One to watch: Jordan Chiles

Here's a name you might want to remember: Jordan Chiles. At just 11 years old, Jordan is already training some big skills like a 3 1/2 twist on the tumble track (watch here) and a triple twist dismount off beam. When a video of her was posted on tumblr, the gymternet went crazy and couldn't believe what they saw from this talented young girl. Her routines are unique and well performed for her age! It's a shame she's 9 months too young for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Photo Credit: BLP Studios L.L.C

Jordan lives in Oregon and trains at Naydenov Gymnastics with her coaches Erika Bakacs and Dimitri Taskov. She trains around 32 hours a week and is working hard to qualify elite for the 2013 season. Read our interview with Jordan below.

Triple Twist: How did you get started in gymnastics? 

Jordan: "I couldn't stop cartwheeling down the isles of stores or walking on my hands! I had a lot of energy so my dad and mom took me to Naydenov Gymnastics and everything started from there." 

Triple Twist: Who are some of your role models? Is there anybody in particular that you look up to?

Jordan: "I really only have one. I go to church, so I really look up to Jesus and how he loved people. In gymnastics, probably Gabby Douglas but I really like Nadia Comeneci." 

Triple Twist: What would you consider your greatest accomplishment so far?

Jordan: "My new elite beam routine! It's massive and fun. Also my front triple to front full!" 

                              
                       

Triple Twist: What's your favorite event and why?

Jordan: "All of them because each one has something I love."

Triple Twist: You have been training a lot of big skills, what one was the hardest to learn?

Jordan: "Well really, the double arabian. It wasn't hard once I got it and I got it pretty fast, but my mind had to think of things differently. I just had to make my mind understand it."

Triple Twist: What's your favorite part about gymnastics?

Jordan: "Being around my friends and being able to do things that other people cant....like fly!"

Triple Twist: What's one thing that most people don't know about you?

Jordan: "That's a hard one! I play clarinet."

Triple Twist: Have you ever had an embarrassing moment during competition?

Jordan: "Oh yes! The most embarrassing was probably when I went to do my leap series on floor and my toe caught the carpet and I tripped!"

Triple Twist: While competing, how do you control your nerves?

Jordan: "I talk to myself in my mind. I say "Jordan you got this, it's just like practice" I also remember what my dad says to me before every competition, "Do your best and forget the rest." My coaches also help me breathe and shake my body before I go up."

Triple Twist: What are your goals for this season and for the future?

Jordan: "This season is to hit my new beam routine perfect and hit every handstand on bars. For the future, is to be an Olympic champion."

Thank you Jordan and family! Good luck this season!

Photo Credit: Team Photo

Click here to view Jordan's website

Click here to view Jordan's YouTube videos

Interview done by: Ashlee

Quick Chat with Level 10 gymnast Sydney McGlone

Sydney McGlone is a 15 year old level 10 gymnast who competes for Universal Gymnastics in Hilliard, Ohio. In the 2012 gymnastics season, Sydney earned the title of state champion on bars, beam, floor, and in the all around. She also won the Circle of Stars meet, which qualified her to compete in the 2012 Nastia Liukin Cup! While training 21 hours a week, Sydney still manages to keep school a priority. She is currently a sophomore in high school and boasts a 4.0440 GPA! We caught up with Sydney to talk about her plans for this season and beyond!

Triple Twist: What would you consider your biggest accomplishment to be so far in your career?

Sydney: I'd have to say making Nationals this past year. I had never made it to Nationals before and I knew I had something to prove because the year before I was coming off an injury.

Triple Twist: How cool was it to be one of the few competitors competing at the 2012 Nastia Cup? Was it difficult for you to adjust to being on a podium, in front of cameras and a bigger audience?

Sydney: I LOVED the Nastia cup! The lights were a little hard to adjust to, but the equipment wasn't much different. It was such an amazing experience and I hope I can go again next year!

Triple Twist: What advice did Nastia give you before the meet?

Sydney: Nastia told us to go out there and have fun. She said that we had already made this far and competing was supposed to be fun. She also gave us some tips on how to relax our nerves and do our very best!

Triple Twist: What are your goals for the upcoming season?

Sydney: My goals are to be healthy, go to the Nastia Cup and Nationals again, and hopefully commit by the end of the year!

