Intro to Nitro
Cedar Park: Lina Espinosa and Lilian Chau
Lina was sidelined for a while with a broken ankle, but I’m happy to report she is back and better than ever. I have been impressed every week since she got back in the pool. This week she looked super strong. We’ve been taking it easy not using a fin on her weak foot, but on Saturday what impressed me was how FAST she was kicking during our warmup. Awesome effort. I’m so glad you’re back at practice, Lina–keep it up!
Lily has been deserving of a Swimmer of the Week for a long time. She’s been swimming with Intro since September, and I think she has picked up just about every single cue I have ever asked. The intro groups are great at underwater streamlines….as long as you remind them(!) but Lily is one I can always count on to streamline without being told. She was also a brave soul who tried breathing every 5 on a freestyle lap this week! Way to go Lily! —Coach Lindsay
Bee Cave: Asa Sundstrom
Whoa! This small but mighty young lady was born to swim. Asa joined Intro only a couple months ago, but everything I’ve thrown at her, she’s crushed! Her technique is exquisite; I am constantly impressed by the amount of water she grabs with her pull and kick. Asa’s freestyle is relaxed and efficient; her head position is low, her breath is quick, and her kick is consistent. This week she demonstrated excellent breaststroke kick followed by a patient glide. Asa is definitely a force to be reckoned with! Way to go cutie! Keep it up! —Coach Raven
Technique and Fitness
Cedar Park: Ariana Rodriguez and How-Wei
Oh. AWESOME job you two this past week regarding our breaststroke swimming. Nice job keeping a good sharp kick and the timing of when to breathe. Fantastic job with a sharp and efficient pull with the arms. Keep it low and forward rather than up and down. Great job and thanks for being a part of the Nitro family and we’ll see you at the pool. —Coach Stephen
Bee Cave: Tanvi Thandri
Tanvi rocked it this week! I don’t think anyone displayed as much patience as her while gliding in breaststroke. Not only that, but she was able to keep her arms fully extended and her head down below her arms, too! It was incredible. Tanvi has been working so hard lately, and she certainly deserves this SOW. While others were still more concerned about feeling comfortable in the water, or going fast, Tanvi was one of the only swimmers who dared to slow down and try something outside her comfort zone. Which is also why she improved more this week than anyone else. Besides her expert swimming abilities, Tanvi is a sweet young lady with the utmost integrity. She’s humble, gracious, and encouraging. It’s a lethal combination seldom found in today’s youth. Tanvi is every coach’s dream — I never plan on waking up 🙂 —Coach Jonny
Bronze
Cedar Park: Reese Stoner
Reese has had some great practices the last few weeks as Bronze worked on flip turns. Reese showed consistent approaches on her freestyle flip turns, kept the tuck tight, and was on too of her stroke counts for backstroke. At the Valentine’s meet at Bee Cave, Reese blew me away with her speed, racing and beating kids much bigger than her! Even though she had one little slip up, I was impressed every time she hit the water. Awesome job Reese! —Coach Adam
Bee Cave: John Garvish
Great to see a young swimmer make a big change in his bodyline, everything falls into place just for a moment, but the old stroke comes back, but the head drops again, and there is that good bodyline we been trying to achieve. Coaches prompt swimmers all the time, and sometimes we see a change and sometimes it takes more work, we go over what the stroke should look like, we show films, have a demonstration, but the swimmer has to make a change in their feel of the stroke. Changing the feel is hard for an experienced swimmer now making that change when your a young Bronze swimmer becomes something special, now when that swimmer makes that correction without a prompt from the Coach and then maintains it now you have Swimmer of the Week! Great Job Young Man! —Coach Chuck
Silver
Cedar Park: Nidhi Malpani, Amelie Breton, and Fernando Matas
All three of these swimmers swam the 200 Breaststroke for the first time this past weekend and absolutely crushed it! I was very impressed not only with their performance at the meet, but their maturity in the weeks leading up to the meet. These swimmers prepared mentally as well as physically for this event. I am proud to say that these swimmers gave it their all and can’t wait to see what the future holds for them! —Coach Paige
Bee Cave: Sophia Nguyen
Sophia is a little goofball. Just for reference, when coming into the huddle to explain a set, I usually count off to see who made it first, second, third… she comes in, shoots a hand into the air, and says “TACO!”… So… let that influence your framework of how we will address this young lady. I don’t have a specific tale to deliver, but more so, will try to capture what Sophia consistently brings, every single say. So I’ll start with this. Sophia has had weeks of greatness, as well as weeks of learning..Of struggle.. Of Hardship. But simply, you cannot break this girl. So I present to you, the unbreakable tenants, of Sophia.
