Hi everyone,

I am sad to say that this is my last blog entry. I have enjoyed sharing the team’s experiences as well as my own with you all. I think this team is truly special, and they did a great job this year. There are several people that I would like to thank who have been so helpful to me while writing this blog. First, I would like to thank all the girls on the team. They always made me feel so welcome in the gym. It has been a long time since I have actually been on the team, but they really made me feel like part of their team and I appreciate it. I would also like to thank the coaches. Not only did they help me this season, but they have taught me great life lessons that I have taken with me. Thank you Sarah, David, Bryan and Dana for making me a part of your family. To all my former teammates and friends thank you for being there for me always, I love you all. Most of all thank you to the Medalist Club for all your support and encouragement. It is an honor and privilege to have received a scholarship from such a wonderful group of people. The past and present gymnast thank you for all that you do. Alabama gymnastics would not be what it is without the support of the Medalist Club. We are so fortunate to have such great fans. Thank you to everyone who reads these blogs. I will miss writing them. I am already looking forward to next season.

Roll Tide!

Hey everyone,

It’s been a little while since I have been able to blog, but with Nationals quickly approaching I wanted to get some practice info to you! Regional’s was exciting, and some of the other team results were really surprising. I was stunned to find out that Georgia did not qualify for Nationals, I am sure you all were surprised as well. The team is doing great and is in good spirits. This is what they have been working so hard for all season. Nationals are always so fun, and full of excitement no matter where it is, but I think it being in Florida will make it even more exciting. I can’t wait to see how the team does, I just wish I could be there to support them and cheer them on. Thanks to everyone who is traveling to watch the meet. The coaches and the girls really appreciate all the great support!

The team had practice yesterday during the A-Day game, and will have practice Monday and then travel Tuesday! I can’t believe Nationals is here already. Usually once the team arrives at nationals they have a light practice day to get used to the equipment. Then they get to have some relaxing fun together, usually going shopping, and having team lunches. After the practice day it is time for the first day of competition. I always thought the first day was the most nerve racking, and then once we qualified for Super Six we had all settled in and the nerves were gone. Here is what the team has been focusing on the past week to get ready for Nationals:

Practice Notes:

Friday was a vault and beam day. The girls did a great job, and did a good number of routines on beam, with a focus on dismounts. The focus on bars was also landing drills, and lots and lots of handstands! I really feel that this team has the ability, skill level, confidence, and team camaraderie to get to number one; I can’t wait to see the meet! They just need to get out there and do what they have trained so hard for. It is times like this that I really miss being a part of the team. When I think back to Nationals I always remember it being so inspiring and full of memories and excitement. I hope the girls are taking in all these experiences, especially the seniors because they only have one more meet before their college gymnastics days are over. Saturdays practice was all about intrasquads (vault, floor and bars). Monday will be a light touch on all four events, and then it’s off to Gainesville at 6 pm on Tuesday night! Good luck at Nationals girls and roll tide.

Hey everyone,

Sorry this blog is at the end of the practice week, I really think my weeks are getting busier and busier! I hope you all have a Happy Easter. The team actually has practice tomorrow so they can have Easter off, which will be nice. When I was thinking about what I was going to write in this blog I actually had a little block. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to talk about SEC’s or practice or both. I was sitting and talking to my husband, and he asked me about SEC’s, and that is when we started talking about “process”. My husband is always telling me how Nick Saban talks about how important the process is. That made me think about practice, meets, and championships season, and how it’s all part of the process to get to Nationals. It’s all about the day to day things in practice and in life to get to the end result. I think this is a great motto to have for gymnastics and for life.

I think the girls did a good job at SEC’s, and I know they had some falls but I really think that was all part of the process too. They had a difficult meet at the beginning of the season, but they turned it around and improved as a team. I know that is what they are going to do now. I really liked how Sarah said “We’ve won four national championships and only one of those came after winning an SEC Championship.”I want us to use this disappointment to make us better.” I think that is a great quote because it is so true. When I was a junior and we won Nationals we actually had a difficult season. We had a lot of injuries, and overcame a lot of adversity. I don’t actually remember the specifics of SEC’s that year, but I do know that we did not win. We used the difficult times as motivation, and thought of them as challenges to overcome. I know this team will do the same.

