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Alex Brown - Alex was one of the few swimmers who dared to
venture the distance (not to mention car crash!) and swam at the
Stockton meet. Making the most of the adventure - and proving
that he is a competitor who loves nothing more than to race - Alex
dropped time in almost all the events he entered! Alex's
natural feel for the water makes it easy for him to take
correction, and it has always been obvious he is quite bright, but
lately in practice he is flexing that cranium muscle by asking all
the right questions. When asked to focus on a certain aspect
of a stroke or change something minor in his stroke technique Alex
asks "Why?" and then really actually listens patiently for the
explanation. As a coach it is wonderful to have a swimmer do
what you say, but extremely rare to have a swimmer who wants to
know the reasoning behind why they should do what you say. I
admire Alex's analytic thinking patterns and think his deeper
understanding of swimming is really starting to show through with
improved stroke technique as well as improved times. Bravo
Alex!
Gabe McDermott
– It sure was tough to pick a Swimmer of the Month for
January. It seems there are a large number of swimmers in my
group who have stepped it up considerably at practice and at meets
lately. So, after thinking about it for a while, I decided
that Gabe McDermott is the one. Gabe has been swimming on our
team for a couple years now and is very talented. Right now he
is trying to make a “sectionalý cut so he can go to
Las Vegas with Coach Mark and Jason Corbett. He’s been
working incredibly hard at practice, but he keeps missing the cut
by hundredths of a second in the 50 and 100 free. This is
where a swimmer’s perseverance is so important. We have
to remember that even after all the hard work and dedication, after
all the pain and sacrifices, we can still fall short of our
goals. The important thing is that we get right back up and
keep trying. I know that Gabe can do this and that he has
become a stronger swimmer and person during his quest for a
sectional cut. Gabe’s last chance is at our very own
EBAT meet. Good Luck, Gabe! You can do it!
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