Triple Twist: Are you planning on upgrading any of your routines?

Sydney: I'm keeping most of my routines the same except my bars is a little different. I'm adding more transitions (toe on handstand to giant full to bale to uphill!) and I've added a double pike in my new floor routine!

Triple Twist: What is your favorite and least favorite thing about being a gymnast?

Sydney:  My favorite thing is definitely the thrill of competition. I'm such a hardcore competitor and I love making friends but being able to be that top dog when it comes time. My least favorite thing? Time!! I wish there was either less training or more hours in the day. I know it all pays off but sometimes it's so long!

Triple Twist: How do you keep yourself motivated when training gets tough?

Sydney: Good question! I think I always try to remind myself of my purpose in gymnastics, which is to achieve my greatest goals and work for that little girl that fell in love with the sport when I was 3. Sometimes I need a break and ill take it if times are too hard, but I just push myself. I'm a perfectionist!

Triple Twist: What gymnast(s) do you look up to and why?

Sydney: So many. I really look up to Aly Raisman and Alicia Sacramone. They are so fierce and work so hard for what they want and they accomplish it. I think they're awesome. But of course there is Jordyn , who I used to be in the same group for camps with for 6 years. Just being able to say I worked out with her is a privilege!

Triple Twist: What is your favorite and least favorite event?

Sydney: My favorite event is floor! I love performing and I think of myself as a power gymnast. Tumbling is so much fun but I'm also really into the dance! It's the funnest to compete! My least favorite is bars. I've never liked bars. I used to have a mental block on dismounts and me (being so short!) I could never swing very well anyway. Not a bars fan!

Triple Twist: Are you interested in doing college gymnastics? Have you started looking at colleges yet?

Sydney: That is my ultimate goal. I love the concept of college gymnastics. I'm really looking at Georgia, LSU, Utah, Ohio State, and Nebraska. I've visited Georgia, OSU, and Utah. I LOVED Georgia but I visited with jay Clark so that's why I'm interested in LSU. 

Watch Sydney on floor at the 2012 Nastia Cup!

            

Sydney on vault at the 2012 JO Nationals

             

Click here to visit Sydney's website  

Catching up with Rita Wieber.

Last time we talked with Rita, her book "Gym Moms" was only in the works. Now that it's published, we decided to talk with Rita again about the book sales, what tour stops she will visit and the plans for her new book!

(Photo Credit: Mark Bashore)

Triple Twist: Overall, how would you rate the outcome of the "Gym Mom" book? Do you think it has been successful?

Rita: "So far sales have been steady on my website. I haven't done a "press release" or any official marketing yet. I have a new website launching soon and will do a big "grand opening" at that time. I've had lots of good feedback on the book and I am working on an outline for a 2nd book."

Triple Twist: So you plan on writing another book?

Rita: "I have two more books in mind. One will be called something like "Things I learned from my daughter" and cover Jordyn's entire elite career, her Olympic experience, and how the whole thing changed my life."

Triple Twist: On your website you mention some new products coming out in December, can you share what those are?

Rita: "I will have products for mom's including tote bags, key chains, t-shirts, coffee tumblers, and car stickers. These will be great gifts for gymnasts to buy for their own GYM MOM. They will be sold separately and bundled together in different packages as well."

Triple Twist: "Will "Gym Mom" eventually be sold in stores or anywhere else besides your website?

Rita: "I'm working on that now. The next step is to get the book on Amazon and create an ebook. There will be an audio version too. Bookstores are also in the works."

Triple Twist: How hard has the process of writing and publishing a book been for you?

Rita: "I've been a writer for 14 years, so the actual writing part came pretty easy. USA Gymnastics offered to publish my first book which made the whole process faster...it was great! I'm taking the responsibility of all the marketing of the book, so that's going a bit slower."

Triple Twist: On your blog you mentioned signing autographs at the Arizona tour stop, do you plan on being at any of the other stops?

Rita: "I will be in Memphis, Detroit, and possibly the Thursday, Friday, Saturday shows in the first and third week of November."

Triple Twist: Can you give us an update on Jordyn's injury?

Rita: "Her leg is healing well. I believe she is going to begin tumbling soon. Right now she can do bars, beam, and dance in the show with no problems"

Triple Twist: Do you know if Jordyn has any plans to continue training after the tour?"

