Zachary Ferguson (TYPHOONS 1)
Zachary Ferguson is a very smiley person. Every day the coaches get asked “How was that?” Zach is always looking to improve his strokes, and has been working hard to put more effort in pushing himself to go faster. His favorite events are the 50 free and the 100 IM, because he’s fast at freestyle and the IM’s are fun! We could not agree more Zach! When preparing for a meet, what do you do? “I eat good food, I listen to good music, I pick up my stuff, and I get pumped!” Sounds fantastic! Swimmers should always be pumped to jump in the pool. What is the most challenging part about being a swimmer? “Making the commitment to swim all the time.” Very true, Zach. It takes planning, dedication, and a drive to be better every day to make the commitment to be a full time swimmer. Keep up the good work man! What are some things you like about being part of Blue Waves? “How we use the blocks, we each have nicknames (courtesy of Coach Andrew I’m sure), we do dryland, and the coaches are nice!” It all sounds good Zach! What are some goals you are looking to achieve this year? “Getting stronger and faster – I want to do that goal so I can play football better.”
Anne Alcarese (GREEN Crest 2) 
Anne Alcarese is a swimmer who is always working hard to perfect her strokes. She is consistently questioning the coaches about drills and sets, making sure that she not only understands the set itself, but the purpose of the set. She is always pushing herself to go further, and is also very positive! So Anne, what has been your favorite meet this year? “The Virginia Tech meet, because it was my first non-local swim meet, and because I was not there with my family.” That was a fun meet! It is exciting when you get to travel in swimming. What are your favorite events to swim? “I like swimming the 50’s because I would consider myself more of a sprinter. I also like all the breaststroke events because I love breaststroke!” I am inclined to agree, you’ve done really well with those events. So when you go to these big meets, and take on other breaststrokers, how do you prepare? “I tell myself to be happy, and to wake up because most of my swim meets are in the morning.” Any day you wake up is a good day! What is the most challenging part about being a swimmer? “I think everything about swimming is hard.” Hahaha, well while I do believe that’s true, swimming is also a very rewarding sport. It may be very hard, but with all that effort the results are always very satisfying. What do you like about being on Blue Waves? “I like my coaches and all my teammates.” Yay! I am glad you like us all! That just put a big smile on everyone’s face! Now let’s get serious: swimming, as you say, is a hard sport. What are some goals would like to achieve? “[I would like] to get an A time, and I will do that by really pushing myself in practice.” That is great! As you know, without effort, how can we ever hope to succeed? Keep putting in the effort! Now Anne, we have discussed a lot of things related to swimming, but as we all know, there is a great big world of non-swimming related things out there. What is something we may not know about you? “I have two brothers.” What is your favorite food? “Spaghetti.” Mmm, sounds delish! If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would do? “Give it all to JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).” That is awesome Anne! A great teammate puts others before themselves, and a good leader always sticks to their values. We will have to chat more about that later! Besides planning future philanthropy, what other activities do you do outside swimming? “Play outside with my friends.” Any accomplishments you would like to mention? “I got straight A’s!” Congrats! Glad to hear you are pushing yourself in school too! Last question before I let you get back to being awesome": If you were an animal, what would you be and why? “Shark, because they’re at the top of the food chain and I would be in the ocean always swimming.” That sounds like the place to be! Well Anne, it is always a pleasure. Congrats on being swimmer of the month! High five! “UDDERS!!” Blast! Got me again. Keep up the good work!