Practice Notes:

This week started out slowly, easing the girls who competed on multiple events back into practice. The beginning of the week was about dance throughs on beam and floor, and timers on vault. The team did a lot of stretching this week. The gymnasts who competed on one or two events did full floor and beam routines. The girls were off of practice on Tuesday. Wednesday’s practice was focused was endurance on floor, and landing drills on all events. They did lots and lots of dismounts concentrating on sticking all of their landings. Thursday was a floor day so the girls did full routines followed by a sprint on the bike. Just thinking about that makes me tired! I remember doing those bike sprints and they were exhausting, but they really do build up endurance. Thursdays beam practice was mini-intrasquads. On bars the gymnasts trained with their secondary pair of grips. Grips are the things the girls wear on their hands during their bar routines. They have to make sure they have more than one pair of grips in case something happens to them because they get so much use. The gymnasts put water and chalk on them and they can wear down and tear. Having their second pair ready and broken in is really important because it can take awhile to get comfortable with another pair. Everything is part of the process, including having another set of grips!

Happy Easter and Roll Tide!

Hi,

Team Photo

I hope everyone is having a good week. I am glad it’s near the end, and getting close to SECs! Senior night was great. The team looked awesome and well prepared for the upcoming weeks.

This week’s practice focus has been all about SEC championships. The team has been in great spirits, and practicing really well. Watching them in practice and meets from the beginning of the year to now I have seen such positive changes. They have really come together as a team, and they look like they are having so much fun. I can tell by the way they compete and practice that they truly trust each other. That is so important for every meet, but especially during championship season. They started out the season strong, but I really think they have peaked at the right time and I can’t wait to see the amazing job they do at SECs.

As I was writing this blog I thought back to SEC’s my freshman year. We had a great season that year, and I was looking forward to competing at SECs but I had no idea how much energy and excitement there was during championship season. That particular year (2000) was the year we won the SEC championship, and it was actually in Florida. We had so much fun during the meet, and I think that is why we did so well. We knew we were as prepared as we could be, and we all trusted that each individual would do their part. We knew that every person in the lineup for each event was ready, and was going to do a great routine. None of us had any doubt that we were going to do well, and we did. One thing I do remember is playing games in between rotations, and during the byes. We played Pictionary and sang and danced in the locker room to stay relaxed and have fun. The team seemed to have fun in the meet last weekend and in practice this week. There sprits were up, and they seemed really positive. I think this is really going to help them in the meet.

Practice Notes:

This has been a great week of preparation for the team. Sunday the girls had a vault intrasquad, and focused on sticking vault landings. The girls that are all-arounder’s did the vault intrasquad plus two more events, depending what they needed to work on individually. Monday’s practice was all about beam and floor. There was a beam intrasquad, and full floor routines on the hard floor. After full floor routines the gymnast then did endurance routines. After practice the team did light spinning for cardio and then stretching. Tuesday the team has a day off to rest. Wednesday the gymnasts did a bar intrasquad, mini beam intrasquad, and more light conditioning and stretching. Thursday is travel day! The team flies to Jacksonville at 3:15 pm! Have a good weekend everyone. I hope you al l can make it to Jacksonville to support the team.

Roll Tide!

Hi everyone,

I hope you all are having a good week! The team sure has and I can’t wait to tell you a little about it. Because of the different schedule for the past two weeks, I was unable to attend practice. Usually the team practices on Sundays and I am able to go watch. The past couple of weeks have been a little different, and the girls have had some time off to relax and prepare for the upcoming weeks. The past few weeks have been about rest, preparation, and building depth within the team.

