Swimmers of the Week for September 24-29, 2012
Intro to Nitro
Cedar Park:Daria Kurtaljevic – Daria has been an excellent demonstrator for her class many times over. She is quite but is never afraid to show the group the proper way to do a certain skill. She is becoming g a very good swimmer with all the great characteristics of a leader in the making! Keep up the great work Daria!!
Bee Cave:Grady O & Chili Sayre– Both of these boys showed excellent listening skills this week. Our focus this week was Breaststroke. The hardest part of the Breaststroke is getting the kick down consistently enough to move one forward instead of just up. Grady and Chili put our drills to good use and transferred their learning to perfect the kick and get the timing down with the arms. They both started off with a mediocre breaststroke kick and by the end of the week they both have close to the best in all of my classes. Grady is an excellent student always asking the smart questions, and very eager to learn. Chili always has a smile in his face and is a blast to have in the class. Keep up the great work!
Bronze
Cedar Park: Mohit Lele– Mohit has demonstrated great improvement in his skills not just this week but over the past several weeks. He is truly deserving of becoming the Swimmer of the Week and all the coaches are looking forward to his continued improvement. Always super friendly not his fellow swimmers and to his coaches.
Bee Cave:Jake Anderson V– Jake has taken strides this week in his leadership and drive. It was a pleasure to see Jake leading his lane and pushing himself to pay close attention to what each coaches instruction, whether personal or for the group. He has definitely earned this reward by showing dedication and commitment to being a better athlete. We look forward to Jake’s progress as the season continues and predict much success with his positive mentality and eagerness to get a little better each day.
Technique and Fitness
Cedar Park:Mihika Birminal & Mark Nardone – Mihika really worked on her breathing for freestyle this past week. We could see a noticeable difference. Awesome job Mihika. Mark is a fairly new swimmer with us. Like his last name, Nardone, Mark knows how to come to the pool, and get the JOB DONE. Great job you two, thanks for being a part of NITRO, and we’ll see you at the pool.
Bee Cave:Davis Lee– Coming into practice each week, Davis always has a focused attitude in the pool. With all the distractions that do occur, Davis remains focused throughout the entire sixty minute practice. Coaches are starting to recognize his hard work. His hard work has transformed him into quite the leader for our TF group. Keep up the great work Davis!
Silver
Cedar Park:Beatrice Hoang– Beatrice is the strong silent type. A very hard worker and never complains when a tough set it given, she leads her lane as often as possible and puts effort into every single stroke, every kick, every streamline off every wall. A great joy to coach, a great athlete to have as a part of Nitro, keep it up Beatrice and you will go so far!
Bee Cave: Avery Kalsuis the BC Silver swimmer of the week, nothing but smiles out of Avery at every practice this week, with a head down, drive to the finish attitude at the end of every swim on every set. And guess what? At the Red & Black meet on Saturday she put smiles on all the coaches watching! Congratulations, well done!!
Advanced Silver:
Cedar Park:Sophie Szabo– Sophie has shown great improvements in practice over the last few weeks, and is now able to make intervals that she was not able to in the past. Great job Sophie and keep up the good work!
Bee Cave: Khoa Nguyen- Khoa lets his swimming do the talking for him, not his verbal actions. He approached me during one of our main sets this week and asked to do it :15 faster. I admired his challenge and let him do it. He is making giant strides in the sense of his freestyle intensity. Keep it up Khoa.
Gold
Cedar Park: Addy Armistead & Sydney Stoner– Addy has had an amazing week of training and it has led to a very successful first swim meet at Red vs. Black. 100% time improvement for Addy and not just a few hundreds of a second, several seconds every single time she jumped in the pool. Sydney also amazing meet this weekend, she had a breakout this weekend. She earned several A cuts. Very proud of both of these young ladies, as well as all the Gold swimmers who participated this weekend in not just the meet but also in the T-shirt decorating coming together as a team and making this first swim meet lots of fun for all.
