Gymnastics: Some final thoughts
A couple of final thoughts on the NCAA Gymnastics Championships before I turn my attention to the Jazz for the next couple of weeks. ...
What is it going to take a team to beat Georgia at the NCAAs? That has to be a question a lot of coaches are wondering as they make their way home from Athens. What is becoming more and more obvious is that Georgia isn't winning on sheer talent or skill level alone. A long time ago you'd see differences in skill levels as some teams would have start values of 9.8 9.9, particularly on vaults. But now it's a rare exception when all the top teams aren't starting with the same value of 10.0.
As for talent, it's hard to argue Georgia had more talented athletes than any other team after Courtney Kupets was lost for the season. Instead of getting weaker when Kupets went down with her Achilles' rupture, Georgia got stronger.
Where? Mentally, and that facet is where Suzanne Yoculan has learned how to separate her team from others. I know her brashness rubs some the wrong way and some think Georgia is cocky when the gymnasts where T-shirts at the NCAAs that say they are going to defend what is their's. But the intent is to make Georgia's gymnasts believe no one is going to beat them, and more times than not the tactic pays off, most recently in the form of four national titles.
The power of suggestion is mighty and Yoculan is the best motivator in her sport and arguably of all collegiate sports right now, give her credit for that skill.
**********
I know Georgia's celebration at the end of Friday's competition bugged some people and I can't blame them. No way should the seniors have stepped up on the podium before the meet was over, that was a bad decision by Yoculan to allow them to do so. Personally, I don't like how sterile the podium seating makes things, I like seeing the emotion and the immediate interaction between coaches and athletes, but Georgia's celebration should have been contained in its area until the meet was over.
I also hear Georgia used its beam music for its gymnasts in the individual competition Saturday when it should have been neutral background music since it was an NCAA violation. That was another mistake and really the NCAA should have considered giving Georgia a deduction or penalty of some sort.
Those were two wrong choices by Georgia and non-Georgia fans have a right to gripe about them.
*********
Ashley Postell leaves with just one national title, but her performances through the weekend were one final testament to the competitor she is. She was consistent, she was clean in performing routines and she threw a high level of tricks. She also made it through her collegiate career with very few injuries. That is unusual for a gymnast of her caliber, but then Postell was unusual altogether. Utah fans were lucky to see her compete.
********
As for 2009, which teams are going to be booking their tickets to Lincoln, Nebraska for the NCAAs? Georgia and Utah are obvious picks for me. I was also impressed by the way Stanford competed at Georgia.
I didn't see enough of the Cardinal to analyze routines, but they gave Utah a battle for second and seemed unfazed by the hectic atmosphere.
Also good to see LSU finally break into the Super Six, maybe that is something the Tigers will use for next season. I think Alabama's Super Six appearance was underplayed after Terin Humphrey retired, maybe Bama is finding its old fire.
Nebraska had a season hijacked by injuries, seeing how the Huskers head into 2009 will be interesting, especially since they are hosting.
The two teams I was disappointed in the most were Florida and Michigan. I thought the Gators were really going to give Utah and Georgia fits, instead for whatever reason they didn't have it Friday.
Still it's a great program and coach Rhonda Faehn is going to figure out what has been missing from her team's performance at the NCAAs the last two years. I also thought Michigan was a solid pick for the Super Six but the Wolverines stumbled again too. They're reputation for doing that is gaining.
What is it going to take a team to beat Georgia at the NCAAs? That has to be a question a lot of coaches are wondering as they make their way home from Athens. What is becoming more and more obvious is that Georgia isn't winning on sheer talent or skill level alone. A long time ago you'd see differences in skill levels as some teams would have start values of 9.8 9.9, particularly on vaults. But now it's a rare exception when all the top teams aren't starting with the same value of 10.0.
As for talent, it's hard to argue Georgia had more talented athletes than any other team after Courtney Kupets was lost for the season. Instead of getting weaker when Kupets went down with her Achilles' rupture, Georgia got stronger.
Where? Mentally, and that facet is where Suzanne Yoculan has learned how to separate her team from others. I know her brashness rubs some the wrong way and some think Georgia is cocky when the gymnasts where T-shirts at the NCAAs that say they are going to defend what is their's. But the intent is to make Georgia's gymnasts believe no one is going to beat them, and more times than not the tactic pays off, most recently in the form of four national titles.
The power of suggestion is mighty and Yoculan is the best motivator in her sport and arguably of all collegiate sports right now, give her credit for that skill.
**********
I know Georgia's celebration at the end of Friday's competition bugged some people and I can't blame them. No way should the seniors have stepped up on the podium before the meet was over, that was a bad decision by Yoculan to allow them to do so. Personally, I don't like how sterile the podium seating makes things, I like seeing the emotion and the immediate interaction between coaches and athletes, but Georgia's celebration should have been contained in its area until the meet was over.
I also hear Georgia used its beam music for its gymnasts in the individual competition Saturday when it should have been neutral background music since it was an NCAA violation. That was another mistake and really the NCAA should have considered giving Georgia a deduction or penalty of some sort.
Those were two wrong choices by Georgia and non-Georgia fans have a right to gripe about them.
*********
Ashley Postell leaves with just one national title, but her performances through the weekend were one final testament to the competitor she is. She was consistent, she was clean in performing routines and she threw a high level of tricks. She also made it through her collegiate career with very few injuries. That is unusual for a gymnast of her caliber, but then Postell was unusual altogether. Utah fans were lucky to see her compete.
********
As for 2009, which teams are going to be booking their tickets to Lincoln, Nebraska for the NCAAs? Georgia and Utah are obvious picks for me. I was also impressed by the way Stanford competed at Georgia.
I didn't see enough of the Cardinal to analyze routines, but they gave Utah a battle for second and seemed unfazed by the hectic atmosphere.
Also good to see LSU finally break into the Super Six, maybe that is something the Tigers will use for next season. I think Alabama's Super Six appearance was underplayed after Terin Humphrey retired, maybe Bama is finding its old fire.
Nebraska had a season hijacked by injuries, seeing how the Huskers head into 2009 will be interesting, especially since they are hosting.
The two teams I was disappointed in the most were Florida and Michigan. I thought the Gators were really going to give Utah and Georgia fits, instead for whatever reason they didn't have it Friday.
Still it's a great program and coach Rhonda Faehn is going to figure out what has been missing from her team's performance at the NCAAs the last two years. I also thought Michigan was a solid pick for the Super Six but the Wolverines stumbled again too. They're reputation for doing that is gaining.
10:00 AM
| 
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home