Tampa Bay Aquatics

January was a strange month. One day was 80˚F and the next day was 40˚F. We even started our own Polar Bear Club at the Westchase Swim and Tennis Center. We had 20 brave swimmers fighting the elements on the two coldest days of the year, so far 42˚F one day and 47˚F the next. The pool temperature was between 80˚F and 82˚F, but with no warm showers – yikes! These are motivated young athletes to say the least. Their secret to surviving cold weather practices is to keep moving. Hopefully February will be a little warmer.

Our upcoming meets will be at indoor facilities – hooray! (Even coaches get cold once in a while.) The Florida Junior Olympics will be held at the Long Center in Clearwater. Right now we have seven swimmers qualified; last year we had one. This is one of the fastest meets in the country for 14-and-younger swimmers.

Swimmers of the Month for January are Martha Morrisey for the Age Groupers and Kellan Wallace for the Novice Group. Martha has been juggling orchestra practice and swimming the past few months. As a result, her swim times are improving and she made first chair cello in the Florida Youth Orchestra. Congratulations to Martha! Kellan returned from a three-week visit with his grandfather in South Africa and he has come back ready to go. He is burning up the Novice practices and preparing for his first swim meets.

Way to go, team. We are very proud of all!

We have had several new swimmers try out for the team recently. If you have a youngster with either interest or talent, here’s what we look for when they try out. The Novice Group is for beginning competitive swimmers who should be able to swim freestyle and backstroke. They should also have some idea of how to perform breaststroke and butterfly. The Novice Group is all instructional, aimed at refining swimmers’ competitive techniques.

The Age Groupers are more advanced. They practice for two hours building endurance and improving techniques for faster performances.