Thankfully Dana Duckworth was able to help me out again with some highlights from this week’s practice. She reported that this weekend the team had a wonderful two day break, and then got right back to business with intrasquads on beam and vault. The gymnasts are really increasing their difficulty and dept on vault and it is exciting to see! I have been talking in the past blogs about Erika Pearson working on a new tumbling pass. Well, it looks like she is ready to compete it. She will do a whip to an immediate double tuck for her first pass on floor, and it’s worth an extra three tenths! I also mentioned in one blog about Kayla Hoffman working on increasing the difficulty in her first tumbling pass with a full-in, and that seems to be coming along as well. She and Ashley Priess have been working really hard on adding difficulty to their first passes. Dana said the focus for the rest of the week before Michigan is going to be lots and lots of intrasquads that is also the game plan for preparing for SEC’s.

I am excited to see the new tumbling passes and maybe even some new people in the lineups. Increasing depth is really important, especially this time of year. I was thinking back to my sophomore and junior years when we had really solid lineups in place all year long. We all got comfortable with those people that were in the lineup because we knew they could deliver. Then right before Championship Season we had several injuries and had to change everything. Thank goodness the coaches had prepared us for those situations. We were able to adapt because we had so much depth on the team. I know that this team is preparing in the same way and will be able to adapt to any situation. Not only is this making them better gymnasts, and teammates it is teaching them that they can adapt to any situation in life as well.

I Can’t wait to see the meet tomorrow. Senior night is always fun.

Roll Tide!

Hi all,

I chose this blog title because the team is having lighter practices this week in order to get ready for championship season! I am so excited to see what they do at SECs, Regional’s and Nationals. This group of girls has worked so hard and is so talented I know they are going to do great. Because they have worked hard, and don’t have a meet this weekend the coaches decided to let them have some rest and relaxation. The girls and coaches all deserve a little time off, and I know they will use the time to get mentally and physically prepared for championship season.

Notes from practice:

The girls came home Friday night from the meet, and had a light practice on Saturday. They did some conditioning and some extra work on various events (depending on what each of them did in the meet) with a focus on beam. They will practice again Tuesday, take Wednesday off, and then start building again on Thursday and Friday, and take it from there. I always thought the week before and the week of Spring Break was really hard because everyone else is gone from campus, and has gone somewhere fun like the beach. The gymnasts and coaches stay on campus to prepare for SEC’s, and even though it’s totally worth it, sometimes it’s difficult to watch everyone else leave. The team is doing a good job of staying positive and motivated during this time.

One thing the coaches are really focused on right now is getting Ashley Priess back to full strength. The other girls are adding more difficult tumbling passes into their floor routines, practicing sticking all landings, hitting all handstands, and increasing depth. Some exciting news is that now Ashley Sledge can be added to the vault and beam line up! She is so powerful and fun to watch on every event. Dana also told me that now Rachel Terry is ready to be in the bar lineup, and Erika Pearson will be increasing the difficulty in her floor routine. These are some exciting additions, and I can’t wait to see how the girls do in the coming weeks.

Roll Tide!

Hello everyone,

As I sat down to write this blog I was reflecting on all the practices I have been to this season and thinking about how far this team has come. I was also watching the Olympics last week and wondering “how do those snowboarders do all those tricks?” Then I thought about how people are always asking how gymnasts can do what they do, and the answer of course is practice, practice, practice. What a great skill these girls are learning because in everything they do in life they will need to practice. When I first graduated from nursing school I didn’t know how to give a shot or start an IV, but after lots of practice I was able to master those skills. The team is learning that practice makes perfect, and they will be able to take those skills and apply them to graduate school, careers, even marriage and parenting.

Notes from Sundays Practice:

Sunday the team started out by talking about the previous week, the meet and then warming up. This practice was all about routines and intrasquads. I could tell that the girls were really focused on quality routines, and building on their skills. Some girls put new, more difficult skills into their routines!

Vault – most of the girls did vaults onto the soft mats today. Megan Mashburn did some nice handspring front pikes onto the hard mats that looked really powerful. Alyssa Chapman worked on tsukahara fulls on the regular mats, and they are really coming along! I hope she will be able to compete it soon. Ashley Sledge practiced drills up onto the high mats.

