April 23, 2007

I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by and the fact that this week is the last week of the 2007 NCAA gymnastics season and spring quarter mid-terms are fast approaching. I remember watching NCAA championships on TV prior to college and thinking how fun it would be to compete at such an exciting and meaningful event. In three days, that will become a reality. This is the first year since I came to Stanford that SWG has made it to nationals and we can't wait!

One of the girls was asked the other day when her season started, she replied, "September." I couldn't have agreed more. You could tell from the first day we stepped onto campus in September that there was no other option for this hungry team. I am so proud of how far this team has come and the determination and passion that each girl has brought to practice everyday. It is truly exciting to be going to nationals with an amazing group of girls that I love and who have not stopped working hard towards our goals since that first day in September. It has been a long and exciting season so far, but it is not over yet.

Over the past week, we have been in the gym, working on minor details to make our routines flawless. Execution and landings have been a major focus as we began to taper to have the best body feeling for Nationals. Mini-intrasquads everyday have kept us in the competition mind-set, fine-tuning our mental focus as we work on fine-tuning physically. Skills are bigger and better, and the enthusiasm is right up there with it. All that is left is to pack and write a paper before we leave tomorrow. Somehow these things don't seem to matter so much when I think about what lies ahead :

Thanks for checking in with SWG and to all those going to nationals, see you there!

-Pinch-