March 2014 Swimmer of the Month

 

Molly Kate Graham (TYPHOONS 1)

 Molly Kate Graham (Known as MK to us Blue Wavers!) is a spunky Typhoon with lots of pop, and lots of passion. She has had a fantastic year, and loves coming to practice and to meets. Her favorite meet this year has been the Polar Pentathlon because she swam a lot of best times, and of course, it was fun! Her favorite events to swim is the Individual Medley, “Because you swim all the strokes and I like all the strokes!” When asked how she prepares for a meet, she said to “Eat a good breakfast.” Smart decision MK! A good breakfast can make for a great day, and help you take on any challenges. Molly Kate believes that the most challenging part of being a swimmer is “swimming the last lap of the 50 butterfly.” Her favorite parts of being on Blue Waves are being with her teammates, the coaches are nice, and it is fun! Just like that last lap of the 50 fly, swimming is challenging, but Molly Kate has done well embracing challenges. Her goals for this year are to get more B-times. To achieve this goal she wants to practice more! Besides swimming, Molly Kate likes to practice soccer, and go play at Lake Anna with her cousins and her grandma. Her favorite food is Mac-and-Cheese, and she is very proud of getting good grades this year in school! Good for you MK! When asked what her favorite animal is, she said “A dog. Because they are cute and friendly.” And if she won the lottery, you know what she would do? “Buy a lot of dogs!” Congrats on being swimmer of the month MK! Keep up the good work!

 

Anna Zapp (GREEN Crest 1)

 Anna Zapp, of the Green Crest squad, is a very driven swimmer! She strongly believes that backstroke flip turns are awesome, and that you should always give 100% at every practice! She brings great energy to the squad, and is always encouraging her teammates to do their best. Her favorite meet this season has been the Spring Champs meet because she bettered most of her old times. Her favorite events to swim are the 50 fly, 50 free, 50 back, 50 breast, and the 1650 free. Just kidding! She is a sprinter all the way, loves sprinting, and one day she may do some long distance free because it is fun and good for conditioning. To prepare for competition, Anna eats healthy and goes to bed early. She believes that the most challenging part about being a swimmer is having to push yourself in the water. Very true Anna, it takes a lot of focus, hard work, and repetition of those good habits to become a mentally strong swimmer. That inner drive that great swimmers have is something they have worked hard to develop. Anna likes being a part of Blue Wave because the coaches push her and they are very supportive. Anna’s goal for the year is to achieve an A-time. She plans to work very hard in practice to achieve that goal. Keep pushing yourself Anna, and you will get it! Something we may not know about Anna is that she REALLY likes to run. She’s a regular road runner (beep beep!). She is very proud of achieving a 24:27 in her 5k run this year Her favorite food is corn beef, and if she won the lottery the first thing she would do is buy a drum set. Probably so she can rock out some awesome jams (BA-DUM, TSSS). When Anna isn’t running or swimming, she likes to jump on her trampoline and watch TV. At the same time?? If possible, yes. If Anna were an animal she would be a monkey, “because they are like humans.” Well Anna, keep working on pushing yourself! Congratulations on receiving Swimmer of the Month!

 

Jackson Lucas (RIP Tide)

Jackson Lucas of yon Rip Tide hath reaped the much coveted reward of being recognized for his good works in yon pool, and upon land. Just a fortnight ago, the young squire made many grand accomplishments at the Junior Olympic Championships, achieving the goals he laid down, early in the autumn season. Now an accomplished knight of the pool, our brave swimmer hath laid down a new goal: to qualify for the Sectional meet. The events in which he takes the most pleasure are the 200 and 500 freestyle, the 200 and 400 IM, and the 200 fly. These events require consistent training, endurance, and strength! All of which this youth is excelling at! Prior to conquest and competition, Jackson hydrates himself (4-5 days prior he begins this regime), eats healthier, and stretches his limbs. Our young knight knows the pressures and challenges that one faces in the heat of battle, and in the churning depths of the water. What he finds to be most challenging is time-management and getting his school work done. This is a challenge which he has embraced, as he has excellent grades, and yon knight has even been bequeathed the title of honor role. Stay devoted to your studies young sir! This young knight enjoys being part of the Blue Wave Kingdom because of his friends, the coaches, and the travel meets that other teams do not do. Apart from rescuing damsels, slaying 200 butterflies, and conquering dragons, Jackson also enjoys wakeboarding during the summer months, and hanging out with his mates. His favorite food is apples (does that include apple sauce?), and if he won the lottery he would build a new pool facility to swim in. And finally, if our magnificent Sir Jackson were to become an animal, he would be a fish, so he may make the water his permanent kingdom. May honor flow upon your house and family Jackson! Best of luck!

