Fish of the Month: Nicholas Arndt
The qualities coaches look for in athletes include an unquenchable
willingness to learn, fantastic work ethic, and a positive attitude. Our FISH of the Month has demonstrated
these qualities and taken them to a level that has made him a person that we
should all look up to, regardless of his "Mini" stature. I often quote the great Vince Lombardi,
"Practice does not make perfect.
Only perfect practice makes perfect," to emphasize the importance of not
only practice attendance but also, just as significant, practice performance. Nicholas Arndt not only has over 100% practice attendance
but also performs at 100% of his ability at every practice. All of the FISH coaching staff agrees
that he is a joy to coach and we are proud to have him on our team.
A lot of the time I have to remind myself that Nicholas is only 6 years old. I often forget his age because of his maturity at practice. He arrives to every practice prepared with his cap and goggles on. He regularly leads his lane, listening intently to what's next on the Mini menu, and is ready to demonstrate skills for the lower level lanes on a moment's notice. Nicholas started the Mini FISH program last season and has really come a long way in his one year with the team. He started the team with good freestyle and backstroke skills and a good base for butterfly. In that one season, with his hard work and consistent training, he is now legal in all four strokes and now has some of the best underwater dolphin kicks that I have ever seen on a swimmer. In his first meet, the Winter Gator Mini Meet, he cut over 35 seconds total from his personal best times and broke two FISH team records, the 25 Back and 25 Fly, in the process.
The FISH is one of the few teams that offer optional morning practices where swimmers have the opportunity to fine tune weaknesses in their strokes and can even watch themselves swim using our underwater camera. Nicholas attends the extra morning practices regularly and gives his full attention, full effort, and is even full of smiles at 5 am. His dedication and positive attitude have made him a monster in the water and we are really looking forward to his future as a swimmer or whatever challenges he decides to pursue.
