Gymnastics
With an album by Maralyn Fink
Back to the halls at SJHS, I met up with Deborah Davis, who is the Head Coach of the Gymnastics Team. This led me to the balcony of the gym where team practice takes place. Coach Davis has been the Head Coach for 25 years.
The team practices 5 days/week for 2.5 hours each day.
The Captains of this group are Paige Hufnagel and Emily Simon.
Practice season starts at the end of October and runs thru March. Competitions start in January. This team of girls go to competition year round. In a conference meet, there are 10 teams in their district that they compete with. Individual meet is when several members of the team compete in their field.
To start practice, floor mats, vaults, beams are all put in place by the girls prior to practice. Then the work starts, first by a long warm-up. This involves flips, running, stretching, bending in order to prepare their body
Back to the halls at SJHS, I met up with Deborah Davis, who is the Head Coach of the Gymnastics Team. This led me to the balcony of the gym where team practice takes place. Coach Davis has been the Head Coach for 25 years.
Practice includes floor exercise, uneven bars, vaults and balance beam. When did I last have all this vim and vigor, I wondered.
Curious about their uniform for competition, I asked Coach Davis about that. She told me she had one she could show me, just what I hoped for, thinking maybe I could try one on. Wrong again, is everyone tiny I thought. They are quite nice, red/black with some sparkles.
There are 11 girls that make up this team, 4 returning and the rest being Freshman. Coach Davis stated that with new Freshman, it is exciting as they have a lot to learn. The girls have worked very hard and have come along way.
Competition involves; some members compete in all around, some just in specific events.
Four girls will be competing in Regional’s on March 3rd at Haslett High School. Members have to place in Regional’s to become eligible for States. They must place in the top 8 Individual or top 6 All Around. The 4 girls attending Regional’s are:
Lilly Burns–Vault, Floor Exercise
Aubree Newhall–Vault
Emily Simon–Vault, Beam and Floor
Lauren St.George–Vault
The rest of the team consists of Paige Hufnagel, Karson Hufnagel, Shelby Jones, Sarah Sochor, Taylor Stewert and Megan Wagner.
I came away in awe, but realized this also can be a dangerous sport. Missing is one team member who took a fall from the Vault and is recovering from a broken leg. We wish her a speedy recovery and also wish the best for the girls in the upcoming competition.
Congratulations Coach Davis and team on your success and for letting me share some time with you.