A Talk with USA Gymnasts: Looking Forward to the Tyson American Cup
2.11.2009
On February 21, the Tyson American Cup is coming to the Sears Center in Chicago, and with it, four extraordinary USA athletes. Jordyn Wieber, Bridget Sloan, Joseph Hagerty, and David Sender are all competing for the top spot, previously held by the likes of Nastia Liukin and Jonathan Horton.
Bridget Sloan, 16, and Joseph Hagerty, 26, both competed for the United States in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing; Sloan walking away with a team silver and Hagerty a team bronze.
Being one of the youngest competitors on the women’s team in Beijing, Sloan will have to transition to a leadership role, at 20 years of age, if she eventually chooses to compete in London in 2012, but Sloan isn’t thinking that far ahead.
“Right now I am just focusing on 2009 and when 2009 is over I will focus on 2010 and it will just get closer,” Sloan said. “I don’t like to look too far ahead.”
Sloan is also now being coached by Samantha Peszek, 2007 Tyson American Cup fifth place qualifier. Hopefully with Peszek as a coach, Sloan will be even more prepared for the tournament, receiving tips from a past competitor.
Just like Sloan, Hagerty is just focusing on the here and now. He is trying to prepare for the upcoming competition, and feels that by teaching him a lot, the Olympics have brought him to a new level with his Gymnastics.
“I think I’m mentally stronger. I feel like I am ready to compete with the best right now,” Hagerty said. “My biggest focus is being consistent with my routines.”
While both gymnasts competed and excelled in the Olympic Games in Beijing, the new scoring system put in place in 2006 threw a lot of gymnasts off. Start values, or the “A” score, are now more important than before. A routine with a higher start value even with a fall now has the potential to beat a routine with a lower start value executed without fault, as seen in the case of Alicia Sacramone in Beijing.
Hagerty and Sloan were asked about how the change in scoring would affect them personally and both did admit that they were going to have to adjust, with Sloan premiering her new routines at the upcoming American Cup.
The change in the code of points has limited the number of acrobatic skills that can be presented, while putting a larger emphasis on previously overlooked dance skills. Marta Karolyi, the National Team Coordinator for USA Gymnastics, affirmed that you need a balance between the acrobatic and dance skills to excel, and that while the code is fine right now, to further emphasize dance “would be too much.”
While this change in scoring is significant, it will not have as big an effect on the younger up and coming gymnasts who will have more time to get used to the new system before competing in bigger international competitions, such as the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The youngest USA competitor, Jordyn Wieber, at only 13 and the 2008 US Juniors Women’s All-Around Champion, is excited to be competing close to home, hailing from nearby DeWitt, Michigan.
“My whole family is coming, my mom, dad, and siblings,” Wieber said. “I’m really excited because they don’t get to see me compete for the US very often.”
Weiber has unofficially been anointed the next one, by many in the gymnastics world and currently trains at the U.S. team training center in Texas.
“I learn a lot from those girls, and I look up to them as they train,” Weiber said. “They’re great role models for me.”
David Sender, 23, is the final of the four USA competitors, and is still considering what his role in gymnastics will continue to be. Last year Sender injured his ankle during the Olympic Trials and had to pull out of competition.
“I took a few weeks off to rest the ankle, get healthy and take a bit of a mental break,” Sender said. “But after that I re-evaluated things and got back in the gym.”
While Sender is currently competing he is also in the process of applying to veterinary schools. He has decided that this year he will spend with gymnastics “but beyond that [he] doesn’t know.”
Sender is also currently being coached at Stanford University by David Durante, the only men’s gymnastics alternate not to compete in the summer games in Beijing. Durante has committed to coaching at Stanford for this year, and is an incredible assets to Sender, finishing third in the Tyson American Cup in 2006 himself.
“[Durante] really has been great,” Sender said. “He doesn’t let you get away with anything less than perfect. He is extremely motivating and it’s an absolute pleasure working with him.”
Growing up in Arlington Heights, IL. Sender is also particularly excited about completing at home and the prospect of a 2016 Olympic Games in Chicago.
“I am completely in support of having the Olympics in Chicago,” Sender said. “It would be great for America as well as to have it back [in the country] again. I would love to see the Olympics in Chicago.”
For more information on the Tyson American Cup, please visit their web page.