Nov. 3, 2008

Hey there SWG fans,

This week, as always, was packed with fun and exciting things happening inside the gym. The entire team is looking so solid in practice. It's really inspiring! The challenge is to transfer that success into a competition setting where the pressure is on. To combat this issue, most of our practices this week began and/or ended with intrasquads on vault, bars, and beam so that we could focus on our mental preparation for meets. Shout out to Alyssa Brown for her aggressive skills in the bars and beam intrasquads and to Carly Janiga for her consistency on, well, everything! Even the people who were not competing in the intrasquads stepped up to fill roles as mat movers, bar setters, and encouragers. Special shout out to Kelly Fee - the energy she brings when she cheers is infectious!

On Friday morning, the freshmen got their first taste of biking in the rain on their way to lift weights. Freshmen Allie Skoly said she might buy goggles for the next time she bikes in the rain! Yet despite the small uncomfortable wetness, we arrived with smiles on our faces and motivation to work hard. It's a great feeling to be part of a team like that!

Friday afternoon's practice was extra entertaining because everyone dressed up in hilarious Halloween costumes! The freshmen showed their Stanford-student creativity by dressing up as the Flintstones, or "Froshstones" as we called ourselves. The sophomore class dressed up as The Cat in the Hat, Thing 1, and Thing 2. They looked so adorable in their elaborate Dr. Seuss costumes! The juniors made a dramatic entrance dressed as the Planeteers from the 90's "Captain Planet" TV show complete with cargo shorts and ring pops. The seniors had the original idea of dressing as Cinderella and the two ugly stepsisters. But the best part of all was seeing the coaches' costumes, which looked oddly familiar because they dressed up as the seniors! Chris was Heather Purnell, Mike was Nikki Ourada, and Kristen impersonated Kelly Fee really well by chewing gum and wearing a curly wig. This was especially funny because the now-seniors dressed up as the coaches for Halloween when they were freshmen 3 years ago. Looks like the coaches decided it was finally pay back! What a memorable way to end our exciting and productive week.

With all the enjoyment we have, it's no wonder why we look forward to every day we get to spend together in the gym.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for reading, and please check back next week for another SWG update!

-Jenny Peter