On June 29, 2016, 10 days before the U.S. Olympic Trials, Baumann was training on uneven bars at WOGA in Plano, Texas, where she began gymnastics at age 3. Baumann didn’t catch the bar completely on a Shaposhnikova and fell hard, landing on her stomach and left arm. …
Her elbow looked good, but she was in so much pain we knew something was wrong, but we had no idea how bad. A day later her mom called and all she said, in tears, was ‘It’s over.'”
Scans had revealed that Baumann had torn several ligaments and muscles in her elbow and needed immediate surgery. Her lifelong dream of competing for a spot on the Olympic team was not going to be realized. She shared the news on Instagram herself the next morning. …
On August 31, Baumann underwent a second surgery on her right wrist to fix an issue that had pained her for some time. The rest of 2016 was spent in rehabilitation …
The new plan was to be 100 percent ready for today, in January 2018, when Florida begins its new season. …
Her younger sister, Rachel Baumann, a former elite who competed Level 10 last year and who has committed to Georgia, also made a montage dedicated to Alyssa’s comeback …
Winning was just one of 81 determinants that makes playing sports enjoyable for children, and it was rated 48th, which means that there are 47 more important things that children, coaches, parents and league administrators should be focusing on, said Amanda Visek, lead author of the study and associate professor of sports psychology at The George Washington University in Washington.
…
Wendy Grolnick, co-author of “Pressured Parents, Stressed-out Kids: Dealing With Competition While Raising a Successful Child” and professor of psychology at Clark University in Massachusetts, said parents still can be highly involved with a child’s team without pressuring or pushing. In fact, it’s when they find balance that their children are most likely to enjoy sports and to persist at them.
Most reviews of Fierce focused on Aly’s reveal of having been abused by the U.S. National Team doctor. It’s damning for Nassar and USA Gymnastics. Of all his victims, Aly Raisman has the largest audience. She successfully got the message out to the general public announcing it on 60 Minutes the week of the book launch.
Every ninety-eight seconds another person experiences sexual assault, and sexual violence affects hundreds of thousands of Americans each year. 1 in 4 girls and 1 and 6 boys will be molested before 18. Society WAKE UP.
We appreciate Aly’s time, energy and bravery in taking on this most important issue. She’s done more, personally, to educate Americans than has USA Gymnastics collectively.
If, like me, you are still trying to understand how one of the USAG medical team could abuse so many gymnasts for so many years without being caught, read Aly’s chapter on the Survivors.
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Fierce is as good a gymnastics celebrity biography as I can recall. I enjoyed it start to finish.
Her relationship with her coaches and Marta Karolyi is heartwarming. A great insight from one of the most decorated American gymnasts.
U.S. gymnast Alexandra Raisman with coach Mihai Brestyan after stumbling while competing in the balance beam during a women’s team qualification round, at the Olympic Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 7, 2016. (Chang W. Lee/The New York Times)
Aly has already had one of the greatest careers in international gymnastics history, but the book modestly focuses on her failures. Her many 4th place finishes. Her lowest moments.
As a child she was never the best gymnast in her group. The future Olympic Floor champion had problems learning back twisting on Floor. For months she was the only girl in her group training layout rather than full twist.
Like Shawn Johnson, she (mostly) went to regular school. She played many other sports, especially soccer, and attended physical education class when a principal would not count Gymnastics training as equivalent.
Her many young gymnast readers can relate.
I was shocked to read about her self-doubts over the years. Watching Aly from the cheap seats she appeared to be the best prepared, the most consistent medal contender in the world. Fierce and confident.
The section on her participation in the 2015 ESPN Body Issue is excellent. Another important message.
For her second Olympics Aly worked with a dietician. She details her program. I’d advise gymnasts not to blindly copy what worked for Aly Raisman. Get your own dietician. Every body is different.
One takeaway I got from this book is that USAG should abandon The Ranch as a training centre.
Aly Raisman was twice the Olympic team captain. Has 6 Olympic medals, 3 of them gold. Yet there’s no rah rah hyper patriotism in this biography. She’s much more interested in her family. Her teammates. Her friends.
It’s upbeat but not a fluff piece.
My only complaint is that I’d like to know more. She scarcely speaks of club teammate Alicia Sacramone, for example. I’d like to have had more insights into what happened at all those secretive team camps.
To sum up, however, I’d highly recommend this book as a Christmas gift.
Zoe Littlewood, M. A. Sport Psychology Consultant, specializes in working with individuals, teams, parents and coaches to produce performance enhancement, mental toughness and a winning mindset.
She’s a former gymnast & coach with a Kinesiology degree as well.
You can get Zoe’s PDF booklet for free by signing up by email from this page:
by peak performance coach, author, and speaker, Dr. Alison Arnold.
Based on the rigorous ethics, loyalty, respect, and discipline of the Samurai warriors, this book integrates it all for athletic coaches. Noble. Disciplined. Creative. That is the warrior way.
Zoe Littlewood
Gymnastics Coaching.com 