Gymnastics: Gators go for Natty today 3:30 on ABC

no1g8r

Bringing Reason to the dumb masses
Lifetime Member
Oct 23, 2017
2,407
5,295
Two things.

I can’t help but feel like this team wasn’t up to task psychologically and was overwhelmed by the event. Quite the opposite of the mental state of the Rhonda Faehn teams.

What the he!! Has happened to SEC gymnastics? Just a few years ago the final 6 would have included at least 4 SEC schools but now there is only UF in the final four and I believe only 2, or maybe 3 in the semifinals.

Rhonda's teams had a bad habit of fading in the latter part of the season, while we watched Bama, UCLA, Georgia, and others excelled late in the season. In Rhonda's first 10 years, her teams failed to even make the Super Six 3 times, In the other 7 years, her team finished 4th 4 times, 5th once, 3rd once, and 2nd once (the year before winning her first NC).

In 2013, 2014, and 2015, Rhonda's team won consecutive NCs, though shared the 2014 title, amazingly after having to count a fall. There was a common factor in all 3 of those NC years - Bridget Sloan. Bridget had a combination of intensity, confidence, and "looseness" that was infectious. In the biggest meets, you would often see her and other gymnasts relaxing by dancing and laughing on the sidelines.

All coaches rely on their team leaders, and Bridget made a huge difference. This year it was usually Alyssa Baumann who was providing last-minute pep talks to gymnasts getting ready to perform, and I often wondered, based on the body language, if she was perhaps TOO intense and made some teammates tighter going into their events, rather than looser. But that is completely based on speculation from what I could observe remotely, and I could be way off base.

With that said, the head coach definitely has to be in tune with her team and know how to get the best from each of them, as individuals, given the individual performance nature of the sport. Jenny SEEMS to know her team, but we're still awaiting champion-level results, and we seem to have digressed some as the gymnasts who were freshman and sophomores from those NC teams moved on.

I believe Jenny needs to bring an assistant in who knows how to win, and who knows how to instill the right mental aspect into the gymnast to get them through the challenges of the regular and post-season. When Utah brought in Garrett Griffith as their assistant coach, they also got a great volunteer assistant coach in Courtney McCool, who was a Georgia gymnast in 2008, 2009, and 2010, three years when UGA won NC's, mostly on the strength of Courtney Kupets. I don't know if Bridget could bring anything similar to the Gators as an assistant, but I'd certainly try as Bridget is still very much a Gator.
 

Double Gator Dad

Founding Member
Senior Member
Lifetime Member
Jun 12, 2014
4,987
8,395
Founding Member
Rhonda's teams had a bad habit of fading in the latter part of the season, while we watched Bama, UCLA, Georgia, and others excelled late in the season. In Rhonda's first 10 years, her teams failed to even make the Super Six 3 times, In the other 7 years, her team finished 4th 4 times, 5th once, 3rd once, and 2nd once (the year before winning her first NC).

In 2013, 2014, and 2015, Rhonda's team won consecutive NCs, though shared the 2014 title, amazingly after having to count a fall. There was a common factor in all 3 of those NC years - Bridget Sloan. Bridget had a combination of intensity, confidence, and "looseness" that was infectious. In the biggest meets, you would often see her and other gymnasts relaxing by dancing and laughing on the sidelines.

All coaches rely on their team leaders, and Bridget made a huge difference. This year it was usually Alyssa Baumann who was providing last-minute pep talks to gymnasts getting ready to perform, and I often wondered, based on the body language, if she was perhaps TOO intense and made some teammates tighter going into their events, rather than looser. But that is completely based on speculation from what I could observe remotely, and I could be way off base.

With that said, the head coach definitely has to be in tune with her team and know how to get the best from each of them, as individuals, given the individual performance nature of the sport. Jenny SEEMS to know her team, but we're still awaiting champion-level results, and we seem to have digressed some as the gymnasts who were freshman and sophomores from those NC teams moved on.

I believe Jenny needs to bring an assistant in who knows how to win, and who knows how to instill the right mental aspect into the gymnast to get them through the challenges of the regular and post-season. When Utah brought in Garrett Griffith as their assistant coach, they also got a great volunteer assistant coach in Courtney McCool, who was a Georgia gymnast in 2008, 2009, and 2010, three years when UGA won NC's, mostly on the strength of Courtney Kupets. I don't know if Bridget could bring anything similar to the Gators as an assistant, but I'd certainly try as Bridget is still very much a Gator.

I agree 100% about Bridget.
I think she’s every bit of a winner as any athlete UF has ever had. Only good things could result from her presence.
 

MidwestChomp

Fun was the goal and we hit the bullseye
Lifetime Member
Sep 15, 2014
10,248
13,907
I don't know if Bridget could bring anything similar to the Gators as an assistant, but I'd certainly try as Bridget is still very much a Gator.

Bingo. I have always wondered about bringing her on as an assistant. She'd be a great coach.
 

MidwestChomp

Fun was the goal and we hit the bullseye
Lifetime Member
Sep 15, 2014
10,248
13,907
Trinity had issues with that pass all year, especially early on and fell a few meets in a row. Gymnastics is very mental, so that pressure and mental game caught back with her. I suspect Richards fall got in Trinity's head. However, that fall was not the reason the Gators didn't win. They just didn't have it this past month. We'll see what next year brings (team should be amazing), but they need to get over the pressure of trying to win. I think they need to bring in the 04s to talk to them about how they dealt with the pressure of 07.
 

Swamp Donkey

Founding Member
7-14 vs P5 Fire Stricklin First
Lifetime Member
Jun 9, 2014
78,161
109,974
Founding Member
Did we win a championship? or just Butters/Mullinz it?
 

Zambo

Founding Member
Poo Flinger
Lifetime Member
Jun 12, 2014
12,898
32,445
Founding Member
Did we win a championship? or just Butters/Mullinz it?
iu
 

soflagator

Senior Member
Lifetime Member
Sep 4, 2014
21,131
78,737
My sister was in gymnastics when I was a kid. My mother would bring me along to pick her up after class. And all I can remember is this pungent odor throughout the entire room of feet, sweaty socks, chalk and slight B.O. I didn't even think girls were capable of stinking so it really shocked me. To this day, it always makes it difficult for me to watch gymnastics without immediately going back to that smell. Anyway, wanted to share.
 

no1g8r

Bringing Reason to the dumb masses
Lifetime Member
Oct 23, 2017
2,407
5,295
While everyone want to be number one, it is a great achievement to be in the final four.

I agree in general, though this was a team that was #1 in the country all season long, but limped into the final four both physically and mentally broken, finishing a full point behind the other 3 teams, who all finished within .1 to .2 of each other.

Florida looked like the team that didn’t deserve to be there.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Help Users

You haven't joined any rooms.