Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams

[IratePanda]

The story about Traci Hinkle is so scary.

The anecdote about Bill Cosby is cringe-inducing. Of course, we didn't know then what we know now.

 

[Indy]

• • Parents had gotten to know the other parents as well. One parent asked how he could prevent his daughter from getting her period, to which Dr. Sey responded, "Get her pregnant!"

Well that's freaking creepy on multiple levels

 

[KristyJ]

Yeahhhh I never understood how that one was seen as humorous

 

[QuietColours]

Sey keeps describing herself as poised, graceful, mature, with strengths in her flexibility. I've been watching her routines, and those aren't the words I would use. They aren't especially fluid or graceful, and her flexibility is perfectly fine but nothing remarkable and her toe point is lazy. Was she considered especially graceful at the time, or is she just trying to make herself feel better about being pretty mid?

 

[IratePanda]

international Gymnast once described her as "breatakingly graceful," but I never saw it. Kathy Johnson was breathtakingly graceful. Sey was a galumph.

 

[Kittentoes]

They did use her for compulsory demonstrations for one broadcast. I'm trying to remember which it was.

 

[Matilda23]

What competition was Jen Sey looking her best? 86 Nationals?

 

[flappergirl]

Sey keeps describing herself as poised, graceful, mature, with strengths in her flexibility. I've been watching her routines, and those aren't the words I would use. They aren't especially fluid or graceful, and her flexibility is perfectly fine but nothing remarkable and her toe point is lazy. Was she considered especially graceful at the time, or is she just trying to make herself feel better about being pretty mid?

Admittedly I was just a new fan watching on tv with no Internet to speak of, but I thought her gymnastics was way below par compared to the Soviets, obviously, but also Missy Marlowe and other good Americans

 

[KristyJ]

I have a similar impression, that she's not as polished as she seems to say she was. She can have moments of grace, and her compulsory floor has several nice sections, but she doesn't extend through her ankles like I'd expect a dancer to, she has a weird hopping technique on a lot of her turns, and it's just not quite all the way there.

 

[MaryClare]

poised, graceful, mature, with strengths in her flexibility.

Hmm I could do with a new signature

 

[RedBirdie]

A few videos. Quality isn't great, as one might expect. Watching, I see the potential for Sey to have been graceful, but she, like pretty much every American at that time, lacked the refinement, extension, and polish of a truly great gymnast. Sey is very much a Parkettes gymnast.

1985 worlds optional beam


1987 compulsory floor (I think this is US nationals, but not 100% sure)


The entire 1986 US nationals broadcast, if you are so inclined. It's terrible, just one hour to cover men and women including EF, plus juniors Phoebe Mills and Kristie Phillips. WAG starts around the 26 minute mark. We only get Sey in AA on beam and floor and in both cases partial routines. We also see Sey on EF bars. MLR is commentating, so you've been warned. Her mullet is quite the thing

 

[QuietColours]