First, she shows up. Countless times during holidays, our practice turns into a semi private lesson between a few kiddos. Sophia is always one of them. If the apocalypse was starting tomorrow, I’d send out an email to let her know, practice has been cancelled, that way she doesn’t drive her family crazy, demanding some pool time! But yes, showing up, is a mighty step, that many folks, end up skipping.
Second. Work Hard. Don’t Quit. She may not be breaking pool records.. yet…. but I have seen this girl push herself to the limit, and beyond. I have seen her use up every last bit of swim juice, and all but die in the water. I have seen her reach a point of exhaustion.. But I have NEVER seen her quit. There is a mighty fighter within that small frame.. and it’s getting taller every day.
Thirdly, Habits Are A Dance. We each have habits – some good, some… not so good. But in everything we do, we are fine tuning and perfecting those routes of pattern. Sophia has had some STRONG ones over her swim career. Some… really good… some…. well… I think back to her first days, when she’d dive in for the 100 IM… I’d be biting my nails, hoping the judge wouldn’t catch her trying to sneak in BREASTSTROKE kicks on the butterfly!.. But to the point. Each day at practice, we’d go over the new habit. Her little head would nod. She’d push off, and perform it. Perfectly. For a 25. and then. Back to the old! So we’ve developed a type of dance, a ritual of progression, a symbol for two steps forward, one step back, constantly reiterating and repeating the new step forward. And like clockwork, she always listens, and actively applies your words. So without question, she is fighting the habit, working to solidify the new. And once it takes hold, I’ll never have to mention it again.
Fourth, Smile and be Yourself. In a world that demands you both stand out and fit in, it’s refreshing to be around a young lady, who simply, refuses to be anything, but herself. And no matter the weather outside, always with her, comes her SMILE… and on most occasions, one of her ONESIES. Just to keep everyone on high alert, there is an Owl, a Unicorn, and a Dragon.. Just so you know. Between giving foot fives, and asking for more doggie paddle sets, I can simply say.. There is only ONE Sophia. And the world is better for it. Coach Nick is better for it. Nitro is better for it.
She has grown so much in such a short time, and she’s done it in the Sophia way. Now days, when she dives in for the100 IM, I worry less. —Coach Nick
Advanced Silver
Bee Cave: Daniel Minderhout
Daniel tackled his first 200 free and 100 fly at our Valentine’s Day meet this past weekend along with two other events, instead of the 50 free and 50 fly. These longer races taught him a lot about who he is as a swimmer and as a person. Daniel is a natural butterflier, with double-jointed shoulders, which acts as a double edge sword. He has been diligently working on his other strokes, as he seeks to devour whatever challenge lies in front of him. He’s the kind of kid who says “I don’t know” with a smile and gets after it. Keep dreaming, keep grinding, Daniel! —Coach Bobby
Gold I & II
CP Gold I: Aanya Singh
Wow, what a great day of racing Aanya had at the Nitro meet. Each time she hit the water, she swam faster than I could have imagined. Quick off the blocks, turns were on point, and she never let anyone out-race her. It goes down to her efforts in practice, as Aanya leaves it all in the pool. Keep it up Aanya, you are set for a great Long Course season! —Coach Adam
CP Gold II: Abram Rheinheimer
Abe Rheinheimer is someone who loves to do things right. Streamlines, breathing patterns, underwaters, you name it – Abe makes it as perfect as he can. Lately, he’s been working on getting his tempo up and being more aggressive in the water, finding the Hulk to his Bruce Banner. It’s been paying off, as evident this past Saturday when Abe made his first STAGS cut in his 100 backstroke. Congrats, Abe! —Coach Alex
Bee Cave: Michelle Fong
Wowza, this girl came out of nowhere! Well not nowhere, I get to see her natural ability everyday, but man oh man did she rock it this weekend. She hasn’t been able to race very much this season, but she crushed it this weekend! When I explained to her actually how fast she swam, her face lit up and her smile was huge. I love seeing a swimmer light up for the first time and truly seeing the passion for the sport start to develop. Excited for the future! —Coach Allison