Coach's Corner
THE TSUNAMI SWIMMERS AT THE SUMMER JUNIOR OLYMPICS 2009
The Tsunami Swim Team had 6 swimmers qualified for this year's Summer Junior Olympics held at the Santa Clarita Aquatics Center: John Chu, Nicholas Gott, Ryan Kawaguchi, Julianna Lai, Javier Lopez and Merritt Muter.
All our swimmers performed very well, breaking personal bests and finishing in the top tier of their respective age groups.
Javier Lopez competed in six events and in all of them he made finals and stepped on the winner's stand. He came in 4th in the 50 fly, 5th in the 100 fly & 50 free, 6th in the 50 back & 200 IM and 8th in the 100 free. He is also placed in the Top 16 fastest swimmers in Southern California in 7 events.
Nicholas Gott, just returned from the Maccabi Games where he was the anchoring leg of the USA Junior Medley relay finishing in second place and winning the silver medal. At the Games he also had the chance to swim in the finals for the 50 free. At the Junior Olympics in Santa Clarita he made the Top 16 time standard in the 100 back and finished 11th overall making the consolation finals. He made finals in the 200 back where he finished 7th. He was among the consol finalists in the 100 free finishing close to his best times.
John Chu qualified in 6 events and as a newcomer into the very competitive 11-12 age group he had some fast times advancing in the standings. He had his best times in 50 free, 100 free, 50 breast and 50 fly.
Merritt Muter had an excellent swim in the 50 fly achieving his best time in this event and had a strong 400 free racing in a champion seated heat against very fast swimmers.
Ryan Kawaguchi and Julianna Lai had their first experience at a Junior Olympic meet. Ryan managed to be an alternate for the finals in the 50 breast and also swimming close to his best time in the 100 breast. Julilanna had one of her best times in a long course 50 m backstroke.
In the past couple of years the numbers of our swimmers representing the Tsunamis at the high level of Junior Olympics is growing. Also, they bring glory to our team by making finals and winning medals. Congratulations to all of them.
The Tsunamis will go on a break after their Metro Section Championship which will be held on August 8-9 in Downey. They will resume practices on September 1st.
Gyongyver Sovago
Head Coach
San Marino Tsunamis
Head Coach, Gyongyver Sovago
Contact Information
E-Mail: sovagomedia@earthlink.net
Phone: 626-232-9888
Biography
My American coaching career began in 1983 with the Tandem Swim Club in Culver City. While at Tandem, my swimmers qualified for the Junior Olympics and the Zone. In 1993 I was invited to coach the Tsunami Swim Team. During the past 15 years I have developed All-American swimmers, CIF champions, a U.S. Open qualifier, Junior Olympic finalists and swimmers who place among the Top 16 in Southern California. I have a degree in Sports Sciences from the Sports Institute of Bucharest. I pursued my dream to attend an American University and, in 1987, I graduated from UCLA. While at UCLA, I spent a year studying abroad in Paris, France.
As a child and teenager I was a competitive swimmer in Romania. For 6 years I was a member of the National Team and held several national records and championship titles. My signature event was the 100 freestyle. My mission as a coach is to reach out to the person as a whole while developing them into competitive athletes. My competitive background and professional training allows me to be the best I can be each day on the deck with my Tsunami swimmers.
Assistant Coach, Heather Pearson
Biography
My love for the water began at age five when I learned to swim at my local YMCA. Swimming soon became a daily activity, and throughout my childhood I swam and competed year-round as a member of my local swim team.
I graduated from San Marino High School and San Diego State University. After a long break from swimming to concentrate on school and starting a family, I returned to the pool as an adult. My love for the water was renewed, and I became a competitive swimmer once again, competing as a member of United States Masters Swimming. As a USMS swimmer, I compete around the United States specializing in distance freestyle events. To this day, I continue to swim and compete in both pool and open water races.
I believe that good technique is the basis for fast swimming. As a coach, my goal is to first teach correct technique then to emphasize conditioning, always with an eye toward improving technique. Hopefully my love for swimming will rub off on the Tsunami swimmers I coach.