Chapter 12

• Canadian Classic
  • Team coach was assigned by the federation; individual coaches were not permitted to attend. She would have a chance to prove herself, but she would have to do it without Lolo to coddle her
  • 12 years old. Didn't know what to expect of herself without the guidance of a coach
  • Gary from Maryland MarVaTeens was the team coach, and Mary, the choreographer Jen had traveled with, was the assistant coach. There were six girls on the squad, half without a familiar coach. Traci Hinkle was there on her own, invited after other girls had declined the assignment. Amy Appler, from Berk in PA was also there–they knew each other from Parkettes camp.
  • Became friends with the gymnasts. Gathered in each other's rooms when they weren't practicing, doing hair and pooling paraphernalia to trade with girls from other countries. Blue levis for the gymnasts from Russia, USA Gymnastics pins for everyone else. They also traded clothes. Lots of black stirrup pants and oversized V-neck sweaters over paisley blouses. It was the 80s
  • Jen didn't do these things with girls at school–she was basically friendless there.
  • Went to Canada a week early to train. Mary pushed Jen harder than she was used to, stretching her aggressively. Jen was naturally flexible, so Lolo didn't feel the need to push her too much here. Mary pushed her, stretching her until she cried. Her hamstrings were so sore on the second day of training she could barely run, but she didn't let on. She was afraid of Mary like she was Janet or Patrick from Parkettes. Mary would yell at her own girls a lot
  • The severe pull Mary caused on Jen's hamstring would later turn into a full tear
  • Self-doubt made her believe the coaches had low expectations of her at the competition. They confirmed this by putting her first or second on every event. Gary and Mary put their own girls at the end of the line up, and Jen didn't have Lolo there to advocate for her placements. Feels that even third would have given her a chance at a floor medal
  • But Jen nailed every routine, no falls. They weren't the flashiest or hardest sets, but she didn't miss and got 2nd AA, the highest US placement
• Friends
  • Because she'd missed two weeks, the kids at home knew she'd been at a competition
  • A few girls gathered around her when she got back. "Did you win?" "I got the silver medal." "But did you win?" The girl turned away. "She thinks she's so great. She didn't even win."
  • Didn't have friends at school, but she had Angie. They went to different schools, but they had a lot of time in the gym, and Angie spent a lot of weekends at Jen's house, which was nicer than hers.
  • In the summer, Lolo invited them to her Jersey shore vacation house for a week. Her family was invited too. The invitation was also extended to Angie's parents, but they didn't go–the cost of Angie's training was a strain on their family, and they had to work.
  • Lolo would make them bagels, juice, eggs, and bacon in the morning. Her grown son Sam could eat three bagels and bacon, while Jen and her mom rolled their eyes in disgust–they both disliked gluttony. Forbearance was revered in their house, and they nibbled their half bagels with tiny smears of cream cheese
  • After breakfast they'd go to the beach, running to avoid burning their feet (it never occurred to them to wear shoes in the summer). Her dad joined them for the weekend and they went waterskiing. Angie was afraid of the water and refused to try–her only fear. Lolo gave it a go, despite being over 50 and having never done it before
  • It was the last perfect summer. After this, summers would become a haze of training and preseason preparatory competitions. But in the summer of 1982, she was still a kid and she was happy
  • Her other close friend in the gym was Michelle Krupa, a brash city girl. A senior in high school, five years older than Jen, from a working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia. She sometimes stayed at Jen's on Fridays, driving them home from practice. Why an 18 year old bleach blonde Philly girl wanted to spend her Friday nights with Jen puzzled her parents. The other girls her age had already quit, and their suburban sensibilities hadn't included Michelle. Jen's father worked in Philadelphia, and Jen and Chris went to school there–they considered themselves metropolitan and open minded.
  • The gym kids were drawn to their house. Her parents were "cool." They weren't separated, didn't mind cursing (her mother cursed quite a bit), and they had nice things–cable TV, a VCR. The stable, supportive, financially secure family was attractive.
  • One night Jen and Michelle made chocolate chip cookies and the conversation turned to Gary Goodson. He didn't care for either of them, and they agreed he was a jackass. They laughed uncontrollably–it was a relief to make fun of the man who tormented them
  • Jen's envy of Angie in the gym persisted. She always placed at least three places higher than Jen, firmly in the top ten. She got more prestigious assignments. One evening a call came asking Lolo if Angie could attend an important competition that the Romanians would be at. Angie and Lolo were delighted; Jen immediately became sullen and bitter. This was a clear sign of how much better than her Angie was
  • Lolo noticed and tried to soothe Jen and encouraged her to congratulate Angie. Jen spat that her parents wouldn't let her go anyway, Latvia was dangerous. She packed as many mean sentiments into the statement as she could–that her parents cared about her more, that it wasn't an honor to go to this competition. Lolo sent Jen home to prevent her from saying more mean things to her friend, to prevent her from injuring herself (she was too upset to safely practice), and to punish her for mean-spiritedness. There was nothing worse to Jen than missing practice, especially now that it was clear how much work she had to do.
  • Jen was too stubborn to apologize and was completely focused on being better than Angie

