Compulsory Masters Workshop

This weekend the Twisters team staff had the pleasure of making the trek up to Reno to attend congress, where the national staff unveiled and taught the new compulsory routines.  Our journey started on Thursday morning when we met at the gym, packed up the Twisters van, and made our way to Rocklin; Ericka's parents live there and they were taking care of the kids for the weekend.  Not only was it a nice stopping point but my mom was also able to make her way over so I was able to spend a little bit of the afternoon with her!  We went to lunch with everyone then to the mall before heading back and continuing on our way.  Once we finally made it across the border and into the city, we found our hotel and checked-in.  We registered for the event and had our first of many large meals before heading up to bed; Annie and I got to room together so we had a good time staying up and talking for a little bit.

The venue was one I am very familiar with due to the fact that I competed there for more years than I can remember and it was interesting to walk in as a member of the "other side" (aka coach vs gymnast).  Morning #1 was all about the level 5 floor routine.  At first we watched someone perform it and then we were up and dancing around ourselves, attempting to pick up on all the new dance.  It took about three hours but we got it down...Cat and Ericka got it quite easily and will be the ones in the gym that everyone should look to, but the rest of us held our own.  Level 5 beam took up most of the afternoon, along with vault and bar conditioning clinics.  By the end of the day we were exhausted and almost fell asleep over our food at dinner, but somehow managed to rally and ended up staying out with some of the other coaches we ran into.  Annie and I even made a late-night milkshake run...we gave up on trying to eat well early on so figured we might as well.

Morning #2 came too soon and with coffee in hand, we were back in the hall ready to face the level 4 routines.  It was just like the day before, though luckily a little bit easier because each routine builds off the other so we had an idea of what we were doing.  In addition to paying attention to everything going on around us, we had our own in-house stuff to attend to so we also held a meeting in Allan's room to discuss certain upcoming deadlines.  All these new responsibilities I've assumed are a bit overwhelming but it's a fun learning process.  I like playing a larger role in the development of the program and look forward to all that will be thrown my way.

Tired and ready for bed, we still had to go through some more lectures before dinner and sleep.  This morning we had the opportunity to hit the snooze button a time or two and then after a couple of hours discussing levels 1-3 we decided as a group to head out early, woohoo!!  The workshop wasn't scheduled to end until 4pm but we were drained and needed to get away so we left around 10:45am and arrived in Rocklin for lunch.  It was nice to see the light of day after spending so many continuous hours indoors and we enjoyed the ride, listening to music and trying to unwind.  We picked up the kids and continued on our way home, arriving around 4:45pm.  Walking into the door of my apartment never felt so good and now I'm planning on heading to bed early before getting back at it tomorrow morning!  As of right now there are so many poses and musical notes floating through my head that I can't keep them all straight, but seeing the girls do these routines all summer will act as a constant reminder of what they're supposed to look like.  It'll be interesting to see how this season unfolds for gyms around the country...September here we come!

May Days

Looks like I've been in serious slacker mode!  But in reality there has just been so much going on that I don't feel like I even have a spare minute.  That will continue through the beginning part of the summer, but maybe after that things will calm down a little bit.

The first thing that was taking up so much of my time was bartending school!  Alex and I didn't have a clue about what were getting into when we started, but it was really a ton of fun.  We were up making flashcards and memorizing recipes, playing mind games along the way to help us remember.  We went to class for about four hours per day over the last couple of weeks to see the drinks being made and to practice pouring for ourselves.  Finally, Thursday morning we took our exams and we passed with flying colors!  It's funny to look at it now because when I picked him up that day you could tell that we were both really nervous.  He tried quizzing me on liquor classifications and I was failing miserably and we were quite quiet as we ate our breakfast.  However when we arrived we got through the written exam and each received a 99.5%!  Halfway to becoming certified bartenders and the only thing that stood in our way was the pour-test.  We had practiced for many hours and were both feeling good about our abilities, and this showed as we each set a new record time delivering our recipes.  We walked out with diplomas and new titles...certified mixologists!  I never thought I'd say that, but this whole experience has opened my eyes to fun things that are available to me if I just decide to try them out.

