University of Pittsburgh Athletics
~Dre's Diary~
3/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
~Dre's Diary~
3/11/2005
Hey again! I?m sure everyone is ready for some updates from this past week of training and competition. First though, I would like to thank everybody that came out to support our ?Senior Night? on Saturday. All the parents, club gymnasts, students, and fans did a great job cheering and helping us ?PROTECT THIS HOUSE? as our team likes to say! So, thanks very much on behalf of Pittsburgh Gymnastics, and we hope to see you all again next year.
This week in practice our motto was ?One and done.? This basically meant that we were only allowed to do one routine per event, regardless of how good or bad it was. I think this situation was great because it forced us to put the pressure on ourselves to hit our routines on the first try, since we knew we weren?t allowed to repeat mistakes. It sets you up mentally to train like you want to compete, while physically it saves your body from all the pounding that comes with repetitions. Some of the girls, myself included, thought this was frustrating since we are so used to fixing mistakes right as they happen, but I think everyone can be thankful that their bodies could rest and try to heal for the meets to come! OK, so are you ready for the results of the meet now? Here we go?
Have you ever heard the phrase, ?A win is a win and a loss is a loss, regardless of the amount you win or lose by?? This describes our meet against George Washington and Wilson College perfectly. We pulled out two wins in our final home meet of the season, beating Wilson College by a significant amount, and edging out George Washington by a small margin of .05 points. Although George Washington was trailing close behind, this meet should be considered as a huge stepping stone for our team. For the first time this season we didn?t have to count any falls towards the team score, and because of this we scored our season high. Although this seems to be the best part, I am personally excited by the fact that we can win and still have a lot of little improvements to make. Winning is a great thing, but this team can do more than just pull off a win.
You?re always measured up to another team in terms of winning or losing, but at some point a great team needs to go up against themselves, and beat themselves. I see everyone striving for this attitude in practice and competitions. Striving to beat the other team, but more importantly striving to be better then the last turn, or last meet. We did a great job this weekend but this team still has so much more to offer- and that is so exciting! This is just the start for Pittsburgh Gymnastics, and regardless of how long it took us to get the ball rolling, we are here now, and a completely different team than we were in January.
Ok, so with all that said, I have one little surprise I would like to present to everyone. Since it was Senior Night this week, I?m going to give you a behind- the-scenes sneak peek of our two seniors who we all love so much. So here they are, our team captains Sarah and Leila:
Sarah Gibson
? Hometown: Maidstone, Kent (town in England)
? Birthday: October 18, 1982
? Favorite food: ribs and gushers
? Favorite TV show: The O.C.
? Pets: 2 dogs, Taz and Bubbles
? Favorite event: bars and floor
? Worst injury: completely broken ankle that was reset twice
? Interesting extra: Sarah has had 5 surgeries, two on her knee for an ACL and meniscus, one on her ankle, and two on her shoulder
What will you miss the most after your collegiate days are over? My teammates! Throughout the four years that I?ve been at Pitt, it has been these girls that have been there for me every step of the way. Not seeing everyone every day will be the hardest thing, but I will carry them with me in my heart, and I know they will be doing the same for me :o)
What do you plan to do next? I am moving home after I graduate in May. It's time for me to move on out into the real world as scary as that sounds. My future goal is to become a Physician's Assistant but I?m not going to go to school for a year because I want to work and get more experience. I think that I just need a break from school! But it's like I keep telling the girls ... I'll be back next year to watch the meets and I'm going to be their number one fan!!! :o)
What are your thoughts and emotions of the last meet at the Field house? I don't think that it really hit me until this weekend that I was graduating! I think I took it for granted when I kept saying that I had two more months until I graduated, but it's actually happening and I'm not going to be in college anymore! All the girls on my team know that I'm usually a pretty emotional person. I cry when I'm happy and I cry when I'm sad but I really tried to hold it together that night!! I don't think that it was until I heard my entire team cheering for me on the side when the announcer was reading about me that I really realized that this was going to be my last home meet in the Field house EVER! The whole season has gone by so fast and we only have four more meets until it is over. I owe my teammates for making it a memorable last year for me. Enjoy every moment girls, you blink and it's over!!
