Between The Bars
November 04, 2004 | Gymnastics
Nov. 4, 2004
The real deal ...
It's mid-season of our pre-season. Mid-terms are upon us. Sleep deprivation is starting to set in. The novelty of the new team is wearing off. Training continues to get harder. Our team's bodies ebb and flow through aches and pains. Competition season is still a bit too far off to get really excited about. Intrasquads are met with a bizarre combination of excitement and anxiety. All in all, it's a weird time of the season.
However ... our team has been awesome! My hat's off to our student-athletes (actually, I don't wear hats, but you get my meaning). They have worked harder and more efficiently than I can ever remember, especially considering the fact that this is the first year in UCLA gymnastics history that we are training in the mornings. We now train from 8am - 11:00am. Our team has actually been more energetic these past five weeks we've been in school during our training than in the past when we trained in the afternoons. Go figure.
It's a fun time of the year for us coaches because we are in constant discussion trying to figure out the chemistry and dynamics of our new team. It's also great fun for me personally because I'm busy finding floor music and choreographing routines. I have to say, I'm pushing all of them out of their movement comfort zones. I LOVE IT!
A few tidbits of what's happening that's exciting for us: Michelle Selesky has learned a HUGE yurchenko layout full. Lindsey VandenEykel's bars are mesmerising ... literally. Jordan Schwikert twisted her vaults for the first time today ... absolutely beautiful. It's hard to imagine a vault that is really pretty. Hers is. When I saw her first vault I looked at Tasha, who was on bars. Tasha was standing there with a smug look on her face just shaking her head ... she said, "I told you Miss Val... She's amazing."
All in all, this time of the year could be really difficult. I'm so impressed with our athletes that they're getting the job done and having a great time doing it.
Having a great Fall 2004 ~miss val
