April 13, 2010

Hey SWG fans!

First off, I want to take a minute to reflect on how quickly the season has flown by! I can't believe that we are already into Championship season and NCAA's are quickly approaching! Coming in as a freshman, I had no idea what to expect with competitions every weekend, only having two teams at a meet and all the other differences from club gymnastics. Now all I have to say is it is AMAZING. It's so great to be part of such a close-knit team and be able to do what I love with such awesome friends!

Last week was a short week of practice since we left for regionals in West Virginia on Thursday. We ran through a great game day on Wednesday, which was an awesome way to leave the gym and head East! Before game day on Wednesday we all took the time to write down what we have done both individually and as a team to make us confident about the regional meet. This got everyone fired up to compete because we all knew just how ready we were.

I couldn't have asked for anything more out of my first experience at regionals. Skoly and Ming have already touched on the specifics of the meets, but I'll just reiterate how much fun we had out on the floor! Everyone put everything they had out on the floor, and we worked like a "well-oiled machine" as we all like to call it. The whole team approached every event with a calm, confident attitude and we all went crazy with each hit routine. For me, vault was super exciting! Five out of the six stuck their vaults and ran back to an ecstatic team in the corral. I think most of our voices were suffering a little bit when we woke up Sunday after the meet, but it was totally worth it.

Sunday, as many teams were headed home after a long day on Saturday, SWG headed to West Virginia's practice facility for a short, and efficient workout. We were so lucky that the team and coaches allowed us to use their amazing facility! The practice was another way to prepare for NCAA's where we will have the opportunity to compete two days in a row. We ran through agility, and focused on some basics and dance throughs on the other events. Ming and Skoly took complete advantage of the opportunity to train and were both rocking some great vaults. From there we went back to the hotel to freshen up and get back on the bus for our trip to the Pittsburgh airport. My Best Friend's Wedding provided some humorous entertainment on our bus ride back to the airport.

Our flight home was definitely one of the more eventful flights so far this season with just a quick stop in Las Vegas. We got to know the flight attendants and some of the other passengers. One of the passengers showed some of us the many functions of the new iPad and even let us try it out! Skoly won a huge bag of peanuts and a deck of cards for knowing the year Southwest Airlines started! When we landed in Vegas, we didn't have to switch planes, so the captain gave us a live tour of the cockpit and let us take turns trying out the brakes and flipping the lights on and off. And finally, I was lucky enough to sit next to Swiz on the second plane ride, which is always a blast!

Now we're back on "the Farm", and ready to perfect and polish all our routines in preparation for NCAAs. The team couldn't be more excited about the opportunity we have in front of us!

Thanks for checking in, and of course GO CARD!!!
Dayton