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The team is patient from Champs (end of July) to Labor Day for their Awards Banquet, but they always find it's well worth the wait. JJ is so detailed about his selections and puts so very much thought into who he recognizes and for what.
Andrew is simply in his element with swim team, so it's never a surprise that he does well. But what's so neat is that he has won the Most Improved and Coaches' Award multiple times. Newly created this year were his Effort Award (for exactly that---his immense effort---and in three, sometimes four practices a day.). The UVA breast stroke coach observed him during the last week of the season...above water and under water...and said he wouldn't change a single thing about his stroke. Simply said that the child had mastered it:-)
Participation
Meet Attendance
Most Improved 9-10 Boy
(Achieved 5th place in the entire league in breast stroke---probably would have been higher had he been given the opportunity at Champs, but did not compete because his points were needed elsewhere. Best race of the season was a home meet in which 4 of the top 5 ranked breast strokers competed and to the naked eye, it appeared to be a 4-way tie. Hundreds were captivated during this race and the coach/crowd reaction was priceless!)
Effort Award
Coaches' Award
Leadership Award
These three awards go hand-in-hand for Andrew. He voluntarily does 2-4 practices/day and focuses the entire time, giving everything he's got. He's also an amazing supporter to his teammates and gives them every ounce of encouragement he can muster.
Participation
Meet Attendance
Most Improved 7-8 Girl
(blitzing down in free and fly, also started doing 25 no-breathers!)
Most Valuable Swimmer
(high point scorer for the season)
Meet Performance Award
(as a 7-yr-old, placed 2nd among all 7-8 girls in butterfly)
Matthew was bouncing all over the place and they don't do all of these various categories for 6 and under, but he was sufficiently proud for being the fastest 5-yr-old in the entire league - what a joy to see him compete this summer, finally!
Too many to count = too many memories to recount.
Personalized water bottles, certificates, medals and ribbons galore.
Pros and Cons.
They are PROUD, and should be.
They work seriously hard all summer long.
As if he hadn't accomplished enough during the season, the end of the summer was Matthew's time to master his front flip. Nope, the others haven't even tried (despite several professional helpers), but Little Man has it down.
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