Blog Entry #4
2/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Feb. 18, 2010
For the most part you only see the match /game/meet and the results of an athletic team's training. That is such a small part of what being an athlete and a part of a team is. You don't get to see the rituals, and traditions happening right under your nose before every meet and you don't get to see the time and energy that goes into making that meet happen.
So for this blog I decided to give you a glimpse into our meet day, because if you are reading this you know what's been happening and where we are going!
Here is what you don't see...
You don't see us all eating lunch together hours before the meet. Everyone crammed into a corner of Panera discussing this and that. Or how Molly refuses to eat Panera but brings a bagged lunch to be a good sport. Or how almost everyone orders the exactly same thing.
You don't get to see the beach volleyball game we play in the locker room with Meg's inspirational beach ball, or how we figured out the best way to chest bump it, head butt, or butt bump it without putting a whole in the ceiling.
You don't get to see how I found an ingenious way to put on the teeny tiny rhinestones next to our eyes with pliers thingys I found in the training room. (Shh! They don't know I took them!) Or how Jen makes the executive decision each week of which order the blue and gold rhinestones go. (Sometimes we switch it up with silver and blue, she lives on the edge, I know.)
You don't get to see how much fun we actually have in the training room because we love Dom, Ben, and Heather so much. (They are our wonderful trainers.) I actually wrote part of this blog on those very tables. Or how if we plead with Dom, you might get a massage out of her. Or how Ben just towers over every single one (not a hard thing to do since we are all under about 5'5) and his pants are just a smidge too short but he takes the mocking well or he'll just squirt you with water.
You don't see us putting on our tattoos, or how Shan refuses to put hers on without a partner. Or the huddle before we leave the locker room. You don't hear the last words of wisdom/inspiration/jokes before we step out onto the floor. Or how each person taps our "Commitment, Teamwork, Pride" sign for an extra bit of luck.
Here is what you do see...
You do see a team out there having fun and loving what they are doing. You see us in our pretty leotards with ribbons in our hair, still looking like young girls but competing like fierce athletes. You see the 4 minutes of gymnastics that took 20+ hours a week of training for the past 18 years.
You see a team proud to be Pitt Panthers and determined to accomplish what they set out to do at the beginning of the year. Win EAGLs!
Some Shout-outs.
A shout out to Ben and Alyssa's mastering of the perfect "high ten". Due to an unfortunate injury Alyssa is kind of one handed, leaving the "high ten" impossible. But being the trooper she is, Alyssa and Ben devised the perfect solution. Ben sneaks his left hand in next to Alyssa's right hand after an awesome routine, and among the sea of hands waiting to be high fived, they fit in seamlessly.
A second shout-out to Shan, who has become a pro at maneuvering two and half feet of snow with crutches! It is not an easy feat! And seeing that it continues to snow everyday, she will be perfecting that skill for a bit longer! Of course she won't be pleading with Dom to give up those metal sticks!
And lastly a shout-out to the University of Pittsburgh for canceling almost a full week of classes due to "snowmageddon" in the Arctic we currently reside in! We all really appreciated the extra sleep! Thanks!
Off to topple the Terps on Sunday!
Hail to Pitt!
Vaf