Team USA moving forward

[MaryClare]

It's funny in this thread that we're still talking about athletes who were seniors as far back as 2017 (Carey, Chiles) and 2018 (Jones) and 2019 (Wong), as well as gymnasts who were eligible for Tokyo (Blakely). What a difference from, say, 2012, where Raisman was the veteran who had been to just two Worlds and everyone else just had Tokyo Worlds under their belt (or nothing, in the case of Ross).

But I don't think things are as dire as they might seem after yesterday. No one had Caylor on their team and she's now in the top AA group with two EFs. What I mean by that is not just that she did great (she did!) but that this competition is pure chaos. The best beamer in the world fell while doing choreography. Gymnasts qualified to finals with falls.

The US National Champion and Olympic veteran is out with injury, and she's legitimately a successful recent junior to senior transition. I think there's reason to believe that Gabrielle Hardie can be a star. And for all the fears about the havoc GAGE could wreak on Crain, she's great so far. But also, other teams are also still relying on geriatric talent as well. Melnikova was in Rio, as was Andrade. Black was in London! Everyone on the Chinese team was eligible for the last Olympics, and Deng Yalan is basically a grandmother.

Who are the new seniors who are grabbing the torch heading into LA internationally? Perotti? I think this is more of a global issue than a US issue in a lot of ways. The US could be seen as just a microcosm of a bigger trend.

It’s not really a global issue. Only a handful of countries ever really consistently produced top juniors. And some of those, ie Romania are just not operating at the level they did previously. The US always had, regardless of who was in charge, even in that weird late 90s period where no one was in charge.

I think that the rise in prestige and popularity of NCAA as well as the relaxation of financial rules means there are even fewer reasons for a gymnast to pursue elite. The archetypal gym parent is just as likely to push their kid to be a gymnastics influencer in ncaa as they are an Olympic candidate.

 

[MaryClare]

I wonder if USAG could do something support younger and newer coaches and gyms that might be more open to change than the old guard. There's a lot of old-school thinking and ego in that group, and the best option knight be to develop a viable alternative to them rather than try to change them. Though this is hardly a short-term solution.

How many of the old guard are actually around though, as in having current national team members?

Isn’t it just Al&Armine, Valeri and Evgeny?

 

[irichluck21]

True 2004 was a mess and USA should have easily defeated Romania.

2006 was a monster fuck up with uncharacteristic falls- but also Marta removed Priess and Kelley from the team finals roster with Liukin as back up on vault, beam, and floor-which she was not physically capable of doing. Memmel screwed up her shoulder on her bars fall. Had Memmel not pushed through beam and floor, the US would have counted two 0s and finished 8th.

2008 there was plenty of evidence that at least one if not more Chinese gymnasts were underage. (No this isn't racist-as Twitter mob have stated) He Kexin was absolutely underage and also possible Deng Linlin and Jiang Yuyuan were also not 16. We know China had cheated in 2000, but had at the time, not yet been caught. There is no doubt in my mind they did it in 2008 so they could win gold at home.

2010 silver was a strong result considering they were the 3rd best team in Rotterdam, but got lucky when Russia imploded. Marta actually went against her typical decisions and let Larson go up, despite having messed up the day before. Larson should have had a back up in case she missed the punch layout out of her 2 1/2. Back then a simple front aerial fulfilled the requirement, why everyone didn't have one in the routines was always a strange decision to me.

 

[flappergirl]

Dan Baker is gone, Betty Okino is the Developmental Lead.

Does anyone know how good she is?

 

[Sasha]

How many of the old guard are actually around though, as in having current national team members?

Isn’t it just Al&Armine, Valeri and Evgeny?

Possibly Zmeskal too, based on her coaching style rather than her age. But GAGE, the WOGAs and TD account for a sizeable proportion of US national team members, don't they?

 

[Denn]

I think that the rise in prestige and popularity of NCAA as well as the relaxation of financial rules means there are even fewer reasons for a gymnast to pursue elite. The archetypal gym parent is just as likely to push their kid to be a gymnastics influencer in ncaa as they are an Olympic candidate.

Even more likely, I feel.

Why would you want to subject your child to elite training and elite scoring (which, at this point, is tantamount to abuse — it treats humans like computers and punishes them severely for things like bending arms or turning past handstand)?

Elite WAG has become a total mess of a sport, being driven by a miserable WTC who seem like they don't really care about gymnasts and gymnastics and how it looks to the world. When 7.7 is considered a high score, and athletes are all accepting it, something is SERIOUSLY wrong with the sport.

 

[MaryClare]

Possibly Zmeskal too, based on her coaching style rather than her age. But GAGE, the WOGAs and TD account for a sizeable proportion of US national team members, don't they?

Pease, Rivera, Anzola, L Crain, Sath, Moreau. It’s not a lot really. Although I noticed that Bullock’s coach is now listed as Tatiana Perskaia which wasn’t previously the case

 

[Caligym]

I believe some of what everyone is talking about is happening under Okino at the Elite Developmental camps. Many younger coaches and athletes that are hopes or aren’t even hopes athletes yet attending.

 

[MaryClare]

Even more likely, I feel.

Why would you want to subject your child to elite training and elite scoring (which, at this point, is tantamount to abuse — it treats humans like computers and punishes them severely for things like bending arms or turning past handstand)?

Elite WAG has become a total mess of a sport, being driven by a miserable WTC who seem like they don't really care about gymnasts and gymnastics and how it looks to the world. When 7.7 is considered a high score, and athletes are all accepting it, something is SERIOUSLY wrong with the sport.

I do think that in the next 10 years, a lot more international gymnasts are going to be pursing ncaa scholarships rather than pushing their difficulty. Especially since it’s very standard in many countries now for the young people to have a high standard of English.

 

[Hatsumomo]

I do think that in the next 10 years, a lot more international gymnasts are going to be pursing ncaa scholarships rather than pushing their difficulty. Especially since it’s very standard in many countries now for the young people to have a high standard of English.

I don't think I would have ever predicted a Romanian pursuing NCAA gymnastics. But one of the top global universities in the world offering you a full ride to compete in gymnastics is an easy sell.

 

[MaryClare]

I don't think I would have ever predicted a Romanian pursuing NCAA gymnastics.

No. Not just because their federation wouldn’t have allowed but also their education and level of English wouldn’t have been sufficient. But Romania nowadays is very similar to Western European countries. The young people speak good English and have similar dreams and lifestyle aspirations.

 

[CameliasFingerpaint]

No. Not just because their federation wouldn’t have allowed but also their education and level of English wouldn’t have been sufficient. But Romania nowadays is very similar to Western European countries. The young people speak good English and have similar dreams and lifestyle aspirations.

Which ironically has led to their resurgence, the opposite of what is happening here.

 

[MaryClare]

Which ironically has led to their resurgence, the opposite of what is happening here.

Hmm. It’s not really a resurgence. Even at European level, they are not challenging for a team medal, they have no AAers and only voinea is a medal threat.