Bars – Everyone was required to make 2 good routines and then had individual assignments based on their routine. One person’s routine that really stood out to me during practice was Ashley Priess. She hit all of her handstands and her form was beautiful. She worked on double layout dismounts into the pit. Kassi Price did full routines with dismounts onto the regular mats. Her knee seems to be doing much better!

Beam – The girls who were on beam for their second rotation (Kayla Hoffman, Kassi Price, Ashley Sledge, Casey Overton, and Erika Pearson) all competed in an intrasquad. The other rotations were required to make 3 routines with only 1 bobble or step on the dismount, and also do 2 dance routines with a dismount. Morgan Dennis worked on her double tuck dismounts into the pit with a mat and they looked great. She also focused on her leap series, which was beautiful. She did several in a row and I never saw her bobble once. Geralen Stack-Eaton mostly worked on her tumbling series (back handspring layout). At the beginning of the rotation she was having a little difficulty with it, but by the end she was sticking them. I think Geralen’s dismount is really difficult because she twists. Twisting dismounts are a lot harder to stick. When I was watching she stuck every dismount solid.

Floor – I thought floor was the best rotation of this practice. Many of the girls did more difficult tumbling passes in their routines. For example, Kayla Hoffman put in her full-in for her first tumbling pass. She did a few with Bryan spotting her, and then added it to her full routine. Marissa Gutierrez worked on double layouts for her first pass, and they were powerful. Ericka Pearson did full routines on the floor and all of her tumbling passes looked controlled.

When I was looking at my notes from Sunday I found a practice sheet from January 5th of this year. I have been to several practices and seen firsthand how far the team has come, but when I looked at the sheet from last Sunday and January I saw just how much of a difference there really was. The skill level has increased, and so has the intensity of practice. At the beginning of the season the assignments were just intrasquads and complete 2 routines, now the assignments are routines with little to no bobbles. The team’s performance in the meets is reflective of their intensity in practice, which shows that practice really does make perfect.

Roll Tide!

Definition of endurance – The act, quality, or power of withstanding hardship or stress or the state or fact of persevering. I thought I would start off this blog by defining endurance because that is what I feel the theme of practice this week has been. The team has persevered through injury, and overcome adversity. They have improved individually and as a team throughout the season, and they will continue to do so.

National Championship 2002

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a chance to go to the pink meet this weekend. It was awesome and inspiring. The first thing I noticed when I walked into the coliseum was the pink lights they had put on the outside. I have never seen that before and I thought it was neat. The most memorable and touching part of the entire night was the introduction of the survivors at the beginning of the meet. I think the pink meet is such a great thing to do and an awesome way to give back.

Because I was at the meet Friday, and have been traveling a lot from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa, and had a child that was under the weather I was unable to attend practice this weekend. Assistant coach Dana Duckworth was so nice to send me some notes about practice from this week. I know many of you were either at the meet and saw Kassi Price’s injury, or were watching online and are wondering how she is doing. She did land a little short on her front through to double tuck (first pass) on floor but she is doing well. She just has a bone bruise that will require a little rest.

Notes from practice:

The beginning of practice on Sunday the team got together to discuss the meet. Everyone decided the same thing I was thinking, that the survivors were the most memorable and heartwarming part. After warming up and talking about the meet the girls that competed all around stuck to drills and basics, nothing too strenuous to save their bodies. I think the theme of practice this week is endurance. The girls that did not compete all around participated in a fun beam intrasquad. Dana really focused on dance and confidence. She said that she really wanted the girls to look like they were “on floor doing beam”. I really like that idea and think it will help the girls gain confidence. Making them focus on dance will also help the flow of their routines. Dana told me that she even made the girls stop in the middle of their routine if they didn’t have enough flare or presentation! Floor practice was all about endurance routines. This time of season everyone is starting to get a little tired. There have been many meets, and several of them have been away. I always thought the end of February and beginning of March were the most difficult because we were at the end of regular season, but not quite to championship season yet. This team is doing a good job staying motivated and energetic. I can tell that the endurance routines are working. All the girls last tumbling passes have gotten stronger. Their dance has improved as well. I love watching the floor routines this year. They are so fun and exciting. Dana has done a great job with choreography! Sunday’s bar practice focused on handstands and dismounts. Vault was all about drills, timers and sticking the landings. Practice on Tuesday will be more about intrasquads on most of the events. The team may have one more practice this week depending on how things go in Tuesdays practice. Dana wasn’t sure if they were leaving on Wednesday or Thursday for the meet.

