Leaving for the Trials!

The time is finally upon me! I can't believe that the year and a half since I first bough the tickets has gone by so fast!

I have so many hopes for this trip, I just want to experience everything! I've only ever attended the Secret Classic and this is a much bigger deal so I'm prepared to be overwhelmed with gymnastics excitement!

Even though the team is pretty clear at this point, the actual naming and subsequent confetti fest in the arena will be something unforgettable and I can't wait! I also hope to score some more autographs and meet Shannon Miller. It's not such a lofty goal as she'll be there with Hershey's. Chocolate and my favorite gymnast, not a bad combo.

At any rate, I won't be bringing my laptop with me. I'm a writer and I have three and a half books written and saved on this computer so I would probably have a heart attack if my luggage got lost along with my laptop. Truly, I would need medical attention.

So, my ipad will be my sole companion. I may attempt to update little blurbs but I'm not sure. I would like to but I don't know if I'll have time or feel like braving the touch-pad keyboard horror. I do however, promise to extensively write about my time at the Trials upon my return. Expect pictures and fangirling galore. I know everyone will be on the edge of their seats!

Signing off for now! See you all in a few weeks when the Rio team has been confirmed! Crazy stuff!

How Mykayla Skinner Made Me a Fan

You won't have to scroll far on this blog to find that I did not used to like Mykayla Skinner's gymnastics. The skill chucking and bad form just annoyed the crap out of me. I can't lie, I rooted against her. It sounds mean, but I just preferred other athletes who had better technique.

Fast forward to now. Here is what I've realized, Skinner works HARD. She has cleaned up her forms, she does extremely difficult skills and she's managed to stay at this level of gymnastics for the entire quad. She doesn't give up, she's mostly consistent and she's giving it her all for Rio.

Let's just say, that in a world where certain girls don't appear to be giving it their all, both in training and competition, I admire Mykayla Skinner for killing it in the gym and giving her best effort. If she can redeem herself at Trials, I think she deserves a spot in Rio. In fact, I would not mind a team of Aly, Simone, Laurie, Maggie and Skinner. Stock up the all-arounders and we will be FINE> Yeah, bars won't be great but Simone, Laurie and Maggie can more than get the job done. Beam, floor and vault are SET. We won't make the bars final, but who cares? We'll make all the other finals and maybe take home tow vault medals!

Anyway, that was the story of how I become pro-Skinner.
The end.

Nationals Imperssions

Here we go:

Aly Raisman punched her ticket and I couldn't be happier. This is the sort of competition she's been waiting for since her comeback.Steady, solid and hitting all events. Her new floor routine is inferior to the old one but her tumbling is still world class and awesome to watch. I can't wait to see her in Rio.

Simone Biles, give this girl a rest. She doesn't need two more competition days, we all know how awesome she is. But I highly doubt they'll let her sit out trials. Great meet for her though, minus the last beam set.

Maggie Nichols is about to give her a heart attack. If she is healthy, and ready on all four events at trials she will be the one giving Gabby a run for her money. I so badly want her to make this team, she deserves it and has comeback from two major injuries now, still managing to regain her difficulty. She didn't perform well, that was clear, but it was her first time out and I'm betting nerves had something to do with it. I want her to KILL IT at trials.

Laurie Hernandez. Ok, I'm not her biggest fan but she definitely hit so I'm cool with it. I mean she is better than others so she deserved her spot. I guess my issue with her is that I just find her gymnastics clunky and her floor is way overrated. But, she's a chipper girl with a nice attitude so I can't complain.

Madison Kocian didn't really help her cause on night one but her day two routine was great for her. I think her being able to compete AA will absolutely give her the edge over Locklear.

Alyssa Bauman. Girl makes me sad. I don't think there is a need for her on the team at all. Her beam is lovely, but inconsistent and Aly, Simone, Laurie and Maggie are all solid beam workers. Maybe she'll get an alternate spot.