February 2014 Swimmer of the Month

 

Katie Park (GREEN Crest 2)

 Katie Park, hi, and welcome to Blue Waves! Your fame has spread throughout the team as someone who is reliable, hard working, and positively enthusiastic about swimming! Thank you for answering a few questions for us adoring fans! Firstly, what has been your favorite meet thus far this season? “The Spring Championship meet, because I went faster in all my events, and got an A time in backstroke.” Congratulations! That is quite the achievement! So I am assuming you like to swim backstroke? Anything else? “My favorite events are 100 fly, 100 back, and 50 back, because I love backstroke and butterfly. Also, I seem to get faster every time I swim them in a meet.” That is awesome! You must be working very hard in practice. What is the most challenging part about being a swimmer? “I think the most challenging part about being a swimmer is trying to focus all your training at the meet and not forget it. It can change you from being first or second.” That is very true. With the sport of swimming, you need to train in practice the way you want to swim in a meet. What do you do to prepare for a meet? “I try to get to sleep early, 7:00pm, and try to relax.” Being relaxed is very important. It helps you stay less stressed, and more focused on your goals. What are some of your goals for this year? “One of my goals is to make sure I kick in my back, free, and fly. I will achieve this by trying to make it a habit and I will slowly get used to it.” Very clever! It is important to use practice to make good habits. What do you like about being on Blue Wave? “I like being on Blue Wave because I have improved my stroke and built up my confidence.” Yay! That is awesome to hear! I am glad you are having fun. Swimming aside, what are some things we might not know about you? “I play the piano and love movies!!” Well who doesn’t love a good movie? What is your favorite food? “My favorite food is marble cake with mixed fruit filling and whipped icing. I will not eat ANY cake that has butter cream icing.” Hahaha, well thank you for making me really want some cake now! So besides eat cake, what else do you like to do? “I like to play piano, draw, make box houses, ride my bike, and explore nature.” Well that sounds like fun! If you won the lottery, what would you do? “I would first leave some for college, and then give the rest to my family, who helped me so much.” Families are important. It is good to have the support from your family so you can continue to chase your dreams, and accomplish great things! What else have you done outside of swimming that you are proud of? “In fourth grade, I made it to the school geography bee!” Cool! So if I asked you what the capitol of Mongolia was, would you know it? Just kidding! Final question: If you were an animal, what would you be and why? “I would like to be a phoenix or dragon (fantasy), or a narwhal (real). These amazing creatures are spectacular to look at, and are clever and ferocious!” Well Katie they sound just like you when you swim! Thank you so much for the insight into yourself! And congrats on being Swimmer of the Month! Keep swimming ferociously!!

 

Caroline Layne (GREEN Crest)

Caroline Layne has an ocean of personality. She brings energy and spunk wherever she goes. She is always supportive of her teammates, and is great at looking out for their interests. We are very happy to have her as a swimmer of the month! When we asked Caroline to tell us a bit about herself, she was in no way at a loss for words. So Caroline, what has been your favorite swim meet? “My favorite swim meet was last summer on Stone Ridge because I was with my friends and I got to swim the National Anthem.” Well how does that work? Apparently one gets to carry the flag across the pool. Cool. What is your favorite event? “My favorite event is the 50 breaststroke and 100 breaststroke, because it is my favorite stroke.” One might say you make the competition croak! Or, breaststroke helps you win ribbits, excuse me, ribbons. How do you best prepare for a meet? Doing frog jumps? “I get ready for a meet by stretching, resting, and saving my energy.” Smart choices. Frogs need plenty of energy to leap across ponds. Speaking of leaps, what is the most challenging part about being a swimmer? “The cramps after long hard swims.” Sounds like you need to cut down on the flies, and eat more bananas and drink plenty of water! What do you like about being on Blue Waves? “All the friends and the fun things we do, like bowling!” Do you have any goals this season? “My goal was to make swimmer of the month, and I did that by working hard in practice.” Well, not just that, you are also a great teammate. Keep up the good work in practice! What is something your teammates might not know about you? Are you secretly a frog? “I have a grandma who is a swim coach!” Well then! Swimming must run in the family! What is your favorite food? “Pasta with parmesan cheese and broccoli!” That is amazing, I don’t think I have met a swimmer who has broccoli as part of their favorite foods! What other stuff do we not know about you? “I go horseback ridding and basketball, I have gotten honor role for all three quarters thus far, and if I were an animal I would be a cheetah because I could go really fast.” That is hopping cool Caroline! Last question: what would you do if you won the lottery? “The thing I would do first is scream and buy a house in Chapel Hill North Carolina.” That is a beautiful city! Keep up the awesome work Caroline, and congratulations on being swimmer of the month!