Sorry this blog has been a little shorter, and is later in the week. I think I need some endurance training Have a good rest of the week everyone.

Roll Tide!

Picture 1- (from left to right) Hanging out at the pre-meet reception. Meredith Laxton Lambert, Helen Burgin, Stephanie Kite, Alexa Martinez Givan, and Michelle Reeser Newberry

This past Friday night was the alumni gymnastics meet. This is where anyone affiliated with the gymnastics team (gymnasts, coaches, managers, etc.) who has graduated gets to come back for a fun filled weekend! I look forward to this weekend all year long because I get to see my former teammates and friends, and I also get to know the other alumni who I wasn’t on the team with. I thought I would talk about the weekend instead of practice this week because there were so many exciting things that happened. It is fun to watch the gymnasts now with their teammates and know that in a few short years they will be finished and sitting where I am today. They will have the same bond with their teammates that I have with mine, and the gymnasts before me have with theirs. Even though some of the gymnast graduated 20 years ago, and some just last year we all have one common factor that bonds us together and that is Alabama Gymnastics. I know that all the former gymnasts as well as the current ones know what a special experience it is to be a part of this gymnastics program. They will cherish the memories they are making now, and make new ones after they are finished.

Picture 2- (from left to right) Lining up in the hallway before march out. Stephanie Kite, Dara Stewart Lowery, Robin Hawkins Sellars, me, Alexa Givan, Krista Gole Latchaw, Lissy Smith Mann and Raegan Tomasek Powell.

Friday night: (meet night)

The Friday evening of alumni weekend always starts with a pre-meet reception. We get to go upstairs in the coliseum to eat, get our goody bags, and talk with the other alumni. I love getting to see all of the former gymnasts and their spouses and children. It is so fun to see everyone’s growing families. This year my husband and I took our twin girls to watch. This was their first Alabama Gymnastics meet and they were hooked! They kept asking when they could go to their seats to watch. After the pre-meet reception we had to go downstairs to the hallway to line up. Lining up in that hallway brings back so many memories, especially when you hear the team doing their pre-meet cheers. Then we get to go out onto the floor to be announced as alumni. I always feel so blessed and proud to be a graduate of such a great school and gymnastics program when they announce our names. After watching the meet (which was really exciting!) we then headed back upstairs for a post-meet reception. Usually we have music and dancing. This year we had food but no dancing. I liked that because it allowed us to mingle and talk. I enjoyed really getting to know some of the other former gymnasts. I remember overhearing several different groups talking about their jobs, families, and children and most of them were not on the team with each other. I thought it was so neat to see different generations of gymnasts coming together and sharing their experiences with each other.

Picture 3- Playtime at the gym. Stephanie Kite and Lily up on the beam!

Saturday:

