Mckayla Speaks

Thoughts on Mckayla Maroney's Wednesday Gymcastic interview...

1. First off, though we all knew it was coming, I'm quite sad that we won't see her in competition. I think she really had so much to offer after London. If anyone could nail a triple, it would be her. I teared up a little bit when she said she just the other day was able to tell someone that she wouldn't be in Rio. That's got to be so hard for her. 
2. I was really impressed by the way she spoke. I think because of her other youtube videos that were very teenager, I was expecting something similar. Instead, she sounded very mature and adult. Underneath all of the "likes", she is very well spoken. 
3. The revelations about USAG and the thirty day nonstop pre-London camp...holy cow what? No wonder so many people get hurt before big comps if this is how they train them. And who was given a flashback to Abby Lee Miller of Dance Mom's screaming "Everyone is replaceable!" when Mckayla said no one is ever really on the team until they compete and how she was told she would be replaced if she was too hurt. 
4. The AOGA stuff. It must have been really hard for Mac to speak so honestly about her coaches but I could tell that it was important that she told her full story. There wasn't bitterness to what she was saying at all which was very impressive to me. Still, it really sucks that her coaches "messed her up mentally" like they did. It made me really sad to think of all of the other girls having fun on the bus and Mckayla not being allowed to participate. 
5. I'm so glad she finally feels healthy and it's inane to me that there isn't already a nutritionist working with these girls. And training with injuries as she did, that does so much harm. But at the same time, as she said, the team did achieve their goal. But at what cost? I can't help but wonder if she could still be competing if the methods of training hadn't been so harsh. 
6. The leotard line. Please Mckayla, no pink! I have high hopes for her though, because her leo from 2013 (the ombre peacock one) was really cool. 
7. The music career makes me nervous but I'll be rooting for her. She seems to be going about it in a good way. 

I met Mckayla at 2014 Classics and it was one of the most exciting moments of my life. She was so nice to everyone and she asked to shake MY hand when I got up to get her autograph. I remember telling her that I was rooting for her to make it to Rio. And she said, "I'm going to try my best, I'm going to do it". I could tell then (and backed up by the interview) that her attempt to comeback was serious and she had so much fire! That's what makes me the saddest. But I know she gave it her all and some things just don't work out. I'm glad she is at peace with everything now and I wish her all the best of luck in the future!

Please excuse the scary smiley face but I'm anonymous so it is what it is!

A Tribute to Kyla Ross

I was at the library yesterday, attempting to figure out my school schedule when I decided to check instagram and saw that Kyla Ross had announced her retirement.

I'm really sad about this for the fact that I love Kyla's gymnastics and have always been a big fan. To me, it is so enjoyable to watch an athlete who executes every move so cleanly and has choreographed right down to the fingertips (Tim Dagget once said this, but it's true!). Despite the fact that Kyla wasn't chucking crazy skills, her elegance and superior technique pushed her ahead of a lot of gymnasts who may have had higher start values. I wrote a post about last year, comparing Kyla to Skinner and ended by saying that I think Kyla's clean consistency will pay off in the end. And you know, it did for awhile.

Kyla had so much international success and it all started with the pinnacle of the sport, Olympic gold! From there there were world medals and national medals and other various achievements. Kyla's method of training absolutely paid off for quite awhile. Then this year happened and I think for a lot of gym fans, it was a slow realization that Kyla might not be able to hold out for Rio. It's to know fault of her own, I think her height hurt her a lot and with the extra height came other issues. After bowing out of World's selection, the writing was on the wall. Now Kyla will get to go shine at UCLA where I know she'll do great things.

So yes, like I said at first, I am sad that Kyla will not be in Rio and will never get to try for individual Olympic medals. But on the other hand, I'm happy for her. She's had an amazing career, she will always be remembered. And she got to go out on her own terms. She won't have to be like Vanessa Atler and live with not being named to the team or like certain other people (ahem) who humiliated themselves at the trials. Kyla gets to walk away from Elite gymnastics knowing that she gave it her all and left when it was her time.

I'll never forget Kyla's near perfect beam routine in the AA at last years Worlds or her 2014 floor routine that I loved so much! And getting to watch her compete live at Classics these last two years which was such an honor.

I'll miss you  in Elite gymnastics Kyla but I wish you all the best of luck at UCLA. We will all be watching and rooting for you!