One of the stories to watch at the Winter Olympics.
Mikaela Shiffrin is the reigning World Cup and world champion in slalom. …
Disciplines slalom, giant slalom
Club Burke Mountain Academy
Born March 13, 1995 (age 18)
Vail, Colorado, U.S.
Mom Eileen:
… “Because she skis so efficiently, everyone perceives Mikaela as this perfectly prepped, organized little machine,” Eileen said. … “If they only knew that we don’t know what we’re doing half the time.
“People think we’ve had this master plan to produce a world champion. We have no plan.”
• 1st in the world to compete a Triple Fly-away High Bar
• 3rd in the world to compete Quad Fly-Away off swinging rings
… He started his career in the sport as a gymnast earning a full scholarship to southern Illinois University. In 1973 he studied men’s gymnastics in Japan on an exchange program.
He has coached at numerous gyms across the country including; California State University, Northridge 1973-78; Asst. Coach under Dan Connelley. SCATS Gymnastics 1980-88, where he assisted coach Don Peters an Olympic coach. At SCATS he helped coach Olympians Mitch Gaylord and Charles Lakes. Mark also coached for Kelli Hill, Hill’s Gym 2007-08. …
Today he’s USAG Boys Team Head Coach at Nittany Gym.
For the Italians, 2013 started with the return of Enrico Casella as Direttore Tecnico Nazionale (National Team Coach/Coordinator). In an interview, he stated that:
“Italy must do well on the occasions that matter, and must be able to compete on a global level.”
I would say that in 2013 Italy was able to do just that. … in total they won 17 international medals.
After the disappointment of the 2012 Olympics, many thought that Vanessa Ferrari might retire …
At 23, Ferrari, proved all the naysayers wrong. Of the 17 international medals won by Italy in 2013, Vanessa won 7 of those. She won 2 golds, AA and FX, at the Mediterranean Games; 2 silvers on floor, one from Worlds the other the La Roche sur Yon world cup; and 3 bronzes, 2 in AA at the Stuttgart and Glasgow World Cups and 1 on BB at the Mediterranean Games. The podium finishes at the end of the year World Cups means that Ferrari now has won a medal in every major international competition except for the Olympics.
… National coach Enrico Casella has decided on some specific “goals” the Italian girls have to reach . These are:
Vault:
– Learn a Kasamatsu vault
– Learn a Yurchenko 1 1/2 or 2
Bars:
– Every gymnast has to use grips
– Learn more releases
Beam:
– Learn 3 elements series with rebounding.
– Learn a “difficult” skill ( back tuck 1/1, layout or back
handspring 1/1)
Floor:
– Learn three difficult passes ( double layout, front double, triple
twist, full twisting double back, double Arabian, 2 1/2 twist to front 1/1)
– Create an artistic performance.
Gymnastike’s latest series of Beyond the Routine with Bridget Sloanand the Florida Gators will premiere Tuesday, January 14 in Gymnastike Gold. (paid subscription)
Gymnastics Coaching.com 