SMACtastic Swimmers: September

Each month a swimmer will be recognized for demonstrating positive traits that make both them and the group better.  It’s possible that not every group will have a SMACtastic swimmer every month.  This month we’d like to recognize the following swimmers:

Natalie Sui:                       Stroke Development Newport

Natalie has perfect attendance and always comes to practice prepared to listen and learn. She can always be counted on to lead her lane by example, and she goes a step further by helping explain the set or drill to those in her lane who missed a detail. She has a voracious appetite for feedback, and her influence has been great for the new swimmers at Newport. 

Andy Tran                          AGP Kent

Andy has joined Age Group Performance this season and his first month has made an incredible adjustment to the group. Andy has 100% attendance for the month and shown great effort in each and every practice. Andy is always listening to feedback and making the necessary changes, always with a great attitude. I expect to see great performances from Andy this season. Congratulations Andy!

Zelda Smith                       Age Group Kent

Zelda has recently joined the group and has quickly become a leader in the group by example. Zelda continues to gain confidence, as she takes on challenges at practice, that will lead to significant improvement. I greatly appreciate the way that Zelda takes feedback and incorporates changes. Congratulations Zelda!

Alyson Yu                           Senior Evergreen

Alyson comes to practice consistently and communicates proactively if she must miss a day. In practice, she holds herself to a high standard, where we're working on drills or completing a tough aerobic set. Most importantly, she listens and asks good questions before we start a set so she can understand the intention behind it and get the most out of every practice.

Addy Derksen-Schrock Age Group Central

Addy consistently comes to practice, gives her full effort on challenging things, and uplifts those around her in a quiet but powerful way. She focuses on small details in her technique and listens closely to the coaches. Her consistency, positive attitude, and willingness to push herself make her a better athlete and a supportive teammate. 

Deyo Long                         Stroke Development Central

Deyo comes to each practice ready and engaged to learn. He takes the time to understand a skill, why it matters, and applies it to his swimming. His curiosity and willingness to work through challenges show how invested he is in improving and understanding the sport.

Mihir Jayadev                   Catfish Central

Mihir is a great lane leader and an even better teammate. He comes into each practice ready to learn new skills and always wants to try new challenges. He's always showing he is listening, responds quickly to coaching, and sets a great example for the swimmers around him. His commitment and genuine love for the sport are evident every time he gets in the water.

Ellie Smith                         Age Group Evergreen

Ellie consistently leads by example.  She brings energy and consistency every day, is always early and ready to work - especially on Saturday mornings - and is one of our most dependable Freestyle kickers.  At meets, Ellie is also a confident leader and a wonderful Big Buddy.  Thank you, Ellie, for being coachable, dependable, and for making our team better simply by the way you show up!  

Skylar Mennella              Stroke D Evergreen

Skylar is someone who makes our team better simply by being here.  She brings great attendance, a consistent work ethic, and a willingness to lead.  Skylar is always eager to challenge herself and take the next step.  We are excited to see her continue to build confidence and trust the work she has already put in.  Thank you, Skylar, for being such a dependable teammate and a great example of commitment and leadership!

Grant Dysart                     Catfish Evergreen

Grant has embraced all challenges with enthusiasm!  He’s excited to learn, has already shown great basic mechanics across most strokes, and loves sharing the little successes he discovers along the way - especially those underwater kicks!  Most importantly, Grant is showing us that when you stay curious, work consistently, and celebrate the small wins, success is inevitable.  We’re excited to see where that journey takes you, Grant!

Mulan Kukreja                 Senior Central

Mulan has been a consistent, dependable presence while balancing Senior Central and her high school season. She shows up, puts in the work, and is encouraging her teammates to be better. I’ve really appreciated being able to count on her day after day. Thanks for a strong start to the season, Mulan!

Makai Davidson               Catfish Kent

Makai has started off the new season on a great foot. He is not only a great leader by example - staying on top of sendoffs, demonstrating drills - but also is a great lane mate for his teammates. He makes practices fun for the rest of the group and is inclusive with all of his teammates. Great job Makai!

Mele Keanini                    Stroke Development Kent

Mele has been an outstanding leader to start the season. She willingly demonstrates drills, leads her lane with confidence, and is an inclusive teammate. She continues to refine her strokes and build new skills to keep her development moving forward. Great job Mele!

Zura Chanadiri                 Senior Kent

Zura has started off the season well, showing great attendance and beginning to take steps to refining technique across all four strokes. He has elevated those around him simply by leading by example and working hard at every practice. Great job Zura!

Brayden Monahan          Senior Performance Kent

Brayden has shown great grit, commitment, and an increased attention to detail to begin the season. He has maintained a 100% attendance record throughout the month, pushes himself to his limits during workouts, and has taken ownership over learning new skills and maintaining kick and stroke counts during sets. Great job Brayden!

Nina Wright                      Age Group Mercerwood

Nina is a natural leader and sets a great example for the rest of the group. She’s always willing to step up, help her teammates, and doesn’t hesitate to take charge with closing tasks. She brings such a positive presence to practice and is always looking for ways to help out!

Sophie Badrei                   Stroke Development Mercerwood

Sophie comes to practice every day with a smile and ready to work hard. She’s incredibly motivated, has a great attitude, and is always open to feedback and finding ways to get better. Her positivity and excitement at practice is contagious!

Aiden Zhou                       Catfish Mercerwood

Aiden is a great teammate and friend to everyone in the group. He brings a fun, positive energy to practice while still putting in a great effort and working hard. He also demonstrates active listening when coaches are talking. It’s been great seeing him continue to grow and become more confident at practice!

