Canadian fans are cheering Casey Sandy, a standout for Penn State all year.
In the all important qualifying competition, Casey was a rock hitting 3 for 3. On to finals!
And Stephen Tetrault qualified 6th AA.
Author: Rick Mc
Career gymnastics coach who loves the outdoors, and the internet.
NCAA AA Finals for Men
Top 6 qualifiers:
Jake Lee (Minnesota) 54.450
Jonathan Horton (Oklahoma) 54.350
Kyson Bunthuwong (Cal) 53.800
Andre Berry (Minnesota) 52.750
Jason Wassung (Nebraska) 52.700
Stephen Tetrault (Nebraska)52.350
full qualifying results – Penn State
Jake Lee – more photos
Jacob Lee – Bio
swinging rings – sitting in the rings
I happened on to a humorous Gym Mom blog:
I’ve worked in enough daycares and taught school enough to know they don’t want parents around. Why? Because they don’t want you to know how many near-death experiences your children actually have every 10-15 seconds. …
Seriously though – I was disturbed that they were losing kids in the small group last week… but losing KID in a group of two? Not good. I am guessing this is why you sign a release saying you won’t hold them responsible for death or dismemberment.
And that is why I will be the only mother *not* sitting outside in her SUV, blah blah blah-ing on her cell phone for an hour.
Looks like a FUN program to me.
NCAA Men’s Championships – TEAM QUALIFICATION
For me the preliminary competition is always the most interesting. Especially with ZZ Top playing loud!
The pressure is on. Qualifying for finals is the most important goal as Ohio found out this year.
The 6 qualifying to Team Finals:
1) Penn State (218.90)
2) Oklahoma (218.600)
3) Minnesota (216.900)
4) Stanford (216.35)
5) Illinois (216.30)
6) Michigan (215.35)
My favourite team to watch in the meet — Cal State Berkeley — did not make the cut. This the cleanest, most artistic squad at Championships simply did not have enough difficulty, partly due to injuries to key players.
I’ve known Cal Head Coach Barry Weiner for decades. He’s as good a coach as anyone in the world, I reckon.
Predictions?
I guess Oklahoma will take the Team. David Sender win the All-Around. I could be wrong. This meet is VERY competitive.
Photo by: GoPSUsports.com – Jason York
photos – Penn State website
NCAA – Miles Avery – They Are Brothers
No doubt there are competitors at the 2007 Championships who would rather win NCAAs than the Olympics. Theses guys are fired up.
I’m feeling badly for Ohio Buckeyes Head Coach Miles Avery.
Elimination is a tough blow.
Prior to the competition, these were his insightful comments:
“This is such an exciting competition for these young men. This is more exciting than the Olympics or World Championships. You’ll see why. It’s great for a college coach to be at the NCAA Championships. We hope to do very wellâ€
How are the NCAA Championships more exciting than competing internationally?
“It is the atmosphere. So much of it is the regimen. The guys train separately for something like the Olympics or the World Championships. These guys for four years are together all the time and it means so much to them. They train year round and spend all their time together. As a team it doesn’t mean as much. Yes, you want to win for your country. You have the pride. But with the NCAA Championships, it means more to these young men. They are brothers. There is nothing like it.â€
biography – Miles Avery – Ohio State
#1 seed OHIO knocked out of NCAA Team Finals
Live from State College, Pennsylvania, here are the entirely unofficial results (I’m reading them off the giant score board) after the first flight of two.
Three teams qualified to the Team Finals:
1) Stanford (216.35)
2) Illinois (216.30)
3) Michigan (215.35)
It’s a shocker. Top seeded Ohio finished 4th, missing the cut for finals.
team results (so far)
In the all-around, two gymnasts dominated:
Wesley Haagensen (54.85)
David Sender (54.25)
DJ Bucher was fantastic on some events.
All-around results (so far)
The meet was very loud, very exciting, Even thrilling at times. Illinois and their fans win the team spirit award, without question.
The second flight, including host Penn State, goes tonight.
release position on “flyaway”
ANOTHER UPDATE
This may clarify the key point of this post. On the photo below, the same gymnast shows her USUAL body position on release for layout flyaway on the left (inferior technique) vs a much better position on release on the right.
Advantages of the position on the right: body is already more rotated, more powerful swing, body is shorter. This technique gives the opportunity for more height. The disadvantage is that hanging on too long, or not “pitching out”, may result in hitting the bar.
The position on the left is the typical weak “whipback” (not layout) from a bar. The only reason kids do this to try to avoid hitting the bar.
==== updated post Apr. 9, 2007
This topic is always controversial.
Justin Slife who moderates the excellent Chalk Bucket forum let me know that the conversation thread has "started quite a conversation".
release position on flyaway – Chalk Bucket
Some feel the illustration below is a bit extreme. It actually was traced from the superb double layout dismount of Olympic Champion Lilia Podkopayeva.
Perhaps the shoulder angle is a bit too much for a simple layout flyaway from giant. It’s still the GOAL position for me, combined with a strong shoulder opening (pitch out) as the hands release.
==== original post Feb. 11, 2007
Very few gymnasts show good position at release on backward flyaway from bars or horizontal bar.
For me, the position shown below is optimal: feet well above the bar, hips (centre of gravity) well below the bar.
The parabolic path of the centre of gravity will take this gymnast away from the bar.
illustration – David Burgess
As an additional safety measure, I like the gymnast to “pitch out” (move the centre of gravity away from the bar) at release. The gymnast opens the shoulders and pushes the feet away just as the hands release.
officially a Mom – handstand
Have a happy handstand!
I’ve been following the entertaining Officially a Mom blog since we mentioned it last October.
Seems busy Moms still have time for handstands.
original photo – flickr
wall trampoline – Cirque’s La Nouba
I never got to Orlando to see Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba until 2006.
It blew me away.
I like best the the Cirque shows with huge acrobatic components. La Nouba, like Mystère in Vegas, is brilliant for a gymnastics fanatic.
Most gymnasts who see La Nouba want to try the trampoline act where artists literally launch through windows and to the top of the roof of a three-dimensional building. It’s nuts!
We did a lot of similar trampoline wall work back in the day at Taiso Gym Club. But nothing like this!
Click PLAY or watch trampoline / wall training on YouTube.
UPDATE: The athlete is Josu Sanchez.
best club website – Dragon Gymnastics
I cannot find a better, more inspiring website.
Dragon Gymnastics is putting Kansas City on the map as the epicenter for elite gymnastics training. With the opening of the new state-of-the-art GAGE Center in March 2006, more athletes will join the Dragon Team tradition of excellence in gymnastics.
The look of the site is gorgeous.
Armine Barutyan-Fong
Al Fong, Head Coach and CEO of Dragon Gymnastics, and owner of the GAGE Center Campus, broke ground on the state-of-the-art facility in March 2004. The facility will provide Dragon Gymnastics with 15,000 square feet of dedicated space, furnished with regulation equipment, to train for the 2008 Olympics and beyond.
Check it out for yourself: DragonGymnastics.com
Leave a comment below if you have another club website to recommend.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 