Pooh Bear's assistants cannot seem to stay away from practices these days because of the awesome skills that are being thrown and the anticipation that is in the air among the gymnasts and coaches alike! The team came back officially on December 27th and by the 31st they were rebuilding their post-holiday stamina and endurance by first performing their floor routines and then moving quickly to do 5 minute intense cycling bouts before returning to the floor for another training run. Volunteer floor choreographer/coach, Dana Dobranksy, was continuing to refine moves with several of the gymnasts; she has been putting particular emphasis on certain aspects of Raegan's routine as well as Andree's and Whitney's. On vaulting runs, Andree continues to astonish us with her power and technique. She nailed two 10.0 vault runs and achieved incredible height and distance with her efforts. On bars, her Hindorff release move and full-in dismount look so effortless that it's scary! Raegan's laid out Tsukhara with a full twist was also looking sharp (and she does this without a round-off entry!). Katie and Whitney are also training their laid out Tsukharas with more finesse. Alexa's piked cuervo vault is close to being nailed. Barring any injuries, by week three of competition, we should be seeing five, maybe six 10.0 vaults being thrown.

Mandy's middle name continues to be "consistent" with a capital C on her bars and beam sets. The bars line-up will certainly be one of the most competitive and she appears to be giving notice! Mandy's increased consistency appears to be due to improved timing and the fact that she is in peak physical condition. Lexa is getting stronger on bars and floor but still has to pace herself as she continues to recover from this past summer's mono bout, which would level Arnold Schwarzenegger. Natalie was practicing grip changes on the bars (inverted giants) and is showing beautiful extension and toe point on her release moves and her double pike dismount. On the lighter side, Krista literally disappeared into the foam pit on one of her vaulting runs and it was hilarious to see only her head peer out as she proceeded to hold an extended conversation across the way with David and her teammates. She has a great sense of humor that keeps everyone upbeat. Dara is working hard on her double pike vault, as indicated by the excellent distance she is achieving; she is now refining her leg technique (for full extension and toe point) and her landing. Hopefully, she will soon move to performing a piked cuervo, which seems natural for her since she is a good twister. Alexa and Lissy were throwing awesome leaps on the beam. Alexa has a unique "E" element move called a Popa, which is a 360 degree straddle jump; like Andree's Hindorff, she executed this move over and over without a single balance check! Robin showed that she intends to be all-around once again; her practice sets on each apparatus continue to be solid. During the bars exhibitions for "Meet the Team" on Sunday, the fans were obviously in awe of Natalie's routine; several fans even noted later at the Medalist Club gathering that her extension and toe point were reminiscent of China's Li Li and Bama's Stephanie Woods! The freshmen were understandably a little nervous during their first performance before the fans, especially on beam exhibitions. You could tell they really wanted to do a great job for the crowd but fans need to remember that the team as a whole is throwing much more difficulty on the beam, which increases the risk for balance checks and, GASP!, even falls. For example, Andree had two close run-ins with the beam during warm-ups that shook even her! Adrenaline pumping can sometimes make a gymnast over-perform a skill, to the point of missing one's timing on a landing. The good news is that our gymnasts are trained on how to "fall" safely and many times they can even avoid a fall by relaxing their body (i.e. Lissy during 1998 UGA meet). Look for a more relaxed team on Friday, January 8th when they host Ohio State. Let's sell out the first meet of the season!