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The girls are even better than I expected. And there are so many talented girls. Hundreds.

I followed “the babies”, the youngest competitors.

Beam
Good tumbling, in general. Backward layout 2 1/2 twists were not uncommon. Most girls stayed on the apparatus.

Vault
Younger Level 10s showed layout Yurchenko or Handspring front, minimum. I was shocked at how many tiny kids were able to do good Yurchenko 1/1. (I wouldn’t believe 50lb kids have enough mass to deflect the beat board.)

Floor
The top gymnasts showed two double somersaults. Most often double pike and double tuck. There were very few double Arabians from the younger girls.

results Level 10 – Junior A
results Level 10 – Senior A

Patrick Carmichael from Island Gymnastics Academy sent in some photo of their new P.Boards. A local woodworker named Paul Bagoloe made them from sturdy Maple. Pat likes them:

“He actually molded the shape of a real PBar out of metal and attached it to a steel plate. They ran around $1000!”

These are an essential training aid. If you’re not sure what P.Boards are used for, check this related post: gymnastics – flat parallel bars

More than 400 elite female gymnasts from across the country will compete in the 2008 Women’s Junior Olympic Level 10 Championships at the Silver Spurs Arena on Saturday and Sunday.

To qualify, gymnasts must first have won state and regional championships …

Gymnasts in the Level 10 Championships are divided into eight age groups and are generally from (10) to 19 years old …

Competitors who place in the top 10 at the Kissimmee event will earn medals and the chance to become National Team members. …

Orlando Sentinel

photography at the meet by Timeless Images

In December 2007, Madison and her sister Morgan, with plenty of help from their father, started a web site like Myspace — but for cheerleaders and dancers.

Over 1600 people have registered, so far.

Check out Wegatta.com

… I had to chuckle at this graphic. My suspicion is that the site is mostly girls chatting about football players at school.

🙂

After many years trying to get myself to Junior Olympic Level 10 National Championships, I’m here.

Watching two sessions of podium training today, the quality of gymnastics is excellent. It’s amazing the depth of gymnastics in the USA. Level 10 is as high as you can go before entering into Elite or NCAA.

All the College coaches are here. First year gymnasts are just getting on to the NCAA radar. in my mind, the sooner you can get to JO Nationals, the better you compete, the better are the chances of landing a good place on a College team.

Vault looked strong. Bars mixed. Some brilliant work but many Level 10s would tell you bars is their weakest apparatus. Surprisingly few Pak saltos. Most are still using shoot 1/2 from high to low with conspicuous deduction.

Tumbling is quite good. Beam is beam, as always.

May 17-18, 2008

Meet Hosts: Orlando Metro Gymnastics
Jeff Wood, Owner

Meet Location: Osceola Heritage Park Silver Spurs Arena

official meet home page

The NCAA wants consistency, precision, perfect form and personality. Difficult skills are far less important.

University coaches I talked to at the College Bound Invitational felt most gymnasts were not showing their “best” routines.

College coaches want to see a routine of excellent quality. Most gymnasts showed too much difficulty. Execution suffered.

It’s a mistake to show a bad Geinger. Better to go “clean” on bars with no release part.

It’s a very bad idea to fall during a performance routine. Leave out double back on Floor if there is any chance you might fall on it.

Here’s one of the best Floor routines I saw at the meet. This is what College coaches are looking for:

Click PLAY or watch Emily Reichert from Orlando Metro on YouTube.

That said, there were a couple of unique skills shown at College Bound:

back layout triple twist dismount off bars

split leap to the end of the beam -> immediate punch front layout 1/1 twist

I’m guessing that this photo — sent to me from my distant past by Greg Kolodziejzyk — was from the 1898 Alberta Winter Games.

What fantastic athletes!

larger version – flickr

Greg these days is an adventurer. His latest insane project is called Pedal the Ocean.

At the 8th annual College Bound Invitational in Orlando I attended a free College Recruiting Seminar for Parents with Tom Kovic.

Tom was an NCAA gymnastics coach for 19 years. He runs a company that offers an educational service for gymnasts, coaches and parents. He consults for male and female gymnasts, as well as other sports in the NCAA.

College gymnastics is a great opportunity. But NCAA regulations are complex and strictly enforced. Tom can help you navigate the murky waters to help find the Team that best fits your athlete. And helps you “market your gymnast”, putting together the best possible video and application.

Tom says you must look “big picture”, not only at possible scholarship opportunities. He recommends you ask potential University coaches for a “financial pre-read” — an estimate of all costs for the athlete / year. (Travel, accommodation, books, etc.) Scholarship covers only part of the total cost. Fortunately, at many Universities there are other bursaries available for student athletes.

For example, Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships. They have other ways to help you pay for your degree. I was surprised when Tom told us that only 30% of the 360,000 (approx.) NCAA athletes are on athletic scholarship.

I specifically asked Tom about foreign athletes. He said NCAA coaches are very interested in signing non-American gymnasts right now. It’s almost a “trend”. The major difficulty for the non-American athlete is that the cost to the family (after scholarship) is often higher than for American students. Foreigners, in particular, must consider the “financial pre-read” closely.

If interested in learning more:

buy Tom’s 41 page Recruiting Manual “Reaching for Excellence” ($20)

contact Tom and ask for his email newsletter (free)

After that, if you want to try it, buy a Victory Recruiting 4 Hour “Block” Advisement. From that introductory session, you can decide if you want to do more.

Ideally you would do this when your child is in Grade 10. With 2 years of High School remaining.

The best way to reach Tom Kovic is by email via VictoryRecruiting.com

The Gym Press — Journal of Gymnastics Education and Development — latest edition has a good article by Warren Milburn called Preparation for Handspring Vault.

It includes this excellent, though challenging, preflight drill:

The article is available as part of a free PDF download TheGymPress May 2008 Issue from the TheGymPress.net.

Kathryn, a coach from Minnesota, introduced herself to me at NCAA Championships.

And told me about the vibrant state of High School gymnastics there. I was very happily surprised as High School gymnastics in my region is long dead. And buried.

But not everywhere. The National High School Gymnastics Association is hosting their Senior Showcase Invitational May 22 and 23, 2008 at Eckerd College in Orlando, Florida.

I’d love to promote that event, remembering how much fun I had doing gym for my school. Leave a comment if you are attending and know of photos or video posted from the meet.

National High School Gymnastics Association