You seem to always have a way to get this team motivated through your words and your actions. What's your take on what the role of a team captain should do and what do you do to strive for that role? I feel like I have a very different role as captain than Leila does. I get to watch you girls every day at practice without having to worry about how my gymnastics is going since I?m retired (because of injuries). It?s hard because I miss competing but I try to put all the energy that I would have for myself at a meet towards the girls. I have learned from our other team captains in previous years that motivation and positive energy really helps, so I try to follow that. A team captain should be there for her team when they are down or having difficulties, and also be there to celebrate the success! She needs to be a person that any member on the team can feel comfortable talking to, about any situation whether it is related to gymnastics or not. I try to be there for my team in any way possible. The group of girls that we have this year is amazing, they make my job easy :o)
Leila Tait
? Hometown: Ross-on-wye (also ironically in England!)
? Birthday: April 20, 1984
? Favorite movie: Love Actually
? Favorite food: chocolate
? Favorite event: beam
? Favorite sport: football
? Pets: 2 cats
? Worst Injury: 3rd degree sprain and two fractures (at the same time!)
? Interesting extra: Leila has lived in two different countries (Britain and U.S.), four different states (CA, NY, FL, and PA), and 10 houses!
As a two-time team captain, what have you been aiming to do, in terms of encouragement, to get this team back on our feet after a shaky first few meets? More than anything else, I have been trying to just keep everybody optimistic about the rest of our season. We have an immense amount of talent on this team. I think more than we?ve had on any team since I have been at Pitt and we certainly have the ability to do extremely well at every meet if we learn how to be more confident both in each other and ourselves. Gymnastics is an extremely mental sport; at this point in the season, each team member can physically perform each routine to the best of her ability, but it is our belief in ourselves and each other that I think got the best of us in the first few meets of the year. I?ve tried to encourage everyone to focus on their own performances immediately before and during their routine in the meet, but beyond that, encouragement of teammates is the most important aspect of a successful college gymnastics team. We need to be proud of ourselves for individual accomplishments, but never let those get in the way of our pride in, belief in, and support for our teammates.
What are your future plans, after graduation? I really only have short term plans for now; I have enough credits and have fulfilled all requirements that I need to graduate on time, but I am postponing graduation until December and am going on Semester at Sea from the end of August until the beginning of December. I will get to visit Venezuela, Brazil, South Africa, Kenya, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, and Japan while taking four classes as electives. For the summer, I am going to live in Washington, D.C. and am currently working on getting an internship or job at either National Geographic, the British Embassy, or somewhere on Capitol Hill. I am hoping that whatever job I am able to get will lead to a permanent job when I return from Semester at Sea. My interests for a career include writing and editing, or marketing and advertising.
What has been the best thing about being a Panther? Specifically, the most exciting moment since being a Panther was beating Penn State last year. Everyone was so ecstatic and the team energy was amazing. The best thing about being a Panther has been the friendships with teammates that have developed over the years. Having a team like we had this year in particular is something totally irreplaceable; we all get along really well and have a team unity that I?ve really never experienced before. The athletic community in general at Pitt is an amazing thing to have been a part of and I wouldn?t give anything to exchange my experience at Pittsburgh; I have never regretted my choice to come here.
What are your predictions of this team in coming years? I think that this very talented team is going to be really successful. Individual and team accomplishments will certainly increase a great deal through the next couple of seasons. There are great group of girls both inside and outside of the gym. I think that competitive consistency will really soar after this year with a core group of experienced and talented gymnasts returning to the team. I feel that we could definitely see some EAGL and Regional titles, as well as some national qualifications. It?s going to be really exciting to see where the potential of this team can go!
We will all miss you so much next year, and thanks for being the great leaders you are! Check back next week for updates from our Spring Break week at West Virginia and Towson! Until then, have a safe break, and LET?S GO PITT! ***DRE***