Ragan Smith killed me. She's like Sarah Finnegan. Super hyped up beam and floor worker that just needs more time. Well, maybe time in a different sense. With Sarah, she hadn't had a whole lot of international competition experience. But Ragan has. I think her issue is nerves and maybe also polishing up here and there. Ultimately, I don't see her being named as anything other than alternate. Even if she hits at Trials, I don't think it will be enough.

Gabby Douglas had a bad meet. There is no other way to say it and I'm sick of commentators trying to excuse it. She had several big errors and didn't even make top three anywhere. The thing is, without Maggie being her usual self, there isn't anyone who can take the Rio spot from Gabby. I don't think she deserves to go at all but if Swaggie isn't ready, who else would they take? Ragan is headcasing and her bars wouldn't fill that gap. Hundly doesn't have the difficulty, Bauman doesn't have the consistency. Douglas will go no matter what really, even if Maggie does rock it. The odds have been skewed in her favor for a long time now. Sigh.

The team will be (and I know this is the popular opinion): Biles, Raisman, Hernandez, Kocian and Douglas. Smith, Skinner and possibly Bauman (or Gowey?) as alternates. Not at all who I wanted but this is what we're going to get.

Ah well. 

Trials Euphoria

Guys, my tickets to Olympic Trials came in the mail this past week. I'm pretty sure I couldn't be more excited! I can't wait to meet Olympians (as they are having that giant reunion, I'm sure I'll stumble upon some!), go to the chalk talk, the parade and of course, see the competition!

The fact that my mom and I will be in that arena when the team is announced is just mind boggling. I keep thinking of when I watched the trials in 2012 and the confetti came down and it was just SO exciting and unforgettable. I'm pretty certain I'm gong to have the time of my life.

In related news...

I'm bummed that Flatley is out for Nationals and of course, Rio. I've been a fan of hers for years and it sucks that injury is putting her out of the running. I think she's extremely talented and had loads of untapped potential so I hope she'll stick around.

With Norah out, I'm basically just rooting for Bailie Key. Ok, it's not as though she's the only one I like and want on the team. I like Simone of course, and I want Aly and Maggie is fine too but Bailie is someone whose gymnastics I really appreciate and enjoy. Plus, the girl has been majorly screwed over in the past and who wouldn't love a little redemption. Gosh, I would just love it if she totally killed it at Nationals and trials. She deserves a spot far more than some others.

We shall see.

Classics and Key

• Juniors Morgan Hurd, Deanne Soza and Emma M (not going to attempt to misspell her last name:) are my favorites. Chiles too if she can get her act together in competition. 
• Aly did herself a big favor by pulling it together for the rest of her night but the bars have never been her friend and I fear she won't be put up on them in Rio if she gets there (bye to the all-around for her)
• Brenna just competing beam was a head scratcher but you know, if the girl wants to just compete and see what happens, more power to her. She obviously likes training elite and is giving Rio her best shot even if it's a long one. 
• Hardly any all-arounders did make the night a bit dull. Gabby on beam is a mess but at least she stayed on. Simone's looked good enough save a few wobbles.
• Let's talk bar workers: Ashton and Kocian looked about the same to me but the gap was pretty big scoring wise. One thing that Maddie K has going for her is that her beam set is better than Locklear's but it's still questionable. I'm not impressed with Laurie on bars at all, she looks heavy on them, sort of like Kyla at the end of her career. 
• Rachel Gowey getting second place was nice. I've been a fan of hers for awhile, maybe she'll get an alternate spot, who knows. I wish she had gotten to go to worlds back in 2014 when she was at her peak. Alas...

And Bailie Key, my new underdog to root for. Her bars looked good in PT and word is that she's training an amanar. After getting screwed over, I would really like it if she could make it onto this team. With her consistency and clean routines she certainly deserves a spot over certain others. 

Last Camp (The Road to Rio)

Here we go! Last camp before Classics, Nationals, Trials and RIO! Happily, Norah and Bailie are back! Maddie K is also there, Maggie is not but hey, gotta give the girl some time to recover.

