Nikhil Godse (TYPHOONS 1) 
Nikhil is a hard working swimmer, who will remind you of Emmet from the Lego Movie. He’s always smiling, listens to direction well, and is quite the engineer of swimming. You might say he is awesome! He has been working very hard to improve his technique, and pushing himself to become better each practice. His positive attitude has been inspiring to the coaches, and he has been extremely dedicated to bettering his technique. We were happy to have Nikhil answer some questions for us, so we as a team could get to know him better. So Nikhil, what has been your favorite meet this season? “The Mini-Champs, because one can earn ribbons and trophies if one performs well.” Something tells me, that one Nikhil swam very well at the meet! What are your favorite events? “Breaststroke and backstroke.” And how do you prepare your strokes for competition? Do you jump in the pool and hope for the best? “I just practice, practice, and practice till I get it right.” Well, that is the best way to do it. Swimmers take a lot of time to perfect their technique. What would you say is the most challenging part about being a swimmer? Besides smelling like chlorine all the time. “You have to practice everyday, even if you’re exhausted at times, to be an excellent swimmer. You have to control eating junky delicious food items to maintain fitness.” Now that is a hard one. Walking past the cookie aisle to the fresh produce section is always a struggle for me. Keep staying mentally strong man! What are some things you like about being on Blue Wave? “There are awesome coaches that help me and guide me in becoming a good swimmer. I just love my team and feel very happy to be a part of it.” Blue Wave is awesome! You know, it’s also cool to be part of a team. A big part of being a swimmer is having a goal in mind. What are some of your goals for this year? “My goal is to learn all the strokes, and be good at them. My other important goal is to swim the 25 yard freestyle in 14 seconds by the end of the season.” Good goals Nikhil! Keep working hard in practice, and you will be there in no time. Now tell us, what is something that your teammates might not know about you? “My passion is to build Legos and puzzles. I have built many 800-1200 pieces Lego structures and have put together a 1000 piece puzzle.” That is, in a word, AWESOME! You sound like a master builder! So, some more about yourself. What is your favorite food? Tacos? “I love to eat pasta and lots of ice cream, it’s my favorite!” Yum yum! What is your favorite movie? “The Pink Panther.” Favorite song? “Burn, by Ellie Goulding.” What do you like to watch, besides swimming? “I like watching soccer, football, and cricket.” I didn’t know they televised cricket! You will have to tell us more about that later. What activities do you like to do outside swimming? “I like soccer practice, watch TV, or build Legos and ride by bike.” You build Legos while riding your bike?? “No, they’re separate.” Well, I have found a new hobby for you! What accomplishments are you most proud of? “I’m going to be a black belt in Tae Kwon Do in June. I was chosen to be part of U8 Academy Soccer program. I have many soccer and Tae Kwon Do trophies. I got an ‘A’ in all subjects in the 3rd quarter in my school. And, I came in 4th in the triathlon organized by Ashburn Village Pavilion last year.” Congratulations! Okay, last question: If you could have any superpower, what would it be? “If I had a superpower, I would like to run like a cheetah so that I can complete a 5K in 3 minutes.” Wow, that is fast! Well keep honing those cheetah skills, and you are certain to improve! Congratulations Nikhil on being Blue Wave Swimmer of the Month!! Keep up the awesome work! #SOTMNikhil
Juliana Vidal (GREEN Crest 2) 
Walk in to any given practice, and Juliana will probably tell you that she is feeling happy. As if the smile on her face didn’t give it away in the first place. Her positive attitude is part of what has set her apart, and helped her improve the most. When a hard set comes around, she doesn’t let it get her down! She has told us time and time again, that she loves swimming, and it makes her super-happy. With this positive attitude, she has been unafraid to push herself physically, and mentally beyond what a lot of kids believe is their ‘limit.’ You can’t put a limit on a good attitude. And Juliana has proved that. Her hard work has helped her become one of the fastest kickers on the team. To help us get to know Juliana, Jules as she is called by the squad, we got to ask her a few questions. So Jules, what has been your favorite meet this year? “The Richmond meet, because we rode in a very nice bus and stayed in a hotel. Also, I swam my first 200 backstroke there.” So I guess you like backstroke? “I like the 200 backstroke, and the 100 IM, because the IM has all the strokes in a simple 100, and the 200 backstroke is just a lot of fun to swim.” I couldn’t agree more! So to prepare for a meet, what do you do? “I make sure to have rested, and have everything I need for the meet. Also, I stretch and eat a good, healthy breakfast.” Great plan! I can picture you giving yourself pep-talks too! Now, many consider swimming to be a very hard sport. It is known that you absolutely love swimming, so what do you find is the most challenging part of the sport? “Talking to my friends who don’t swim about swimming because they don’t understand.” That is very true. Many people don’t get why we swimmers get in a pool almost every day, and work super-hard. But I am sure you can think of a lot of good reasons! Why do you like being a part of Blue Wave? “I like the challenging practices, the awesome coaches, and the fun activities we do as a team.” Those are good reasons. Now I know you’ve been working really hard, and focusing really well on improving all your strokes, as well as pushing yourself physically. What are some goals you have that you want to accomplish? “My goal is to go to JO’s in backstroke. I will achieve this goal by working hard in backstroke and trying not to miss a practice. Also, I will work on pushing off the wall harder.” That is an excellent, and specific goal! Goals are a big part of why swimmers come to the pool so often. We want to accomplish something that seems bigger than us. But we know, that with the right kind of focused hard work, we can become the person that accomplishes those goals. What is something your teammates might not know about you? “That I have been to Peru.” Peru? Cool! Did you eat guinea pig? Never mind, don’t answer that. What is your favorite food? “Mangos and popcorn!” Together? well that sounds like an interesting combination. Oh separate? Well that makes more sense! What kind of movies do you like? “Action packed movies, or anything involving swimming.” Well, besides thinking about it, and doing it, what do you do outside swimming? “I do horseback riding, Odyssey of the Mind, and I go outside with friends.” That sounds cool! Is there anything you have accomplished that you are proud of? It’s cool to brag a bit here. “I helped the Loudoun County Homeless Shelter, I’m going to states for Odyssey of the Mind, and I med a lot of Redskins players after biking 10 miles when I was 9.” Well those are cool! I’m sure you could probably swim 10 miles now, haha. Last question, if you could have any superpower, what would it be? “I would have the power to control water! I would want this power because I would use it in the pool to go faster. Dumping water on people’s heads when they want it would be fun too!” Well, I am very glad you would ask them first before dumping on them, haha. I am sure a lot of swimmers want that power too! Well Jules, thank you for chatting with us! and Congratulations on being a Blue Wave Swimmer of the Month! #SOTMJuliana