Caroline Dailey (GREEN Crest 1)
Caroline Dailey is called Boston. She is called Boston because she came to us from Boston. And there have been multiple other Carolines, so we need to be able to tell all them apart. But Boston is not just another Caroline, and not just another Bostonian. She is an original through and through, who has come to the team with incredible positivity, and great a great team focus. Her favorite event to swim is the 500 freestyle, because, as she says, “I found that I do like swimming longer distances.” That takes a lot of training! Be sure you work hard in practice! Here favorite meet was the first one the team had this year at Claude Moore, because she swam her first batch of long events, including the 100 free. To prepare for swim meets, Caroline makes sure she stretches that morning. It’s good to be loose and limber for swimming! When asked what the most challenging part about being a swimmer is, she replied “The most challenging part about being a swimmer is pushing yourself beyond limits.” That’s very true. Each person has a perceived limit, where they think they can’t get any further. As swimmers, we are learning how to push past limits, and try not to set any for ourselves. One of Caroline’s favorite parts about being on Blue Wave is discussing the Wall of Wisdom before practice. One of her goals for this year is to break the team record in the 50 breaststroke. Keep working hard Caroline! To get to know you better, what is something we might not know about you? “At my previous swim team in Massachusetts, we only swam 25’s in meets until you were 12!” Wow! That is different! Caroline’s favorite food is strawberries and granola bars. If she won the lottery, she would give half to cancer research, and put the other half in her life savings. Good plan Caroline! Besides swimming, Caroline stays active by playing lacrosse for the Ashburn Bandits. She is very proud of her heritage, and even though she has moved to a totally different state, she is happy she has made new friends while staying proud of her roots. And finally, if she were an animal, Caroline would be a dog, because they are loyal and so much fun to be around! Just like Caroline! We are so proud of you Caroline, thank you for your positive attitude and hard work! Congratulations on being Swimmer of the Month!
Maddie Hricik (BLUE Crest)
Maddie Hricik has done an excellent job exemplifying what a true team player should be. She has led both by words and example, encouraging her teammates to push themselves, and then being sure to push herself above and beyond her own limits. She has shown so much improvement this year, and her efforts to become the best version of herself have paid off! Come by the pool any time during Blue Crest practice and you will see! When asked what the most challenging part about being a swimmer is, she answered “My weakness is flutter kicking, which can be easily shown during a warm up at a meet, or during practice.” Like all swimmers, each of us has a part of our strokes that is weaker than the other. Swimmers are often perfectionists, and don’t like it when something isn’t just right, so they focus a lot on trying to improve their weak points. Keep working that kick Maddie! Her favorite meet this year has been the Turkey Claus Meet, “because it was one of the first meets where my aggression came out and I won my first free B-time.” Her favorite events to swim are the 100 and 200 breaststrokes because she loves the boost she gets, and the strong pulls from her body. When preparing for a swim meet, Maddie likes to get herself excited, telling herself “I can do it,” and when driving to the meet she listens to inspirational songs. Get pumped Maddie!! She likes being on Blue Waves because she likes “being able to bond with the coaches and the squad because it helps [her] push [herself] and keep up with different people every season.” Maddie pushes herself very hard when she’s at practice. “One of my biggest goals in life is to get a scholarship in swimming so I can go to the Olympics and get a gold medal. I will try to achieve this goal by making the most out of every practice inside or outside the pool.” Never let an opportunity to be great slip by! Way to go Maddie! Some cool things to know about Maddie is that her favorite food is steamed shrimp with a bit of eastern shore sauce, when she’s not swimming she reads, sings, do core work by dancing, stretch, and listen to her favorite music. If she were an animal, she would be a bottlenose dolphin “because they are absolutely beautiful, very smart and have a massive dolphin kick.” Channel your inner dolphin Maddie! If she won the lottery, she would go on a two week trip to Hawaii with her best friends. Does that mean all of Blue Waves is going??? Haha, just kidding Maddie! Outside swimming, what’s an accomplishment you are proud of? “I’m very proud of myself for facing my fear of roller coasters at Universal Studios back in November.” What’s something we may not know about you? “One thing some people don’t know about me is that my dad was a first responder to the Pentagon on 9/11 when I was nine days old.” Be sure and thank you dad for us Maddie! To be a great swimmer, as well as a great person, we need to be dedicated, and willing to take risks for the betterment of ourselves and everyone around us. Keep up the amazing work Maddie! Congrats on swimmer of the month!
No comments:
Post a Comment