Yesterday we were still on a high from our achievements but even more importantly it was Alex's birthday (the golden one, nonetheless)!  Cale and I had talked and sort of planned out the day and it was nice to see everything come together.  We all got up and met for brunch in the morning before going to the mall to get Alex a shirt for the fancy dinner he thought he and Cale would be sharing later. After a brief hiatus we met up again for tennis and then I went to work while the boys went off for some pampering.  Cale convinced Alex that they were having dinner together but little did he know that more of us would be there to surprise him.  We ate at Evvia and when he walked in his face was priceless; the food was amazing and we had a good time just sitting around the table and talking.  Alex also ordered one of the drinks we learned to make in class, the golden dream, and we felt so classy, haha!  After a long meal we got up and ready to dance at the bar/club next door.  We lasted there for about an hour and then were tired and decided to call it a night.  I gave my gifts (bartending kit, messenger bag, and photo cube) to him and we said goodnight, happy that the day had gone so well.

While there are no more birthdays for me to think about or classes to attend this month, next week is going to be just as crazy!  Annie is finally moving down here and will begin coaching with me on Monday, woohoo!  And then...James comes in on Tuesday for an entire week.  We've got a few things planned but for the most part it's going to be nice to just have time to see each other for once after being apart for so long.  It's my first connection back to Australia and I'm super excited!  After that we're holding the optional banquet, then the coaches are off to the compulsory clinic in Reno, Alex graduates (finally) from Stanford, and around the corner is my birthday!  :)

Birthdays, Bartending, and Bootcamp

What a week.  Being out of season is great but I figured things would slow down, not speed up!  I guess it's my own doing though, with all the activities I recently put on my plate.  Thanks to Amazon Local I am now in bartending school and bootcamp training four days per week.  The bartending deal was something Alex, Cale, and I all jumped on and looked at as something fun we could do together.  We originally purchased it awhile back and never acted on it, waiting for schedules to clear up, etc.  Finally Alex and I decided to just go for it and Cale's going to take the online course when he's finally out of school for the summer.  We have class Monday through Thursday for four hours and each day we learn about a different type of drink:  so far it's been mixes, sours, martinis, and shooters.  Next week they'll pile on more I'm sure and at the end there is a written and a pour test.  It's scary to think about but we're on top of it with our flashcards and we have a study session set-up for tomorrow (just like the good old days back at Stanford).  If we pass our exams we'll be able to get a job at a local bar if we want...woohoo!  In addition to these classes, a great bootcamp workout deal came along and I had to jump on it; for $23 I have five weeks of classes in Redwood City.  It starts at 7am which means I have to actually get up early but also that I'm done by 8am and have the entire rest of the day in front of me!  I feel so accomplished by noon and am loving the fact that the class is really hard and is essentially kicking my butt.  The guy running it is great and highly motivating so there's a chance that I'll continue with them after the deal is over but I'm going to have to see just how much it'll cost me.

It seems like May is the month for birthdays and with the number of gifts that have been delivered to my door you'd think it's Christmas!  I love getting stuff for people though and the wrapping and surprise element of it all makes me so happy.  Allan and Ericka had a birthday party at the gym for Remi and Tula so the team staff attended that and enjoyed the princess (girls)/pirate (boys) theme as well as the homemade tamales (it was on May 5th and Ericka is Mexican so it was legit!).  We almost had more fun than the kids did wearing the fairy wings and playing with the toy swords.  Ahhh, to be young again  :)

Cale's birthday was yesterday so I was able to take a couple gifts off the pile and deliver them to him.  He, Alex, and I spent the evening playing games and talking and then today those two went on a wine tour together.  From the pictures it looked amazing and seemed like a great way to celebrate a 21st birthday!  Tomorrow is my dad's birthday, followed by Mother's Day on Sunday, Blair's birthday on the 15th, and Alex's on the 24th.  I have Mom and Dad's gifts ready to go and Blair's was sent off awhile ago so I think I'm right on schedule.  I'm planning on disrupting the weekend my parents have planned so that we can have breakfast on Sunday morning before they head off to see the Terra Cotta Warriors in SF, so that should be a good time.  And then once May is over, it's all about me and my birthday month!  Kidding.  Sort of  ;)

Level 7 Regional Championships

Season.  Is.  Officially.  Over.

