Swimmer of the Week for October 29th – November 3rd:
Intro to Nitro
Cedar Park:Annabelle Chang– Over the last few months Annabelle has shown a lot of progress in all of her strokes and in her confidence level. She is doing swims and sets that 6 months ago she would not even thought twice about doing. Annabelle always does a great job listening and is quick to remind her lane buddies about underwater push-offs and watching the clock! Way to go Annabelle, keep doing what you are doing!!
Bee Cave:Adriana Klaas– Adriana is an excellent student. She in not only a very good active listener but she also asks the right questions. Adriana works hard at every practice while constantly having a smile on her face. Keep up the great work Adriana!
Bronze
Cedar Park: Maci Currin– Maci has had an amazing week of practices, really working on exact stroke corrections every time the coaches give her feedback. She is about the tallest 9 year old in existence and look forward to what the future in swimming has in store for Maci. Keep up the great work!
Bee Cave:Hannah Ward– Hannah is a swimmer that is fun to coach. Always engaged on what the coach is saying, she ready to learn more. She is ambitious and enthusiastic during practice. Hannah is consistent in her work ethic as well as being a team player. One of the best things about Hannah is she NEVER wants practice to end and says she wish she could stay at the pool all day. We are looking forward to a great, fun future from Hannah. Way to go!
Technique and Fitness
Cedar Park:Ella Baldwin & Quinton Koenig– Ella did an amazing job in the pool this past week. She is coming off of having pneumonia and tried swimming a few weeks ago. She hit a rough patch. This past week she was back to leading her lane, watching the clocks and demonstrating for the group. Nice work. Quinton is really coming along with his technique. There is some definite improvement in his stroke work and it shows. Great job you two, thanks for being a part of NITRO and we’ll see you at the pool.
Bee Cave:Spencer Denton– Spencer has been working very hard in the pool this past week. He is constantly looking for feedback when he swims. His flip turns this past week has really improved. In result, his efficiency in 50’s is outstanding Way to go Spencer! Keep up the great work.
Silver
Cedar Park:Katie Law– Katy is always in a positive mood. Swimming is a difficult sport and if you do not have a good attitude it is a lot more difficult. Katy’s great attitude and hard work at practice paid off this week when she swam the UT meet. She swam the 200IM for the first time and faced it like a champ. No breaths off the walls with strong streamlines and finishes throughout. Great job Katy!!!
Bee Cave:Carter Dean– Carter has been working very hard on improving his butterfly and breaststroke this last week, he is able to apply the corrections that coach Todd and I have been giving him on both strokes which has greatly improved his IM. I can’t wait to see him swim the 200 IM as well as the 100 fly. Keep up the great work Carter!
Advanced Silver
Cedar Park:Avery Chan & Matthew McCartney– Both did a terrific job at the UT meet this weekend checking in with me after their races. Matthew also completed his first 200 yard butterfly swim, one of the toughest races out there. Avery had a great meet, picking up a number of ‘A’ time standards. Great job this weekend!
Bee Cave:Teresa Luo– Teresa may be quiet, but she speaks quite loudly with her actions. Though she has been kicking for the better part of the last month and a half, Teresa put together a strong meet this weekend. Meets are a great opportunity to see how your training is going, have some fun with your friends and challenge yourself “on stage” in some direct competition. I’ve always attacked them with the attitude that, if you train right and prepare yourself, a meet is simply the culmination of your work and concentration at the moment of execution. Teresa is a great example of this mentality. The focus and effort she gives in practice can be seen directly in weekends like this one. Keep up the great work Teresa!
Gold
Cedar Park: Gregory Raper & Anthony Luo– Greg had a really good weekend at UT this weekend really following through on the racing points we talked about and it paid off in a big way in his races. Greg was also the only swimmer who opted out of Trick or Treating to attend practice and this says a lot about his commitment to this sport. Anthony had some really memorable swims this weekend, including but not limited to his 200 Freestyle and his 200 Butterfly. His 200 Free he dropped 16 seconds from a 2:24 to a 2:08 but him among the elite 11 year olds in this event. Keep up your extreme work ethic and great attitude Anthony!
