September Swimmers of the Month For Gold Medal Swim Club

Michael Chasson

AG1 Swimmer of the Month: Edward Cai

This month’s Swimmer of the Month goes to Edward Cai, whose hard work, attitude, and leadership have truly stood out. Edward has been putting in the effort to challenge himself to go beyond his comfort zone, signing up for ‘tougher’ events and focusing on improving his weaker strokes during practice. His determination and willingness to take on challenges are a great example for his teammates. Edward is also a great teammate, consistently making an effort to include and encourage new swimmers in the AG1 group, creating an environment where everyone feels supported and motivated. At his most recent meet, all that effort paid off. Edward dropped nearly a full minute across his events, despite moving up to a new age group. His growth as both an athlete and a teammate this season has been incredible to watch. Keep it up, Edward, you’re setting the bar high!

Blue Swimmer of the Month: Ryan Foley.

Congratulations Ryan for being named the Blue swimmer of the month, for September. Ryan's attendance speaks for itself, over 95% attendance in the entire month. She has been a powerhouse in energy, hyping up her teammates as much as she can. Beside the great presence Ryan brings every day, she has been able to translate practice skills to races very well. The stroke improvements and training focus have led to some great drops at the start of our SCY season. Two events I would like to highlight are the 200 Free, dropped from 2:13 to a 2:05, and the 200 IM, dropped from a 2:35 to a 2:24. 

    
Senior 1 Swimmer of the Month: Katie Skarbek 
  
Katie hasn't missed a required workout since the start of the season. The level of discipline she has shown is beyond description, and the results speak for themselves. As freestyle is her best stroke, she has already gone best times in 100, 200 and 500 free. I mentioned this after the first fall meet a few weeks ago, Katie's 500 might be the breakout swim of the year!  Beyond the times she does, she is a fantastic teammate. Helping the people in her lane and around her find a smile, in the short time on the walls. I know the younger members in this group are learning from her ability to stay present and keep the effort up, regardless of how you think you are doing. Thank you for being a great leader, Katie! 
 
Senior 2 Swimmer of the Month: James Thomas
 
James is Senior 2's swimmer of the month for September for his consistent attendance, performances in practices, thoughtful desire for feedback and implementation of feedback over the month of September.  James has one of the highest attendance rates in S2, and also a consistent track record of performances in practice. He has been very thoughtful on how he can implement better underwaters, and the dialog he and I have had regarding underwaters and his dive improvement is something I respect as a coach. Overall, he has taken an interest in a detail and worked to refine it to something we both agree is beneficial for his long-term swimming. This isn't a line-item specifically laid out in sets everyday, but something he has made a detail he will work on more often than not and seek feedback for it within other sets.  
 

AG2 Swimmers of the Month: Medeline Lopez and Felix Nguyen

September

 

Congratulations to our September swimmers of the month Medeline Lopez and Felix Nguyen.  Both swimmers have worked really hard this fall and have continued to improve everyday during practice.  They both have tremendous attitudes and always have smiles on their faces.  Both swimmers had outstanding meets at the Swimtember Invite.  Madeline dropped 14 sec in the 100 free and 17 sec in the 100 breast, while Felix took off 3.2 seconds in his 50 fly, over 4 seconds in the 100 back, and 12 seconds in the 100 breast!  Great job Madeline and Felix!  

Coach Steve Catching Up From the Summer:

July 

 

Xander Campos and Juniper Narus were our July swimmers of the month.  Xander racked up 48 team points at the State Meet including 5 top 10 finishes.  Xander was also a member of the 200 medley relay which finished 3rd and the 200 free relay which finished 2nd!  Juniper swam a beautiful state meet with all perfect swims.  She dropped 30 seconds in her 400 free!  Juniper was a member of several relays including stepping up to swim on a 11-12 relay.  Both swimmers lead by example are great teammates!  Great job Xander and Juniper!

 

August 

 

Attendance is very important in improving as a swimmer.  Each day we work on important drills and sets that we hope will help our swimmers to improve.  For their perfect attendance in August the swimmers of the month are June Bray and Roger Hu!  These two swimmers not only come to practice, they work and are always looking to improve.  This work in August paid off in September where at the meet June dropped 5 sec in the 50 fly, 4 sec in the 50 breast, and 6.5 sec in the 100 breast. Roger dropped 12.3 sec in the 200 free, 6 sec in the 100 free and 6 sec in the 100 fly.  Congratulations June and Roger!