Sounds so weird!  I don't think it's sunk in yet because yesterday we were at a competition and today it's back to the normal grind.  When I realize we're not gearing up for another meet it will probably seem all the more real.

Our final trip took us back to Las Vegas (woo!) and we had to get up quite early to make it there.  Allan and Ericka picked me up Saturday morning and we parked the car at the airport instead of trying to deal with getting a shuttle/transportation.  SFO has been closing down runways lately and rescheduling flights so we lucked out when we left on time.  It was my first flight on Virgin America and the plane had such a cool vibe to it!  I slept most of the way in, we arrived smoothly, and were greeted by hoards of people and long lines at the rental car place.  Once on our way we went to check-in at our hotel (the Aria!), raced to change, found lunch, and made our way to the competition.  When I first got to the room it was really dark so I went to the curtains to open them; I couldn't figure them out until I realized they were automated and all I had to do was press a button and they would retract!  The whole room was set-up that way which made it all really spiffy.

Our first session was with the NorCal state team, made up of the top 12 all-arounders in the state.  NorCal competed against SoCal, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, ending up in second place by 0.125; we won every event except for bars where we had three falls.  SoCal took advantage and came through with the win, but it was still a great experience to be a part of.  After that session ended we stayed for one more with two of our girls who ended their season with fantastic performances.  They both walked away with season-high all-around scores and one of them with the regional all-around and beam titles!  It was a lot of fun to compete with them because of their energy and excitement and I'm happy that their efforts and attitude were rewarded.

That night we (including Annie who we stole away from her Utah crew) went to dinner at the hotel and ended up talking for a few hours.  She really wanted to go out and promising me that we wouldn't be gone too long I humored her and we went up to change.  Of course we didn't end up coming back to the hotel at any sort of decent hour but our Vegas adventures were fun and it was worth the lack of sleep.  3.5 hours after my head hit the pillow I was up again getting ready for day two of competition.  Both sessions we had went well with the girls continuing the streak of personal best performances.  Although we were all exhausted we walked away from the meet feeling really good about how we had prepared the girls to peak at the right time.  We're proud of all the hard work everyone put in this year and it's exciting to continue to watch the program become what we want it to be.  All three of us, though in need of some serious rest and relaxation (we sat on the runway last night for about an hour after SFO notified us we weren't allowed to fly in at our scheduled time), are excited to get back in the gym and work hard.  Success is a definite motivator, as is looking back to the beginning of the year and now seeing just how far we've come.

I'm so proud and thankful to be a part of the Twisters family.  I love Allan and Ericka so much and am grateful for all the opportunities they've given me as well as all the important life lessons they've instilled.  Great job, 2013 optional team.  You definitely proved what is often said to be true about sport, that passion often has a funny way of trumping logic.  Congratulations  :)

Living The Beach Life

Mini-vacation!  Last weekend I had the opportunity to head down to LA for NCAA Championships and it turned out to be a great time overall.  I woke up at 3:25am Friday morning (so gross), was at Alex's house by 4am, and on highway 101 not long after that.  For it being so early in the morning, we were pretty energetic.  We played music and kept the mood up as the sun rose and found ourselves a few hours into the trip before we stopped at Denny's for breakfast.  I was a little stressed about making it to the competition on time so I rushed it a little, but it at least gave us a chance to get out of the car and stretch our legs.  Alex drove the rest of the way to Woodward West where I dropped him off for a fun-filled weekend of coaching kids and then quickly continued on my way.  I made it to the UCLA campus with about 45 minutes to spare...perfect timing!

