way to go Elise! —Coach Adam
Bee Cave: Naledi Dusing
Just a good week for Naledi, anytime when good underwaters are a focus, as it was working on backstroke, she is my go to girl. She always finds the right depth and drives out of the red zone with a strong fly kick. This is how she has come to the front of the Bronze groups, consistent work off her walls, which is how she has become one of my best racers! Great work young lady! —Coach Chuck
Technique and Fitness
Cedar Park: Aditi Challa and Warner Young
First off I want to totally apologize for missing Warner’s birthday swim. I’m so sorry for the late response after practice. HAPPY BIRTHDAY WARNER from all of us at NITRO. Excellent job you two on all of the kick sets we prepared for you. Great work with the board, streamline and head position. We saw tons of improvement just by focusing and FEELING the water. Great job Aditi and Warner; thanks for being a part of NITRO and we’ll see you at the pool. —Coach Stephen
Bee Cave: Nathan White
Nathan has become a strong leader in his TF group. I can always count on him to look after his lane and be sure everyone is listening and doing things right. Of course, that can’t happen unless he’s listening and doing things right. His consistent respect for me, his teammates, and himself is enough to earn swimmer of the week! However, this week Nathan really shined through his swimming ability. From Breaststroke Pullouts, to Hand-Lead Claw, Nathan was unstoppable! Both maneuvers are best accomplished when a swimmer keeps his head down – all coaches know that requires quite a bit of self-control. Nathan was able to keep his head down for both, therefore having almost no difficulty with either. Phenomenal. —Coach Jonny
Silver
Cedar Park: Norah Harkin
Norah earned swimmer of the week title for her fantastic work ethic. She showed up every day to practice with a smile on her face ready to work. As we covered breaststroke focusing specifically on pressing the chest and reaching through the stroke, Norah did her best. She understands very well how to grab the water, get her chest and upper body out of the water, and then shoot her entire body forward all while keeping the head still and not looking forward. Breaststroke done the right way is difficult, and Norah gets it. Her understanding of the feel of the water combined with her determination is what makes Norah so awesome! Keep up the hard work. —Coach Claire
Bee Cave: Christian Flewelling
I’ve coached Christian for almost my entire time on the Nitro team side. From his days in Technique & Fitness to now, he has improved by leaps and bounds. This week, we did some vertical kicking for a different approach to our endurance week, and Christian absolutely crushed it. Vertical kicking can be very difficult, because you are using just your legs to keep your head out of the water, but Christian did a great job staying upright and kicking hard even when he was tired. Great job, Christian! – Coach Peter —Coach Peter
Advanced Silver
Bee Cave: Joseph Zhang
It’s really encouraging to see how far he has come in six months. Joseph is now very successful at kick sets, which is a true benefit for our team. Lastly, I really like how Joseph always really commits to pushing of the wall in ready position and is excited to leave for the next sets! Go Joseph!!! —Coach Paige
Gold I & II
CP Gold I: Lauren Roberts
Lauren is relatively new to Gold 1, but she swims like one of the veterans. Whether it’s a drill set with a specific focus, or a fast repeat set, Lauren is ready to give it her all. This week she showed off a lot of breaststroke and butterfly, leading her lane no matter the task. Lauren even busted out a best time in practice in the 100 back! Keep it up Lauren; you’re going to have a great season! —Coach Adam
CP Gold II: Ian Redmond
Ian is one of the new athletes to Gold II this season, but he’s already making a huge impact. Ian doesn’t just get things done – he gets things done right. It’s really special to explain a purpose and having a kiddo like Ian understand right away. He’s off to a great start and I have no doubt that Ian has a very bright future in the pool! —Coach Alex
Bee Cave: Caleb Bui
Caleb had a great week this week! I saw a spark of intensity and endurance throughout workout. He did such a great job this past week of working with his teammates to make sure everyone was doing things right and getting better. I am hoping to see a continued effort from Caleb and all of the teammates he inspires around him. Great job this past week Caleb! —Coach Allison