Bee Cave:Annie Halm & Gavin Moak– Annie has been working very hard this week, great focus on turns, and challenged herself in some back and breast swim sets, yet still left the pool after practice with some pretty big smile. On Saturday and Sunday at the UT swim meet she put a big smile on her coach’s face with time drops in almost every swim, with AA times in her 100 free and 50 back, while just missing AA cuts in her 50 breast and 50 fly! Great job Annie keep up the good work. Gavin Has shown great improvement in his focus during practice, he also was able to break through on a difficult IM set, and the improvements he’s made to his breaststroke will certainly pay off the next time he swims the 400 IM. This Sunday he gave us a pleasant surprise in his 200 butterfly dropping 20 seconds, using solid mechanics, and good pacing he held the second 100 within 4 seconds of the first 100. Well done Gavin!
Swimmer of the Month for October 2012:
Cedar Park
High School Training:Morgan Griffith– Morgan has been working hard in and out of the water. At the November Unclassified swim meet this past weekend Morgan took a huge step in his swimming; taking on big swims like the 500 freestyle and the 200 butterfly for the first time. Swimming the 500 freestyle after not feeling the best on Saturday he stayed right with the heat he was in and will likely be swimming it again. As for the 200 fly, he worked hard and now knows what to expect for the next time he swims that! Way to step up the the plate Morgan!
TAGS 1: Nick Milikich– Nick trains very consistently every day and is a great teammate to the other member of the group.
Sectional:Josh Winn & Sammi Sutton– The “Short Dawg” is a “Big Dawg”! Josh has a big work ethic and big goals. Sammi is sitting on the edge of something very special. Just remember I told you so.
Bee Cave:
High School Training: Taylor Main– Taylor is a standout student, who doesn’t just go through the motions of each drill but tries to understand why we are doing each one and puts those lessons into his technique. He is constantly asking for feedback and consistently works hard at every practice. Keep up the great work!
TAGS:Maggie Taylor – Maggie has a tremendous amount of talent & has been leading lanes, going on the fastest intervals, and honing her butterfly. At the UT meet this past month, Maggie was close to getting TAGS cuts and will try again this month at the next UT meet as well as at COR. Maggie is a ‘racer’ and always steps up to meet challenges. Way to go Maggie and keep it up! I see (individual) TAGS cuts in your near future!
Senior:Lisa Dunlap– Lisa’s training in the pool has gone to a new level. She is challenging herself to things she has never done before. Recently she decided to swim the 500 freestyle in this past weekend’s meet. For most it is an intimidating event, she went out there with confidence and owned that race. Lisa held even splits to go a 6:16 in her first time in the event. Looks like she might have a future in this event. She is steadily rising to one of our group leaders in the pool. At times she sets her mind to beat someone during practice, and executes it. Her determination and high energy attitude has coaches’ eyes opening wide. Keep up the great work Lisa! Can’t wait to see what you can do during championship season!
Sectional:Jessica Conrad– Jessica’s training has gone to a whole new level of consistency as she works hard toward Junior National cuts. She started off the season at the past UT meet by making some nice improvements in her butterfly and has proven to be quite competitive on our ‘Friday Night Lights’ stand up racing sets on Fridays! Jessica has a great amount of ‘upside’ and is just now starting to see how her consistent training can help her reach her goals. Congrats on being named Swimmer of the Month and keep up the good work!
National Group:Zach Thomas– Zach has had a super start to his season with very strong training in September and October and that is showing in his meet performances. Zach has improved in all phases from technique and strength, to attendance, and overall training toughness and it has been really fun to watch him take his swimming to new levels. Zach does a great job academically and is truly an embodiment of the phrase “student-athlete”. The entire National Group has taken notice of Zach taking his swimming to new levels and we are all proud of him super signs as he points to Junior Nationals in Orlando this March. Great job Zach…keep it up!
Thanks for being a part of Nitro and we’ll see you at the pools! Coach Mike.