March Athlete of the Month – Morning – Emma Fox

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Emma, age 16, started synchro at age 7 at the Burlington Synchronized Swimming Club, spent one year in recreational, two years provincial and then moved to national at age 10, continuing until she moved to OSSC at age 13 for one year. Then she swam at the Regional Training Centre for a year before joining the joint club team of BOSSC (Burlington Olympium Synchronized Swimming Club.) Her goals are to qualify for the Junior National Team or Provincial Team, and after that, qualify for the Senior National Team. Emma says, “what I love about the sport is that it has taught me so many important life skills for the future. My coaches have taught me things like working hard, having a positive attitude, working as part of a team, and most importantly, being respectful.” Outside of synchro Emma enjoys traveling with her family.

Her coach, Kerri Morgan, sited three things about Emma, her effort, her leadership and some outstanding results. At the Canadian Qualifier in Quebec City, a nation-wide event, Emma placed 10th in Junior figures, 13th in Junior duet, 7th in Junior team and 4th in Senior Team. Coach Kerri says, “the best way to describe Emma is coachable! She takes corrections well, works hard, has a great sense of humour, a fabulous laugh and she is a great leader to both her teammates and to younger club mates.”

 

Athlete of the Month (Morning) is Sierra Motzek

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Sierra

Our Morning Athlete of the Month is Sierra Motzek. Congratulations!

This is Sierra’s 7th year in synchro. Currently a member of the BOSSC Junior Team, she started in the recreational program; then swam in a pre-competitive program; then on to Provincial competitive for 12 under, and two consecutive years in 13-15 provincial. This is her second year in National stream.

Sierra likes synchro because as a team sport she gets to know her teammates and coaches very well. She has many great friendships that started in synchro. Sierra is excited to go swimming every morning because she loves to see her strength, endurance and creativity increase. Her other interests include drawing and visual arts, history, as well as English. She hopes to pursue her career in one of these fields.

Her coach, Kerri Morgan says, “Sierra is a fantastic addition to the junior program at OSSC. She is the strong silent type – always working hard but never making a scene about it. Her quiet, strong work ethic has led to amazing improvements already this season. She is a pleasure to coach and an asset to her team. I am looking forward to watching her compete at our upcoming meets!”

October Athlete of the Month (Morning) is Olesia Astashlova

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Our October Morning Athlete of the month is Olesia Astashlova! Congratulations Olesia!

Olesia, a member of the 11-12 FINA Team, came into the HP program this season with just one year’s experience in OSSC’s pre-provincial program and prior to that a year in the recreational program. Already, she has shown so much improvement in all areas including her stroke technique, endurance, flexibility, ballet and synchro techniques. She brings a positive attitude toward her training and her unique sense of humor to each practice.

Her coach, Julie, says that “Olesia’s amusing facial expressions when she makes an error in the routine keeps a smile on my face!” She has been assigned the roles of Hydration & Focus Leader for her team. She reminds her teammates to always have their water bottles filled and nearby and reminds them to always focus on the task at hand.

Francesca Swimmer of the Month Morning

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Morning – Francesca Seed

Francesca has been hitting the pool since she was 6 months old. However, much to her dismay she had to wait a few years till she could try out for synchro! Finally, she joined the sport at age 5 in OSSC’s Recreational program. Within a year she was competing at the Provincial level and four years later joined the High Performance Program with Hollycrest. She is coming to the end of her first year there in Grade 6 and is loving every minute – both in the pool and in school!  Franny – as she’s known to her OSSC friends – loves being part of her team; she also loves participating in other sports, as a member of the Hollycrest volleyball girls and co-ed teams as well as the track and field team for 4 x 100 relay and running long jump. When not engaged in her athletic passions, she’s taking care of her dogs – Dachshund Libby, Great Dane Sadie Joh – and her chameleon Elliot, Turtle Heidi and numerous tropical fish.