Stanford had a really rough showing in their prelim session and it was a little difficult to watch.  Their season ended on a somewhat somber note and all we can hope for at this point is that they'll take what they learned from the experience and use it as fuel/apply it next year.  After the meet the alumnae that were there went back to the hotel, changed, and went out to a sushi dinner.  Funny thing about the hotel was that the original one we were booked to stay in actually didn't have room for us so they sent us to another one and paid for it all!  We lucked out with a really great, free room right on the beach...how awesome!  After dinner and a little bit of shopping I went back and crashed (such a long day for me) while some of the others stayed up talking at the bar.

The next morning we all got up, rented bikes from the hotel (again, free!), and rode along the beach.  It was great to cruise along the boardwalk and I felt very Southern California  :)  We ate breakfast at a little beach shack, played around at Muscle Beach, and stopped off at the boardwalk on the pier.  Afterwards we returned the bikes and went down to the water.  We saw dolphins, threw the football, and just enjoyed the sun and the company.

After showering we went back to UCLA to watch Super 6.  Even though Stanford wasn't in the competition, it was still a great meet to watch.  There was so much good quality gymnastics going on all at once and we were actually able to watch history being made; Florida finally broke in and became the 5th team to win the title.  It's been four teams for so long now, but hopefully the door has been opened and more teams will be able to challenge for the top spot.  After the meet was over we drove through Westwood and over to dinner at the Shapiro's house.  Their daughter, Sami, is a former national team member and current sophomore on the Stanford team and they live about 20 minutes from the UCLA campus.  They had a great setup going on and were very welcoming to all the team members, coaches, alumnae, parents, and fans that were present.  It was nice to spend some time with Kristen, Swiz, Tabby, and Allan and get there take on everything.  After getting our fill of amazing food and yummy desserts, those of us at the beach hotel went back with the intention of going out together but we ended up staying in the room just talking about anything and everything.  The weekend served as a great reminder of why I love the SWG program and of the fact that we really were and always will be a family first and foremost.

Sunday morning we walked to brunch but I had to take mine to-go so that I could get on the road in a timely manner.  I made my way back up to Tehachapi, picked up an exhausted and starving Alex off the side of the road, and continued up along I-5 for what felt like an eternity before arriving back in Menlo Park.  All the driving was definitely worth it for the experience and good times we had.  I'm looking forward to other SWG reunions coming up and also can't wait (on another note) to take my last trip this weekend and end the optional season in style!  I leave for Las Vegas Saturday morning, have four sessions to complete, and then I'll finally be reminded of what it's like to spend a weekend at home!!  There is so much to look forward to upon the conclusion of this competition and as summer approaches, woohoo!  Let the good times roll...I'm ready!

Phoenix Sun

The level 8 season has come to an end...and rather successfully I might add.  Last weekend I made my first solo journey as a Twisters optional coach and took our three girls to the Regional championships.  I wasn't stoked about flying alone but the trip was quick and painless.  I knew I was going to be rushed when I landed due to the flight choice we made, but the new monorail/light-rail system the city has going made it easy for me to find my way to the hotel.  Luckily the meet site was within walking distance so I quickly checked in and changed before making my way over to the first session of the weekend.  I didn't have the chance until that point to realize just how hot it was outside and I arrived indoors sweating much more than I had anticipated.

The arena had four sets of equipment set up and was divided into two gyms.  Flight A and B would run separately on both sides, one side designated for the 9/10 competition and the other side for the 8's.  The first session I had was with Cecilia who has clean lines and pretty gymnastics that was highly rewarded.  One of the coaches from UCLA who happened to be in our rotation with his club gym came up to us and said that her bar routine was like art...it was just that pretty.  It was really nice to hear that and she continued on event after event with her game face.  She ended up 2nd on floor and in the all-around for her efforts and I was ecstatic.

After the competition I went to the Hyatt where Annie was waiting with Eli and Debbie; they weren't in the same session I was so they had the chance to go to dinner together.  I was exhausted from the day so I came in and slouched on the couch while we chatted and then Annie and I went to get some food.  We ended up across the street at Hooters and while the food was good I was a little taken aback by the waitresses and both Annie and I remarked that we weren't qualified to work there, haha.  After dinner we found ourselves at the bar of our hotel with pretty much every other coach in Region 1.  It was a nice chance for me to get to know some of them a bit better and while I love traveling with Allan and Ericka it gave me the opportunity to go at it on my own and really talk to a lot of them.  I walked away feeling more a part of the club and was ready to tackle my 8am session the next morning.