Chapter 13

• Championships 1982
  • Goal in 1982 was to break into the top 10. Qualifying for Championships wasn't an issue; she'd done that before and it wouldn't be an accomplishment
  • This year seemed like a bigger deal because the juniors and seniors would compete in the same arena. All her idols were there. The seniors were the ones who would make up the Olympic team in two years if they could keep it together
  • Everything seemed weighty and important, and it showed. Jen couldn't stay on the beam, falling on everything all week. Her side aerial was particularly problematic–she didn't make one all week. Lolo offered to let her take it out of the competition and left the decision to Jen
  • Angie didn't have any struggles that week. She always went into meets as if she was just happy to be there and anything else was a bonus. She enjoyed herself more than Jen did
  • Traci Hinkle was there with a new team, Parkettes. She'd left her coach Bruce after the Reno incident. The Strausses weren't rumoured to be kinder, but they hid it better and had a group of girls already in the top ten.
  • Traci's former teammate Heather was there with Bruce, now known to be a loose cannon. He slapped the backs of her legs when she couldn't stay on bars, threatened not to coach her during the meet, and carried through with the threat. She didn't have anyone to set equipment for her, deal with judges, get her pysched up, etc. For a 13 year old, she was remarkably calm and self-assured about the abandonment.
  • Heather's parents watched from the stands, shrugging off Bruce's behavior as necessary discipline to get the best out of Heather. The outburst would have been avoided if she made fewer mistakes
  • Jen's parents sat with them and were horrified. They expected coaches to be like Lolo. They assumed Heather's parents' reaction was due to their tough-talking Texan roots, and that worldly, sophisticated Philadelphian Jews would never put up with that kind of thing. Jen would stand up for herself and reject such treatment if subjected to it–she was sensible and strong willed, and they were a close-knit family.
  • Jen took out the side aerial and stayed on the beam. The cautious approach would become her competition approach–don't fall, don't take chances
  • She placed 12th, beating her performance from last year and making the national team, but missing her goal. Angie was 9th. There were no tears or nastiness directed at Angie, but Jen was starting to wonder if Lolo could get her to the top squad. Traci had moved into the top 10. Her new coaches were rumored to be nasty, but they got her there. Would Jen need to move to do it too?
  • Jen constantly moved the goal line–what she achieved was never enough, she never stopped to enjoy her successes. It was always "How do I get to the next level?"
  • Had a looming sense of the narrowing window of opportunity in gymnastics. Even the best gymnasts didn't compete beyond 18. And the older gymnasts always seemed a little pathetic in competitions, afraid to leave the known success of gymnastics and grow up.
  • Gymnasts all had to find second careers once they retired. Baseball players, basketball players, golfers, football starts made lifelong careers out of their athletic prowess. For gymnasts it was over before college
  • She knew she had to move quickly to beat the development of her own body and shine as a teen before giving it up. She had to break into the top six before puberty made it impossible for her to do skills meant for younger, lighter girls. 13th to 12th wasn't good enough.

 

[MaryClare]

A few videos. Quality isn't great, as one might expect. Watching, I see the potential for Sey to have been graceful, but she, like pretty much every American at that time, lacked the refinement, extension, and polish of a truly great gymnast. Sey is very much a Parkettes gymnast.

1985 worlds optional beam


1987 compulsory floor (I think this is US nationals, but not 100% sure)


The entire 1986 US nationals broadcast, if you are so inclined. It's terrible, just one hour to cover men and women including EF, plus juniors Phoebe Mills and Kristie Phillips. WAG starts around the 26 minute mark. We only get Sey in AA on beam and floor and in both cases partial routines. We also see Sey on EF bars. MLR is commentating, so you've been warned. Her mullet is quite the thing

She just looks so…amateur

 

[IratePanda]

Yes, she looked like a junior, even as a second- or third-year senior.

 

[RedBirdie]

So many American gymnasts looked that way at that time.

 

[MaryClare]

Yes, she looked like a junior, even as a second- or third-year senior.

I don’t think she looks juniorish, more like a third tier L10. Nothing looks polished. Also she has uneven shoulder compression that leads to skewed hips on her bhs and that sort of thing annoys me

 

[IratePanda]

So many American gymnasts looked that way at that time.

True. Stacey Gunthorpe was even worse.

Some of the SCATS gymnasts were more polished, but the mere thought of Don Peters gives me the shivers. Marlowe had some lovely work, but she was so inconsistent. (She finished way down in 10th place at '86 Nationals when she probably should have won.)

 

[Puffin]

• Had a looming sense of the narrowing window of opportunity in gymnastics. Even the best gymnasts didn't compete beyond 18. And the older gymnasts always seemed a little pathetic in competitions, afraid to leave the known success of gymnastics and grow up.

Was this a US thing that 18 was the max age? IIRC many of the top Soviet gymnasts competed into their early 20s at this time (including Kathy Johnson)

Kim
Davydova
Filatova
Shaposhnikova?

 

[QuietColours]

Sey is way more obsessed with both age and ranking than Miller or Strug were. I'm not sure if that's an effect of being a mid-80s athlete instead of 90s athletes or just her particular approach to gymnastics.

Kathy Johnson was noteworthy in the 80s for her age in the US, but I've never seen anyone else indicate it looked like a refusal to grow up--if anything, the general impression of gotten from people talking about her in interviews was them being impressed by her

 

[IratePanda]

• Had a looming sense of the narrowing window of opportunity in gymnastics. Even the best gymnasts didn't compete beyond 18. And the older gymnasts always seemed a little pathetic in competitions, afraid to leave the known success of gymnastics and grow up.

Was this a US thing that 18 was the max age? IIRC many of the top Soviet gymnasts competed into their early 20s at this time (including Kathy Johnson)

Kim
Davydova
Filatova
Shaposhnikova?

Shaposhnikova retired at 19, alas. I would have loved to see her compete in '81, but I think her ankles were shot.

Yurchenko won '83 Worlds at 18.

Anyway, I think Sey is taking another nasty potshot at the '80 team members who dared to stick around and threaten her Olympic spot in '84. There was nothing pathetic or childish about Johnson, McNamara, or Talavera.