Saturday morning there the coaches hosted a playtime in the gym for a couple of hours. This is when the former gymnasts get to come to the gym and re-live their competitive days if they wish. I did not do any gymnastics because I was chasing after my children (really because I don’t know if I would be able to move the next day), but there were many alumni who I think could still compete today! Several of them were tumbling into the pit, and doing dismounts off beam, one alumnus even did a vault! I love playtime in the gym because all the kids get to run around the gym and have a good time. After playtime there was brunch available for us, and then some people headed over to the stadium for lunch and then the basketball game. Several of my friends and I hosted a baby shower for one of our teammates, and then after that headed over to Sarah and David Patterson’s house for dinner. One of the things that I love the most about the coaches is that they truly make us all feel like a part of their family. This begins the moment we decide to become a member of the team, and never ends. The Patterson’s have the team over for dinner many times throughout the year. They host a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for the entire team each year before everyone leaves to go home. The main reason I decided to do gymnastics at Alabama is because it is a family environment. Not all gymnastics programs are that way. I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful and extended family. One thing you may not know about Sarah Patterson is that she makes the BEST chocolate chip cookies ever! She makes them every year for alumni weekend and I look forward to eating them all year long. The dinner on Saturday night is the last official function of alumni weekend, and it’s always sad when it’s over. The great thing is that every year we make new friends, and get to see our old ones. Being a part of the Alabama Gymnastics team doesn’t just stop when you are finished competing the memories, experiences, and friends and family bonds last forever. To all my friends and former teammates I saw this past weekend I had so much fun and I can’t wait to see you again soon. Those of you that couldn’t be there we missed you so much! To all the coaches thanks for hosting us and making it a great weekend!

Roll Tide.

Me, Alexa Martinez Givan, Michelle Reeser Newberry, and Stephanie Kite at a Laps for CF function

Hi everyone,

This week I decided not to talk about practice. I wanted to talk about the importance of community service instead because this is a great lesson that I learned from being a part of the Alabama Gymnastics team. Sarah, David and Bryan always talked about the importance of getting involved in something you are passionate about, and giving back to the community. Not only did they talk to us about getting involved, they showed us what it was really about, and all three of them are still involved in community activities today. Sarah sponsors the “Think Pink” meet that helps DCH Hospital, and David and Bryan have been involved with Camp Smile a Mile which is a camp for children with cancer. Their passion for helping others has inspired me, as well as the current and former gymnasts.

pre-meet picture from left to right: Dara Stewart Lowery, Robin Hawkins Sellars, Krista Gole Latchaw, Raegan Tomasek Powell, Whitney Morgan, and David Patterson

I went to Tuscaloosa on Sunday, but instead of having practice the team was involved with Tide Tikes and Teens. Tide Tikes and Teens is an organization for children ages 3-late teens that allows them the opportunity to interact with the gymnasts and coaches. This year they had a Luau, which is what I went to on Sunday. The Luau was from 3:30-5:00 and all the gymnasts and coaches were there to do activities with the team and let them play in the gym. The kids were having a blast and were in awe around the gymnasts. Tide Tikes also has another activity where the participants are involved with march out at one of the meets. This year the children and teens will march out during the meet this weekend with the alumni. They get to line up and high five the gymnasts as they rotate to their first event. It is a fun night that gets the children, as well as the gymnasts excited about the meet. I could also tell that they gymnasts enjoyed being involved, and that it meant a lot to them as well as the children. Around Christmas time the team also hosts a Christmas party in the gym for the children and the RISE Center. They get to play in the gym and do all kind of fun activities. It is an awesome day for the children, familes, gymnasts and coaches. I am so grateful for that I was able to be a part of a team that taught me about giving back and getting involved in the community. I have learned such an important lesson, and I know the current gymnasts are learning that lesson too. I am now involved with the March of Dimes which funds research for premature babies. One of the other former gymnasts Stephanie Kite works for Laps for CF which is a non-profit organization that helps children with Cystic Fibrosis. These are just a few examples of things we have gotten involved in after gymnastics. I would like to thank the coaches for helping us understand how important it is to give back.

While I was watching Tide Tikes I overheard many people commenting on the meet this weekend. It was upsetting to see such a great team have a difficult meet. What I do want to say is that even though they had a tough time they will grow stronger from that experience. They will come together as a team and work even harder to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Sometimes you have to overcome adversity to grow, and I know that is what this team will do. When I was a sophomore we had a home meet against Kentucky. We had a tough bar rotation, and I think we had to count two falls. By the end of the meet the scores were so close we thought we were going to lose. We ended up barely winning the meet. Even though we won the meet we were so disappointed in ourselves it felt like we lost. That experience made us push forward in practice, and in the other meets. We learned from that experience, and ended up having a great season. I know this team will do the same.

Can’t wait to see everyone at the Alumni meet!
Roll Tide!