By Brice Biggin
Head Coach
Wins are always nice, especially when they come against Mid-American Conference competition. And we certainly have to be happy any time we go into someone else’s gym and win. That is never easily.
But while we felt fortunate to win, we were not overly happy with some of the scores.
Our bar scoring was just a little tight. We felt like we did some nice bar routines. We were hoping for a little different scoring and just didn’t get it. That hurts our team score, and that’s not a matter of wins and losses, but how it impacts our regional ranking.
We dropped from No. 22 nationally to No. 25. Part of that, though, is our fault because we couldn’t stay on the beam. What we’ll take from this weekend at Western Michigan is that we are still not a good enough beam team. I don’t pull a lot of punches. Right now we are just not a good beam team. We had a couple of individuals do a really good job, but I always tell the team that a couple individuals is not going to win meets. A couple of individuals will not win championships. And right now, we are not good enough to win a championship the way we are competing.
We have a couple of weeks to work before our next meet, which is the Flip For The Cure on Feb. 7 at home against Northern Illinois. In those two weeks we are going to drill routine after routine on the beam in the hope of getting a little more consistency.
We need to get a few people going. Chelsea Drooger is a junior who competed all year last year and had just one fall. She has two falls in four meets this year. We talked and she understands that she needs to be a lot better because she has the talent.
We are still missing Whitnee Johnson to an injury. She was out completely this weekend. That’s a big loss on the vault and the beam, and it will probably be a couple of meets before we get her back.
Two of our girls did a very nice job on the beam, though, with Nicole Radon scoring a 9.750 to lead off. That’s what we are hoping for – at least a 9.7 to lead off, and she did one of the nicest routines we’ve seen in a meet this year. Nicolle Eastman has struggled a bit this year getting her self in gear, but she did by far her best routine in getting a 9.800.
Obviously Marie Case, we can never say enough about what she does. She got a 9.9 from one judge and a 9.8 from another. She just doesn’t let anything affect her. If someone falls in front of her, she stays 100-percent focused.
We have some girls who are close on the beam. Jordan Hardison is a freshman who did an exhibition beam routine. She stayed on and is someone we feel has potential. Amiah Mims is a junior who has had a very good year so far. She is adding a new skill and a new mount that is giving her some trouble. She needs that and until she is consistent with it, we can’t throw her in there yet. Once she gets it she will be a legitimate contributor there.
That Feb. 7 meet is our premier meet of the year. Northern Illinois is a nice team and we need to come prepared to compete, but obviously a lot goes into that meet with the promoting the Flip For The Cure. It’s not just about the meet. It’s about the cause.
Especially with this being a female sport, we want to do our part to get the word out there on such an important issue. The money we raise will go Stewarts Caring Place in Akron Ohio. This is a group that supports not only the individual with the disease but how the diagnosis and treatment effects the whole family. They have teen nights, spousal support groups, disease education, husband support groups, elementary age kids events and activities and financial advise groups, all free to the families that contact Stewarts Caring Place. They also provide free wigs for patients, meditation seminars, stress relief groups and all around help for the whole family that this disease effects.
If what we do raises awareness and encourages women to get screened and be proactive against this disease, some people will have a chance to save their lives. With anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer or knows someone who has been diagnosed, they understand the support system they have is very important to the outcome of treatment.
This is an event that is very near and dear to us, so we are hoping to get a great crowd with people who are willing to donate to an important cause.
No comments:
Post a Comment