Unfortunately, that session didn't really go as planned and the highlight of the day was actually meeting Annie for lunch and spending time with her by the pool before she had to go for her 4pm session.  I went with her and watched the level 9's on the opposite side, gathering ideas for my own kids who will be trying to move up next season.  Once again the two of us had dinner and we called it a night a little earlier this time because we were both so tired.

Sunday morning (felt like Groundhog Day at this point) came and this time the result was much better.  Avery was up and I have to say that I really enjoy working with this kid.  We just have a connection I can't explain and she was so cute when she expressed how grateful she was for everything I'd done for her this year.  She ended up 4th on vault, 3rd on floor, and 6th all-around.  For having a goal of being in the top 10, I'd say that was a success!  I walked away happy and sad at the same time...sad because I had to say good-bye to Annie and head to the airport.  I was so exhausted when I got there that I fell asleep at the gate and almost missed my flight, but luckily I woke up just in time and made it home safely.  Alex greeted me at SJC as did cold weather and a lot of wind.

This weekend it's a road trip down to LA to watch NCAA's, then lastly it will be to Vegas for level 7 Regionals.  I can't wait to wrap up this season; while I'm proud of everything we've accomplished, back-to-back compulsory and optional seasons have taken their toll on me.  I'm ready for some R&R before other big life events take place (Stanford graduation, my friend James coming to visit...).  This summer is shaping up to be a good one and I can't wait to get it started!!

April Showers

They say that April showers bring May flowers but to me it seems like April just brings allergies.  I can't remember the last time I suffered so badly from them, but there must be something in the air this year because it's hit me hard.  I'm feeling better now but for awhile I was down for the count.  I don't think all the traveling for work has done anything good for it either as my body is just so tired, but only one more month until season is over.

Speaking of, this last weekend was spent in Lemoore, CA and let me tell you...it was an adventure.  Allan, Ericka, and I drove from the Bay Area together and after over three hours we arrived in a very desolate looking place.  The theme of the weekend was "Keepin' It Classy" and we started off strong walking up to our hotel...the Travelodge.  It was pretty terrible, including a blood stain on the chair in Allan's room.  Both rooms had a certain smell to them so we spent a little time just hanging out with the door open to try and get some airflow.

After a quick nap (trying not to touch any of the sheets on the bed) we got up for dinner, which was actually quite good.  We went to check out the competition site before heading to bed, as we had an early morning session to get to.  8am the next day and we were back, ready to kick-off level 7 State with Monica and Lily.  Both of them, as well as Izzy in the following session, really had the meet of their lives and there isn't anything more we could have asked for them.  Their performances alone beat the final team score we had last year and left us in second place behind Airborne by only 0.05!  If you aren't that familiar with NorCal gymnastics, that's a true feat.  We coaches left on a high and went to celebrate.

It was like Groundhog Day because the next morning we were in the exact same position.  8am came around and back at the meet site, this time with our top all-arounder this year.  We were looking for her to come up big, but unfortunately she was nervous and had a fall on bars.  We didn't end up counting her for our team score which hurt us a bit.  Our last session of the day got us back on track and left us in a pretty good mood about the overall performance.  There were teams out there that were definitely better than us but in all of NorCal we ranked pretty close to the top which is something to be proud of.  All of our girls qualified to Regionals and we even placed one on the State Team; off to Vegas it is!

This week is already flying by and I can't believe I'm headed to Phoenix on Friday.  I'm super pumped to see Annie there with her girls and can't wait for our level 8 team to wrap up their season.  In a turn of events I'm the only coach going to the meet but I'm still looking forward to it.  After that it's down to LA to watch SWG at NCAA's (they qualified last weekend) and then finally to Vegas before some well-deserved rest time.  Final push...here's to a fun and successful finish!