Bee Cave: Gold BC SOW, We have five swimmers of the week at Bee Cave. These individuals understand what it is to sacrifice, train, and focus. All five were at the Saturday practice, and all five attended the Red & Black meet later that day, no rest needed. If anything they were better warmed up and ready to swim, allowing the coaches a true look at where we are with their training! Congratulations to Grant Barney, Luke Barney, Brian Li, Gavin Moak, and Reaghan Piotrowski.
Swimmer of the Month for September 2012:
Cedar Park
High School Training:Lauren Jones – Lauren has been hard at work during every practice, including dry-land. She comes to practice ready for a challenge. Listening to the sets and pushing herself to achieve the best she can. Keep up the great work Lauren, it will be exciting g to see you swim this season!!! Also shout out to all the High School Training swimmers who competed in the Red vs. Black for the Cure, so proud of each of your performances this weekend!!
TAGS 2: Michael Shay. Michael rarely misses a practice, is a lot of fun to be around, and makes his group better by being there. He also is one of our hardest, most consistent workers. Keep it up Michael!
TAGS 1: Renee Jacops. Renee is a consistent hard worker, she listens to her coaches and responds very well to feedback on her technique. She is a joy to coach and we’re looking forward to seeing what else is in store for Renee.
Senior: Hannah Pierce. Hannah is committed as ever to her swimming goals, is one of our group’s hardest workers, and should be in for a pretty enjoyable season as a result of that. The coaches enjoy having her in the group, and are looking forward to some very good things for Hannah.
Sectional: Aaron O’Neil & Alex Manasso– Both of these swimmers had 100 % attendance for the month of September, despite Aaron’s injury to his foot. With both of these Sectional swimmers it goes beyond just being at practice. They both give something beyond 100 % in effort every single day and always lead through example. The last thing I would like to say is that both show up every day with a smile on their face and a great attitude toward their workout. As a coach I also have to be 100% prepared because I know both these swimmers will “SHOW UP”.
Bee Cave
High School Training:Colton Larson– Colton has already emerged as the group leader through his continuous actions in the water. Colton’s energy in the water lifts up the whole team. Suddenly everyone is working harder and challenging themselves to be better. Colton is quick to smile, eager to improve, and comes to practice because he really wants to be there. He is a joy to have around. Keep up the excellent work.
TAGS:Matthew Hammond– Matt has enjoyed a great month in terms of health and it has showed in his improved consistency in practice. Matt had a nice start to the season at the Red vs. Black meet, highlighting the first step for Matt after overcoming many health challenges the past year. Way to go Matt and keep it up!
Senior:Kaitlin Lunt– Since I have taken the lead on our Senior group, Kaitlin has not missed one single practice. On my most days she is the first one in the pool for warm up. Her “can do, will do” attitude has shown her become our clear leader in our growing Senior group. She holds herself and everyone at practice accountable for following proper intervals. With adjustments being made every day at practice, her technique is forming into something special. With patience her success will be due at the right time. I’m very proud and fortunate to be your coach. Keep up the great work Kaitlin, great things are in store for you.
Sectional:Sutton Mayes – Sutton has started the season with a newfound commitment to fine-tuning his technique & kick and early indications at the Red vs. Black meet have proved this commitment already starting to pay off. In addition, Sutton’s daily enthusiasm for the sport is welcomed all the time. Congrats!
Bee Cave/Cedar Park: National Group— Abby Artmann and Karling Hemstreet.Abby and Karling win the award for the month by demonstrating tremendous leadership as well as volunteerism for the team in attending the Saturday session of the Red/Black meet this past weekend and helping younger swimmers learn the meet process as well as lead cheers. This is the example we want set for the year as we have stated our group goal is TEAM first this season. Great job by Abby and Karli in giving up a free day and setting the bar for the team this season! By the way…both Abby and Karling went on to win events at the Sunday session of the Red/Black meet as well.