SPECIAL feature

countdown to states

part THREE

With approximately 6 days left until the State Championships, Katie, Lizzie, and Megan are training hard in the gym, and beginning to gather the focus they will need to excel.  These three girls have moved through the ranks quickly at Gymnastics Revolution; all were Level 5’s last year, and all have become strong Level 6’s this year.  While Bars is generally their strongest event, they have work to do on all four events to reach the point that they and their coach are striving for.

As we enter the final week of preparation for the State Championships, the girls’ training will finally ease up, if only a little.  Performing hundreds of routines over the last weeks has been challenging, and has taken its toll on their bodies.  An easy weekend has brought them in, ready to perform, this week, so the first half of the week will be more intense than the second half.

At this point, their routines are more solid than they have ever been.  The Free Hip circles in their routines are now rising to the level that their coach wanted, their back walkovers are rock solid on the balance beam.  Front tumbling passes are better than they have ever been, and landings in their back tumbling passes are becoming quite consistent.   

Their workouts this week revolves around tiny details – every hand placement, every pointed toe, every minute piece of every routine is being cleaned and polished.  Due to the numbers and intensity of their workouts, the girls have nothing to be concerned about in terms of cardiovascular training.  They are strong, fast, and able.  So, at this time, the pieces of their routines that get the attention are the finesse and details, and as always, they are being trained to stay focused and confident, regardless of distraction.

The first part of this week has them scheduled to perform as many as 10 beam routines, 10 bar routines, 3 floor routines, and 8 vaults in a single workout.  These numbers seemed impossible two months ago, but have become very comfortable now.  The second half of this week will consist of fewer numbers, but continued stress on performance.  The girls have opted to come into the gym to train even on their off days, and they will go through four events on Friday, two days before their meet, and perform one routine on each event.  They will not have an extended warm up period, but rather be given a “meet-style” environment.  Following their four events, they will go back and spend extra time on the events they are most concerned with. 

The drive of the coaching this week will be to leave a very strong impression on the girls.  They are to go into Sunday’s meet knowing that they have done everything possible to give themselves the best chance to reach their goals.  They are to understand that nothing in their routines is difficult for them at this point, so their attention can remain on their execution, and their performance.  Finally, they are to stop worrying about individual skills and events, and take comfort in the fact that they are ready.   

Be sure to check our news section to see the results of Katie, Lizzie, and Megan next week.  They will compete in the USAG Connecticut State Championships this Sunday, December 13.