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!

We Need to Talk About Norah

Why aren't you on the National Team? Why aren't you going to Jessolo??

I need you in Rio Norah, please show yourself at Pac Rims.

Signed,
Me

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!

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!

200 Days!

Today marks 200 days until the opening ceremony in Rio and last week marked 6 months until USA names their team at trials!

I for one, am pretty stoked for the coming months. All of the competitions leading up to the trials and then of course, those themselves should be very intense but very awesome.

Six months...a lot can happen in that time so take this prediction with a grain of salt but I will hereby make a guess as to who will be on our team for Rio based on past performances and future upgrades.

Drumroll....

Simone Biles!!! (Duh)

Aly Raisman!!! (Lest she falls apart a la Worlds again)

Maggie Nichols!!! (Unless she gets Hollie Vise'd which is actually very possible)

Bailie Key!! (Leaving her off the Glasgow team was a terrible headgame but I still thinks Marta likes her)

and...

...last of all

 my girl Norah Flatley!!! (She has to be there, or I'll storm the floor mat at Trials!)

Alternates: Kyla/Gabby/Laurie

I'm sure I'm wrong but I this is more the team I *hope* is named. I actually hope for Kyla to be on there too, I guess she'd replace Norah or Bailie. Now that I look at it, this team is set just about everywhere but maybe weak on bars, though Norah will probably come out with many upgrades. I just don't know...there are a lot of different combos that could happen.

We shall see. 

Gymnastics Profile, What the Heck Kind of Gym Fan Am i Anyway??

So I took these prompts from this lovely gym blog and now I'm going to have a go at answering them!

Get to know the blogger - Gymnastics edition

Name: (G)race

DOB: Spring, 1994

Gym fan since: 2008ish but not seriously until 2012

Gymnast since: Half past never! I wish though. I had scoliosis and a fused spine and an overprotective dad, so it was not going to happen for me.


Gymnastics coach since: I coached my younger sister in the front yard when I was 14, so that definitely counts.

Favorite Quad to Date: Oooh ok. I love 1996-2000 because there was so much going on behind the scenes but Sydney was a hot mess! So I guess, gymnasts/gymnastics wise, I really enjoy 2004-2008.

Favorite Olympics: Hmmm...I really enjoy rewatching Athens for some reason even though that quad tends to bore me. I'm also partial to London because that's when I got REALLY into the sport.

Favorite Worlds: Stuttgart, 2007.

Most Disastrous Competition: 2006 US Nationals, falls galore.

 

Favorite Gymnast of All-time: Shannon Miller but I also enjoy Lilia Podkopayeva and Shawn Johnson. Shannon takes it though.

Favorite Gymnast Currently Competing: I love Simone of course but also Shang and Daria Spiridonova.

Met any gymnastics celebrities?: Yes! Maybe not all super famous but I met McKayla Maroney, Jordan Chiles and Lexie Priessman in 2014 and Shawn Johnson, Sabrina Vega and Nia Dennis in 2015.

Favorite Event to Watch: I love watching uneven bars, always have!

Gymnastics Pet Peeve: I hate ugly floor choreo, boring mounts (especially beam), front or side ariels on floor, overused wolf turns, bad form/technique in general, sloppy vaults just for difficulty, cowboyed giants...there are more that I can't think of right now.

Favorite Skill: Geinger on bars, completed and well formed triple twist on floor, needle or illusion turn on beam and vault...I don't think I have a favorite. I guess, a clean Amanar. 

Thanks for reading! What are your answers??