March 4, 2011

By Lauren Seligman

Skill

is a hybrid of knowledge, execution, timing, and agility. In order to be skilled, we must know the fundamentals of our trade and be capable of paying attention to details. We must be mentally and physically prepared in order to reach our peak skill level.

Freshman Sydney Sawa has been making her way into the lineup all season long. She won the all-around and floor titles on Feb. 21 at Pauley Pavilion and put up a huge 9.9 on floor to take second in the Bruin's meet last weekend. Syd's consistency reflects her work ethic inside the gym and willingness to do whatever it takes. Here's what she had to say in a quick Q&A:

Q: You've had your first true home meet at UCLA now. How did it compare to competing on the road?
A: Starting out the season with consecutive away meets, made myself and the rest of the freshmen not really know what to expect. Competing away was pretty exciting, but everybody was always talking about how home meets were so much more fun. I never really realized how much it made a difference until the weekend of our first true home meet. Having an entire crowd cheering on the Bruins gave the team such a natural energy that was contagious. Competing in Pauley is probably my favorite thing right now.

Q: Do you prepare for competitions differently in college than you did on the Canadian National Team?
A: I've always visualized. The coaches really encourage it in practice and at meets, which I think contributes a lot to calm confidence. Pre-meet in college is so much different than preparing for a meet in Elite. I used to get really stressed and worked up before the competition, usually keeping to myself. Now, we play loud music and dance in the locker room. We just have fun, keeping me more relaxed, which translates into the meet.

Q: What is your favorite skill to compete and what is the most unique skill that you've ever trained?
A: My favorite skill to compete is probably a Hindorff on bars. I like when the crowd gets anxious every time someone does a release. One of the most unique skills I have ever trained was a Shushunova on bars. I'm not going to lie, it was really hard. I never got to spend a whole lot of time on it, but I still think it's pretty cool.

Q: Were there any skills you trained in club that took you a while to learn? How did you keep from getting discouraged?
A: It took me a really long time to learn twisting on floor. I always got lost in the air and would land in the most awkward positions. I finally figured out my air-awareness by going back to the basics and making sure I could do all of the drills perfectly.

Q: Do you have any skill upgrades in mind for NCAA's this year?
A: I think right now I've finally gotten into my "groove" with my routines. A huge part of college gymnastics is being confident with your routines and knowing that you are going to hit every time. I still have tons of room for improvement, so I think sticking with the skills I have now, and being to execute them to perfection is my main goal.

Q: What is your favorite part of living in LA?
A: The warm weather! I'm not used to being able to wear shorts all year-round, so I love waking up in the morning and putting on just one layer of clothing in the winter. Also, just the fact that it's LA...beaches..sun...celebrity sightings..it's pretty legit.

Q: Have you declared a major?
A: I have not declared a major yet. To be honest, I have no idea what I want to do. However, I DO know that I don't want to be a history major.