I'm pretty pumped for all of the action coming our way. Classics are June 4th, Nationals are June 24th, Trials are July 8th and 10th! And I'll be at Trials! Now that the tickets are sold out, my dad informed me that I could probably sell mine for upwards of a thousand dollars. Ok, so that is tempting to college student in need of a car but guys, MEMORIES ARE PRICELESS! Right? That's what I'll be telling myself when all I have to show for my experience in San Jose is a lot of pictures and maybe a t-shirt.

My plan for this blog during the "Road to Rio" (always and forever spoken in a Al Troutwig's voice), is to cover Classics and Nationals plus any bits of news along the way. I'm undecided about whether or not I want to bring my laptop with me to California. You see, it's kind of an old laptop and I don't want to damage it during the trip or (God forbid) lose him along the way. I'm a writer and have nearly four written novels on here, if I lost those I'd probably have a mental breakdown. So I'm leaning toward leaving the laptop at home and doing small updates about my experience form my ipad and then a bigger one, with pictures when I get back.

Sound good?

Pac Rims Podium Training Impressions

Alrighty...

Can I just preface by saying that no one looked that great? It seems like they took some downers beforehand. I think it's the constant training but they all seemed pretty blah. I know from Maroney that the girls trained something like 30+ days straight without a break but they still brought it at the Olympics. This boils down to adrenaline and drive. I guess there just isn't that much going into Pacific Rims, or podium training at least. And that' s ok, I mean they shouldn't be at their best yet but I'd say the energy still needs to be bumped up. I mean, we're just 3 months away from trials for gosh sakes.

But I digress.....

Ok so Simone. Hmm, not a fan of that new floor routine. The music is so dull and standard! Why does everyone have these cookie cutter mashup messes of music? It reminds me of the big band stuff that people were doing in the early 2000's, it was just so uninteresting and never stood out. But Simone had a good day, she is Simone after all. I'm really excited about her Cheng! It looks great and so did her beam.

Ragan Smith, the alternate turned turned participant, did a nice job. I'll say that I don't find her super memorable. Her floor is cute but I hate the music, it is a fun routine nonetheless and she tumbles well. I feel like she should have an Amanar based on the height she gets off the table.

Brenna, my girl Brenna. As surprised as I was to see her on this team, I am glad she's getting yet another chance. I just root for this one no matter what. I wish her floor was a bit more interesting but her front tumbling is unique and she does it well. Her bars are fixed! I have confidence that she'll be able to complete it cleanly, much easier than her old one. And her DTY looked pretty clean.

Aly had a good day. I have a feeling that if I didn't know her from London and her history and seniority, I would not be a fan of hers. It's just her form, you know? I can hardly watch her Amanar it just hurts me. Sort of like Ashton Locklear's legs but more on that later. Anyhow, her floor was nice but boring and her beam was nice but I've always found her boring there too. I hope she really brings it in July.

Laurie. I'm so undecided about this girl. Her floor is the only one that has some charm to to it and she can actually dance, so that's a plus. Everywhere else though, I remain unconvinced. I mean her bars are fine, they're improved and her beam is fine but darn-it! She's another messy vaulter and it's only a DTY. I feel like anyone competing that vault should be able to get it down cleanly. Said the girl whose never touched a vaulting table in her life.

That leaves me with Ashton Locklear and I've said it before, girls legs/feet make me nuts. They're very Rebecca Bross. As in, the toes point inward at each other to give the allusion of the legs being together but they're not. Now I can forgive a pair of bowed legs because I have them, but you should still be able to put your pointed toes side by side. NOT TURNING INWARD AT EACH OTHER. Rant over. Other than that, she looks good on bars which is all I will say about that.

I'll be back in a few days for my thoughts on the actual competition!

The American Cup (The Rosd to Rio Starts Now, Spoken Like Al Trautwig)

Well, despite the fact that we all know Gabby will win (barring huge errors), this should be a close competition and more exciting to watch than in the past. I've been awaiting this competition for quite some time because, hello, this is the first competition since Worlds and that was five months ago! I'm ready to get this "ROAD TO RIO" started. I'm even wearing my Rio shirt, yep I'm a nerd.

Ok, I'll blog about the results later today or tomorrow, happy American Cup day to all!