SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month: March

 

 Catfish

Mercerwood Shore Club: Mackenzie Cook

Catfish swimmer MacKenzie Cook, has shown remarkable improvement in her practice performance over the past month.  MacKenzie's improved attention in practice and her hard work and focus on refining her technique has made her a standout this month!

Mt. Rainier: Maliyah Mayers

Maliyah is fairly new to the CF group. She displays how to take feedback from her coaches and implement it. Maliyah has made great progress on her endurance and kick.

Kent/KCAC: Mele Keanini

Mele has been doing great so far in catfish. Being the newest member of the group, she’s embraced the challenges of learning new drills and skills and has been rapidly improving. Great job Mele!

View Ridge: Asher Helmer

Asher has become a leader in his group. He's very mindful of doing drills and skills correctly, and often serves as an example for the rest of the group. He's come such a long way this season, and I have no doubt that he'll be ready for Stroke Development very soon. 

Central/MIBC: Emma Sierra

Emma is the Central Catfish SMACtastic Swimmer of the month for March. Emma has been struggling to get her breaststroke kick down and typically does a scissor kick. I have recently noticed that she has been working hard to focus on doing it right and is now beginning to do it right the first time without reminders. Good job Emma!!! 

Evergreen: Willa Duke

Willa has come a long way regarding confidence, particularly in Backstroke.  She once told me that she can't do Backstroke, and I assured her that she would learn to swim Backstroke little by little.  Now she kicks all out and spins her shoulders.  I can't wait to see her race in long course and summer league soon!  Keep it up, Willa.

Newport: Jun Yu (Lewis) Lin

We are thrilled to celebrate Jun Yu (Lewis) Lin as this month's SMAC-tastic swimmer at Newport! !  Throughout the month, Lewis has consistently displayed exceptional skill, drive, and sportsmanship, both in and out of the pool. His hard work and focus have been evident at every practice, and he continues to inspire his teammates with his efforts! Thank you Lewis for listening to instructions and for setting a positive example for SMAC swim!

Stroke Development

Mercerwood Shore Club: Alex Chinn

Alex Chinn always arrives with a smile on his face and positive attitude. He is a great listener and knows how to follow sets.  It has been a joy watching Alex's steady improvement and increased confidence throughout this swim season.

Mt. Rainier: Olivia Nelson

Olivia has begun to take on a new leadership role in the SD group. She has done a superb job on test sets. Additionally, Olivia provides a fun spirit that keeps the group energized.

Kent/KCAC: Matthew Castaneda

Matthew has shown great effort in improving his technique across all four strokes and also shows a competitive fire in practice and at meets. This work has paid off already, with a 10 second drop in his 100 IM at the last meet. Great job Matthew!

View Ridge: Quinn Baranick

Quinn has been a quiet leader in this group this season. He's always engaged in what we're working on, always paying attention to instructions and intervals, and always conscientious about doing things correctly to the best of his ability. He's become a consistent example to look to in this group, and I couldn't be more proud of that.

Central/MIBC: Sofia Krajcer

Sofia is the Central Stoke Development SMACtastic Swimmer of the month for March. Sofia is relatively new to the SD group and has been having a hard time adjusting to our kick sets. She has continually persevered day-in and day-out. She went from going last in her lane to now one of the leaders in her lane. Good Job Sofia!!!

Evergreen SD 1: Milo Chan

Milo moved up to Stroke Development and immediately started leading a lane.  He always works hard and gives the coaches his undivided attention in practices and meets.  The sky's the limit for swimmers like him.  Keep up the great work, Milo!

Evergreen SD 2: Parker Vandermeulen

Parker has come a long way in terms of being bought into the process.  As the season progresses and he continues to drop time, he is becoming more and more eager to learn.  This proves to me that moving him up to Age Group will result in even more time drops and buy-in. Thank you for working hard, Parker!

 

 

Hailey is the SMACTastic swimmer of the month for the Stroke Development group at Fife. Hailey always challenges herself in practice, and is eager to lead her lane. In the past couple of months, she has made her way to the top of the group. She is always focused, and has made great improvements in the quality and speed of all of her strokes. Hailey has been a swimmer who makes the group better when she’s in it.