Says coach Julie Thaden: “Francesca is the most consistent in her attendance; she has gotten more serious about her training in recent months and it shows in her performance. She just made phase 3 of Provincial Team Trials due to many recent improvements in her skills. She also shows good leadership skills when asked to lead her teammates in a task. Francesca is one of the most improved of the FINA 11-12’s, particularly in her extension and flexibility. She also has managed to learn everyone else’s routines!”

Regan Swimmer of the Month Morning

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Morning –Regan Smith

Regan started synchro at 10 years old on the Novice team at Olympium. She loved the music and choreography and the challenge of learning new figures.
The next year Regan joined the 11-12 Provincial team and was hooked aftermaking a lot of great friends on her team. Regan moved to the National highperformance morning program and started at Hollycrest JM school in grade 7. Regan is looking forward to high school next year in the Silverthorn high performance program having been accepted in the enriched math and science streams.
Regan loves all sport and always participates with a positive attitude. On weekends in the winter (when not at synchro) Regan competes in downhill ski racing at the Georgian Peaks Club and enjoys being outside and active with family and friends. Regan has attended GBC summer camp for 6 years, plays tennis and golf, loves doing tricks on the trampoline and enjoys music, reading and anything creative.
Regan began volunteer coaching as part of OSSC’s CIT program in the 2015 season assisting Jenn Knobbs coaching the 10+U Provincial team. Regan is looking forward to getting her Bronze Cross this summer and continuing to develop her leadership skills as a synchro coach.
Coach Steph says:
Regan always arrives to practice with an excellent attitude. She is able to adapt her own style to provide the team with what they need, whether it be someone to calm their nerves, or someone to provide lightness and laughter to a stressful situation. She rises to whatever challenge is presented to her. We can always count on Regan to know the counts to the routine, and she is able to apply corrections in all areas very quickly. Regan demonstrates consistent effort, and has made huge improvements to both her mental and technical skills this season. Congratulations Regan!

Evelyn Morning Swimmer of the Month

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Morning – Evelyn Young

Evelyn started swimming with OSSC at the age of 7 and has had many synchro successes including placing 4th at Espoir with her 11-12 solo and being part of the Synchro Ontario provincial squad during her 10&U and 11-12 years. After three years swimming provincially she moved to High Performance and was a member of the 13-15 team that placed 11th at Espoir in 2015. Evelyn is in her last year of 13-15 and has enjoyed being part of this team and being coached by Elena very much.   Evelyn has volunteered at OSSC for many years and is now Lead Coach for two of OSSC’s introductory programs. She also coaches Lauren’s and Sophie’s 10+U duet which she loves doing and of which she is very proud. Her favourite part of coaching is creating choreography and watching swimmers perform their routines at the water shows.

Evelyn has her bronze medallion award and has completed the Synchro Ontario Trillium Instructor & Swim Synchro Instructor Course. She is looking forward to her 7th year at Pinecrest YMCA camp and her 2nd there as a Leader in training. She graduated Hollycrest Middle School with honors and is now in Grade 9 second semester at Silverthorn Collegiate HP program.   In her downtime Evelyn plays guitar in a band at Bloor West Music Studios, watches PLL, snapchats her friends and is a very popular babysitter.   “Evelyn has been pushing herself to achieve her maximum potential,” says coach Elena Podolsky. “She is motivated and works towards her goals each practice. She has consistently been working on her mental game and shows great improvement in that area. It is clear that she has been putting in extra time and effort both inside of the pool and outside to improve all of her skills, and the extra work is paying off. Ev is a good team player and she has the ability to put her own matters aside and put the needs of the team as whole first.”

Rachel de Leeuw

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Rachel de Leeuw, age 14, is entering her second year in OSSC’s morning high performance program. She is a member of the 13-15 FINA team coached by Steph Breitigam Babin, who nominated her for this award because she is hard-working and showing consistent effort. This work ethic is bringing about continuous improvement in her skills.