So, I was on Facebook doing the usual—Farmville and random procrastination—intending to do my English homework and English homework only. Needless to say, fat chance. No, this time I didn’t have a steady eye on my crops to make sure they didn’t wither. I had my eyes fixed on a new obsession.
The Arizona State men’s gymnastics team promotional video.
It was epic. Sure, I had introduced the team in my blog this past semester. It was cool. I assumed they’d do well this season. I didn’t know they’d look this well-off though.
When sophomore Jared Chin said that “the guys on the team were really helpful and outgoing,” he didn’t mention that there was another transformation taking place.
How outgoing are they? Well, it looks like they are all Clark Kents, trading in the suit and glasses for a cape; the acrobatics were incredible. The Lois Lanes of ASU should keep an eye out.
I was captivated by the technique. With each facet to gymnastics presented—the rings, bars and floor routine to name a few—there was a lot of technique shown. Whether it was the placement in their hands or their weight distribution—even while aerial—they look pretty dialed.
Though there were a few falls, the season is still young and that’s added experience. This early, you can’t help but to look at the glass half-full. To make exponential gains, you need to keep pushing.
So at this point, after trying to recreate some of the flips in my dorm room and a hospital trip later, I refrained from the Facebook applications. I had to pry further; how are these practices translating thus far in the season? Are they making those gains?
This is why I also love Facebook and ASU. With the click of the chat box and a cheesy “Hi there!” later, kinesiology junior Lee Wilkerson had simply responded with “training is very exhausting but totally worth it!”
Whatever “it” is, it may add up to be a lot.
From bumps to bruises—and even a neck brace—the team looks like they are improving. Overlooking the epic theater-music in the background, by watching them train, you can see that this sport is physically demanding. Heck, I was out of breath just watching some of the workouts.
“Yeah, I had to have something intense (music-wise),”says Zachary Todd Ouchida, a fire science freshman. “But (training) is not always going to be perfect all the time and that’s the reality.”
Reality is the test.
What this video was, according to the creator, Ouchida (sister Tiffany Ouchida also helped edit), was a timeline of the season. The team realizes that they need to improve so that they can move to their eigth straight National Championship.
The falls and flaws were all earlier in the season, while perfection has been the result as of late. But every movie maker needs to add a cliff-hanger, right? “Will they be good and persevere!?”
Point-blank the team is committed in their work. Not once had I seen a half-done workout; given, it wouldn’t have benefitted the video if I had. But I can tell from Scott Barclay’s presence that they will “prove victorious” at any cost; he is a coach who likes to “Keep Dreams Alive”.
The team will be travelling to Colorado for their first tournament, the Rocky Mountain Open, this Saturday, Jan. 14; the competition is hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy. But what Barclay is also good at other than leading them to a win, is a little shredding.
Sunday will be the day that the team straps on their boots and hits the slopes; team bonding is essential.
“Our coach is pretty old but still flips around,” Ouchida says.
Status update: nothing has changed. Barclay is instilling positive development in his team and practices are founded on hard-work. Wholly, this’ll make for a hard team to beat.
Check out their schedule at the end of the video. You can contact me at bcapria@asu.edu.