Age Group

Mercerwood Shore Club: Titan Reyna

Titan Reyna went out of the 11-12 age group with a bang! He had almost all best times in his final swims as a 12 year old!  The new level of commitment Titan has made in practice shines through, as can be seen in his swim time improvements in his meet results!

Mt. Rainier: Grayson Scarlett 

Grayson exhibited leadership skills by continuously seeking challenges. Due to her fearless attitude, she has made outstanding improvements all around. Grayson enhances the AG MR site with her fearless attitude.

Kent/KCAC: Lucas Bean

Lucas is the Kent AG January SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month. Lucas is extremely coachable, and that has resulted in great improvement throughout the season. It has been a pleasure to see Lucas reach his goals as a result of the changes in technique and practice habits that he has made. Lucas has also become more comfortable with being uncomfortable at practice, leading to great results this month. Congratulations Lucas!

View Ridge: Olive Joshi

Olive really hit her stride in practice this month. She's done an excellent job engaging with the workouts and doing things correctly when doing so isn't necessarily comfortable. I couldn't be more proud of the mental growth she's shown this season.  

Central/MIBC: Nico Chen

Nico is the Central Age Group SMACtastic Swimmer of the month for March. Nico has been working hard since he joined the group. He never gives up and always makes sure he does all the yards no matter what. All of his hard work is beginning to show resulting in earning his first silver time. Good job Nico!!!

Evergreen 11 & Over: Colter Morgan

Colter has been super coachable, improving in all four strokes to the point that Coach Ken came up to me after his 200 IM and said he looks good racing all out!  He did not qualify for Regionals this time around, mainly because his birthday is directly before it, but I am excited to get to work building up to PNS Long Course Champs.  Thank you for the positive energy you bring to practices and meets, Colter!

Evergreen 10 & Under: Elizabeth LeRoy

Elizabeth has been super coachable, especially regarding streamlines.  She dove into her last 200 Free and streamlined half-way across the pool!  She continued to flip and push off with rigid streamlines to the flags for the rest of the race.  She did not qualify for Regionals this time around, but I guarantee she will be scoring points at Regionals next year.  Keep up the great work, Elizabeth!

Age Group Performance

Mt. Rainier: Spencer Farrington

Spencer has excelled in his first year in AGP. He has committed himself to improving his underwater skills off the walls during races, and his commitment to his goals has created exceptional results at the Regionals Championship. Spencer continues to evaluate the group through his personal commitments.

Kent/KCAC: Presley Handly 

Presley is the Kent AGP March SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month. Presley brings a positive attitude to practice every day! The positive attitude Presley brings creates a great environment for swimmers in the group and the coaches. Presley has also shown continued improvement in her training habits that produced great results at March meets. Congratulations Presley!

Central/MIBC: Alena Shao

Over the course of March I have heard from other coaches and her own teammates recognizing the work that Alena has been doing. In March the group started doing peer to peer recognition in the form of shoutouts and Alena has been regularly recognized among her peers for her work ethic, commitment to skills, and leadership she has shown in practice. Alena also had big races in March where she dropped time in back to back meets, took risks in taking her 200s out fast and toughness in holding her pace afterwards, and scored points at Regionals. Congratulations and nice work Alena!

 

Senior

Kent/KCAC: Abbie Snyder

Abbie has been steadily improving from when she first joined the group a few months ago. This improvement stems from her consistent attendance and effort in practice. Her time drop from meet to meet is just the tip of the iceberg as far as what’s to come. Great job Abbie!

Viewridge: Alexis Blume 

Alexis, to use her words, has "locked in" this month. This paid off in a big way at Spring Finale, where she put up a number of best times, including massive personal bests in the 200 IM and 200 back. She's embraced training all the strokes, and I'm so pleased to say that it's paying off for her.

 

Fife: Gus Lucht

 

Gus is the SMACTastic swimmer of the month for the Senior group at Fife. Gus is new to the group and club swimming, and is taking to it very well so far. He has made big strides in learning more about the sport, and each stroke especially breaststroke. Gus has been a great positive influence in the group and is always wanting to challenge himself and race in practice.

For the past three months Maisey has really stepped up her focus in workout.  She’s started making the transition from “doing the workout” to understanding the purpose behind each technical point and set, and using this to actively improve as a swimmer.  This will pay be dividends in the months to come.