Intro to Nitro
Cedar Park: Naqiya Hirani and Hariharan Venkatesh
Breaststroke week is challenging for many swimmers, with that pesky little frog kick. These two both worked hard the whole practice, and I want to congratulate them for their efforts. Naqiya has only been with our group for a month, but I can tell she’s thinking about what she’s doing in the water and as a result, she’s picking up something new every week. Hari had a beautiful, smooth breaststroke kick with no flutters. His kick has an element we all work to achieve—the GLIDE! Nice job you two…now enjoy your winter break! —Coach Lindsay
Bee Cave: Sophia Yu
Sophia is quite a star! This young lady brightens the pool deck; she’s not much of a talker, but her smile speaks volumes. Sophia’s work ethic is outstanding; she rarely misses a practice and walks on the pool deck ready to learn and work hard. Her kicking has really taken off and her streamlines continue to improve. In freestyle, Sophia really focuses on low quick breathing and a steady kick. But her focus doesn’t stop her from having fun. I often find her giggling and making friends with her lanemates, and she’s always ready for a cannonball contest! Way to go Sophia! Keep shining! —Coach Raven
Technique and Fitness
Cedar Park: Eugene Jang
Eugene made a major breakthrough this week on his open turns and for that reason he gets to be swimmer of the week! Eugene spent the entire practice on Wednesday working on dropping under the water and pushing off under the water from his open turns. By the time we got to our last three 50s at the end of workout he had literally perfected his turn! Eugene didn’t give up on it and it paid off, I can’t wait to see him use that turn in a race. Great job Eugene! —Coach Dan
Bee Cave: Siddhartha Mandalapu
Siddhartha rocked it this week trying Group 2 for the first time. I wasn’t sure how he’d do. But his 100 IM for time during our last challenge week gave me some confidence. Sure enough! Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy! He’ll be in group 2 for the foreseeable future. I have high hopes for this kid. You’d recognize him as the one constantly smiling, even as coaches give him corrections. Just one of the happiest kids you’ll ever meet. Super fun to coach, too! Great attitude and very respectful, Siddhartha is going places in life. —Coach Jonny
Bronze
Cedar Park:
Will be sent out separately. —Coach Adam
Bee Cave: Mia Singletary
Sometimes it can be very hard swimming an event for the first time, so many questions, how fast to go out, when to increase the kick, how do I cycle my breathing? Now imagine you’re a 10 & under in Bronze and you not only have to swim an event for the first time you have to swim another 100 free not long after! Mia took it all in stride, she swam a 50 free under 40.0 seconds for the first time, then readied herself for the 100 back. You just can tell when a young swimmer is about to do something special, the nervous chatting with friends, asking all kinds of questions about the race, up and down, up and down, all good signs. The horn goes off and her tempo is good, she moves right to the front of the heat, good fast turns, great strong push off, fades a little at the end but not much, and can you believe it 1:40.+ For her first 100 back! A national B time, as a matter of fact it was a B time going out at the 50! Great Job Young Lady! She never gave up and pushed past her pain at every turn, a coach couldn’t ask for more. So next meet we definitely need to swim that 50! —Coach Chuck
Silver
Cedar Park: Kavya Jey and Miss Smriti Narayanan
These two young dedicated ladies come our latest evening practice and are always ready to get better. I have been most specifically impressed with the development of their butterfly stroke. In Silver, we take this challenging stroke head on almost daily to learn the movement pattern with Kavya and Smriti always being ready for the challenge! I am proud of their success and look forward to seeing the both race Butterfly (and I guess a few other strokes, too!) in just a few weeks. —Coach Paige
Bee Cave: Oliver Ward
This has been some weeks coming, as Oliver Ward has being putting on a textbook Nitro Clinic! First off, you’d be hard pressed to see him backing off a challenge – whether it’s not wearing fins, or trying to make an interval, I can always count on him going after it. Second, he does this, all while being a positive influence on the rest of his teammates. Friday of last week, served as a good microcosm, of Oliver. The boy was missing teeth (I won’t go into the gory details, but he was kind enough to fill me in, and they were gory! GORY! The stuff of nightmares!), but he still showed up to see if he could kick for the practice. Cut to thirty minutes later, and he is swimming the 400 IM! While that was an inspiring moment, and a good example of his relentless spirit, the picture wouldn’t be complete, unless we pay equal respect to the other side – the fact that he brought reindeer candy canes for the entire group! Very simply, Oli is the kind of kid who not only knows how to work hard, but how to have fun. Whether it’s seeing how high he can jump after practice, or if he can successfully land a cheese touch (obviously my reflexes are on “ninja-cat” levels), he knows how to laugh, and have a good time.. The saying is, “A rising tide lifts all boats”. Oliver Ward, is most certainly a rising tide… Not only for Silver, but for all those around him. It’s the kind of tide, that helps to create and define, why it’s so special to be a part of Nitro. I am just glad to have the ability to coach this young man. No matter how many teeth he has. Great Job Oliver! —Coach Nick
Advanced Silver
Bee Cave:
Will be sent out separately. —Coach Bobby
Gold I & II
CP Gold I:
Will be sent out separately. —Coach Adam
CP Gold II: Santa Claus
Special shout-out to Santa Claus this week! Huge thanks to Santa (and, of course, all the parents who helped him know what swimming gifts to get swimmers). I’ve already heard several stories about swimmers who are super jazzed about receiving brand new caps, goggles, suits, jump ropes, and other exercise equipment. It’s really cool to hear that we’re not just leaving the knowledge at the pool and that Gold II athletes are 100% all-in. Thanks Santa and all families for a great year! —Coach Alex
Bee Cave: Tahlia Burns
Tahlia is new to Gold group this week! I already love working with her quirky personality, but one of the best things that stood out to me about Tahlia was her ability to listen to a stroke correction and immediately show results! I was blown away. Her patience in the water will show big time results as she continues to grow and improve. I look forward to continuing to work with her! —Coach Allison