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2006 Pre-Season Depth Report: Balance Beam and Floor Exercise
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This is the second of two pre-season practice reports on how the Tide is looking
on the final two events, balance beam and floor
exercise. We will post at least one more practice report
prior to the Christmas Holidays and a few after the 26th as the Tide prepares
for the opening meet on January 6th. It should be noted that senior Rachael Delahoussaye has been in an air cast for a few weeks to help
her deal with a minor stress fracture in her arm but has not lost any significant
training time and is on track to compete by the first of the year.
Balance Beam
This is the event where the Tide has seen the greatest pre-season competition
because there is excellent depth. The code of points for 2006 will dictate
some new, more challenging leaps and jump series for the gymnasts, along with
more difficult flight series if a routine is truly going to start from a “10”. Right
now, Alabama’s line-up with the highest scoring potential on this event
would likely include some combination of the following:
Gymnasts who have been showing steady improvement in either upgrading their
skills or improving their consistency on this event would include the following:
Floor Exercise
The new code of points for 2006 will also affect the floor routines as far
as front tumbling is concerned. Certain gymnasts have been revamping
their middle or final passes to accommodate the new rules while others have
more than sufficient difficulty to start from a 10. Look for any combination
of the following gymnasts to pace the Tide on this event at the beginning of
the year:
Ashley Miles |
Double layout; front-front full-punch layout,
double pike |
Terin Humphrey |
Pike full in, double front Arabian, 1 ½ to
2 ½, 2 ½ to punch front |
Melanie Banville |
Pike full in, 2 ½ twist to punch front,
double pike |
Courtney Priess |
Double pike, double twist, 2 ½ twist |
Erin Rightley |
Double pike, front through to a 1 ½ twist
(Rudi), front-front full-punch layout |
Dana Pierce |
Double pike, double twist – punch
front |
Brittany Magee |
Tuck full in, 2 ½ punch layout, front
through to a double full, front through to a 2 ½ twist (Randi) |
Kaitlin White |
Rudi, double pike, double twist, whip ½ to
whip full |
A few gymnasts have been hampered by minor injuries (big toe for Mari-Christine Bayer and ankle for Dana Filetti), but should be in the floor line-up at some point
once they are back to full training on this event. The following gymnasts
look to be “routine ready” by mid-season if not earlier:
It’s going to be an exciting year with lots of new faces and new routines
and skills. However, because this team is dominated by 8 freshmen, the
coaches will have no choice but to get the key players from this class out
there early and often. Don’t be surprised if as many as two to
three freshmen are helping to pace the line-ups on each event by post-season. As
history has shown us, it’s likely going to be a bumpy ride at the beginning
of the season, but potentially exhilarating by the end. Roll Tide!
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