Lily Lannin                         Age Group View Ridge

Lily has done an incredible job of stepping into the group leader role. She always knows what she's meant to be doing, where she's at in the set, and what's coming next. She also does a fantastic job of listening to instructions for each set, understanding the purpose of what we're doing, and applying herself to the skills she's working on. I couldn't be more excited to watch her race in October.  

Natalie Park                      AGP View Ridge

Natalie has proved to be an excellent addition to the group. She does a great job of processing set instructions and technical feedback and staying focused on what she's meant to be working on. She's a wonderful example of an active listener, and I can't wait to see how this shows up in her races in October.   

Asher McCaslin                Senior View Ridge

Asher comes to practice every day ready to get better at swimming. He's willing to do hard things while also applying technical feedback, and he understands the necessity of doing things correctly when it's most difficult. Asher consistently provides an excellent example of how to succeed in Senior group.    

Jaclyn Dixon                      AGP Central   

Through her actions in practice, Jaclyn has started the season by showing she is ready to take the necessary steps that lead towards development and success. At practice Jaclyn listens, asks questions when necessary, and turns coaching feedback into technical changes. Whether she is leading her lane or swimming on a more challenging interval, Jaclyn holds herself accountable to the goals and expectations I set during practice. Great job Jaclyn!

Dane Bendiksen              National

Dane has attended every offered practice during the first month of the season and has approached training with intentionality. Focusing on improving his underwater travel, he has set goals for himself for the distance traveled, number of kicks, and time of underwater travel. The first part of the season is a great time to start building new habits and Dane has embraced that challenge. Congratulations, Dane!

Ben Wrenholt                   Senior Performance Central

Anyone who has been at SP practice has seen Ben take a giant step forward this season.  Both coaches and swimmers have noticed the consistent high-level effort leading the lane in the middle of the pool.  The build up to this has been taking place for several years now and we’re seeing it in practice daily.  Everyone else will see it soon.

Emily Garcia                      Senior Performance View Ridge

Emily is new to the squad this year, but she quickly established herself as an athlete with excellent stroke technique and especially good underwater breakouts. She recently embraced a huge challenge in our “Schmitty” kick test set this week: by kicking eighty-eight 50’s back on :45, the best test set result I’ve seen in my time at SMAC. Emily’s drive and ambition set the bar high for the squad and reflects her desire to set high standards.

Zachary Zhao                    Stroke Development View Ridge

Zachary has started off this season as the only SD member to make both of the Test sets, an important benchmark for entry into AG. Zachary has great answers to the questions I pose to the squad, he consistently demonstrates very good technique in all four strokes and his

attentiveness and his attendance is exemplary.

Harper Burr                       Catfish View Ridge

Harper is new to the Catfish group, but she has quickly established herself as a leader in the group. She has very good practice attendance, always arrives at View Ridge with a smile, is quickly grasping new stroke drills is showing good command of all four strokes and appears to thrive on racing. We look forward to more good things from Harper in our upcoming meets.

Oliver Bond                       Catfish Fife

Oliver is eager to get in the water and get to work (and tell me what he ate before practice), he sets a great example for the other Catfish swimmers. Every practice he also makes sure that he knows what exactly to focus on and be sure he’s doing everything right, and has been taking feedback well to make the changes he needs to improve. This has Oliver to become a leader this season with the group, with his eyes set firmly on moving to Stroke Development.

Gwen Perales                    Stroke Development Fife

Gwen moved into Stroke Development this year, and has taken very well to it. Gwen always shows up early to practice, ready to get in and tell everyone about what she’s been reading lately. She always knows what the group is working on, and is focused on improving those skills. Since starting this season, she’s especially been able to make improvements to her breaststroke and her flutter kick.

Hattie Martin                    Age Group Fife

Hattie is new to the group this season, and has already taken to becoming our lane 1 leader. Hattie can always be counted on to come to practice with a great attitude and an eagerness to learn, and she’s shown she is ready and able to keep that going through tough practices.  I am very excited to see all of her hard work pay off as the season progresses.

Louis Tsai                           Senior Fife

is new to the group, and has shown that he’s ready to take on much more difficult practices than he’s used to, and to stick with the older boys in the group. Louis is always one of the most focused athletes in the group, he is constantly making sure that he is doing things correctly and stepping up when it’s time to go fast.

Ysabelle Costales             Catfish Mt. Rainier

This is Ysabelle first season with SMAC and has done an amazing job this first month. She is at every practice with a smile on her face. She does an amazing job of listening to directions and applying skills we work on. I am excited to see how this season goes for Ysabelle. 

Noe Korst                          Mt. Rainier Stroke Development

Noe has done an amazing job to start out the season.  She has become such a great group leader.  Leading by example and demonstrating great leadership skills.  

Joey Rinker                       Mt. Rainier Age Group

Joey has come in this season with an amazing outlook and motivation for the season.  Joey has done a great job of not just being a lane leader, but a group leader.  Showing the group what it takes to be successful.  I am looking forward to a great season for Joey.

Wyatt Stevenson             Mt. Rainier Age Group Performance

Wyatt has taken a giant step forward in his development.  He comes to practice everyday with the purpose and idea of how do I become a better swimmer.  He has taken the skill work and applied them on a daily basis in all things he does, and you have seen the attention to details payoff.  This will be a very fun season for Wyatt as he continues this positive attitude.