Rita: "We haven't even had that discussion yet! Just enjoying the moment for now!"


Thank you for your time Rita!

Click here to check out the Gym Mom website!
Click here to read my Gym Mom book review!


Interview done by: Ashlee

Autograph Collecting for Dummies

As you all know, Ashlee and I have a rather large autograph collection. (Ashlee has around 60 and I have over 30!)  A question people always seem to ask us is, "how did you get so many?" "How can I get some?" If you're interested in started an autograph collection of your own, keep on reading! We're about to share all our tips on how to be an expert autograph collector with you!

Who to contact:

The first step to starting your autograph collection is quite simple. You need to decide who's autograph you would like to have. But remember, you have to be realistic. As much as I would LOVE to have the entire Fierce Five's autographs, I know that the likely hood of that happening (unless you go to a tour stop!) is really not possible. Olympic athletes have busy lives, that's why I would suggest picking one of your favorite juniors. Juniors almost always respond back and they love getting fan mail. Many of the juniors that we see out on the floor today, are the World and Olympic champions of tomorrow. So get their autographs while you can! Ashlee wrote to Jordyn Wieber back in 2008 and she responded with a really sweet letter. We wrote to Shawn and Nastia back in 2007 and they both got back to us with an autographed picture! If you write to a few of the juniors NOW, there is a good chance that you could have a future Olympians autograph!

When to contact them:

Now that you've picked out your favorite gymnast, it's time to decide when will be a good time to contact them. The goal is to pick a time when their most likely to respond. For example, writing to Gabby Douglas during the Olympics is probably not the best idea. Again, I would recommend contacting them when their young. You also want to avoid contacting them directly before or after a big meet. If you write someone a week before Nationals, their going to be busy training and preparing for the meet. Pick a "downtime" (like right now!) when there's no major meets coming up. Always check to see if the gymnast you're writing to is home and not away at a meet or doing appearances before you write to them. When you work around the gymnasts schedule, they will have more time to respond!

How to contact them:

There are only a few ways to contact a gymnast: letters, social media, and meet & greets (or after competitions). I know going to gymnastics meets can be expensive which is why I've only been to 1 in my entire life (2010 Covergirl Classic). It was held in Chicago (which is a 4 hour drive from where I live) and I ended up meeting around 20 gymnasts in the lobby before and after the meet. Sometimes if you get lucky, you can find gymnasts in the audience. At the Covergirl Classic, Jordyn Wieber was sitting 3 rows in front of us and all the GAGE gymnasts were sitting in the row behind us! More great opportunity's to get some autographs! If a meet is coming to a state near you, I would highly recommend going. However, there is always another option. College meets! College gymnastics is very inexpensive (hello $5 tickets!), fun to watch, and often times the teams will have former elite gymnasts on them. I go to about 2 or 3 U of M meets a year and have meet several athletes who are former national team members or Olympic athletes from country's like Canada, Great Britain, and even the U.S. If going to a meet just isn't an option for you, you can always send a letter to the gym!

What to say:

When you write your letter, I would make it personal by telling them your name, age, level (if you are a gymnast) and why you look up to them. You can also ask them a few questions which prompts them to write you a letter back! You also want to make your letter personal, don't just make it seem like you are writing to  get their autograph. Say something like "I loved your vault at the 2012 Covergirl Classic, it was perfect!" Giving them a specific compliment lets them know you actually pay attention to their gymnastics. Tell them how you have an autograph collection and that you'd love to have theirs! I like to decorate my letter with stickers and take some time to make my letter extra special. Gymnasts get fan mail all the time, make your letter memorable! Some of the more popular gymnasts have autograph cards that they can quickly sign and send out, but it doesn't hurt to send a picture of your own that you'd like them to sign! Another thing I find helpful is to send a pre-addressed envelope. Have your address and a stamp all ready to go on the envelope so that all the gymnast has to do is sign the picture and send it right back. Easy as that!

I hope you find these tips helpful. Let us know if you have any more questions! Happy Collecting!

You can click here to view Ashlee's autograph collection!

Written by: Brittany

Behind the scene's of gymnastics blogging: My interview with the World of Gymnastike

I did an interview with "The World of Gymnastike" talking about how I got started as a blogger, my autograph collection, and more! Click here to read it. 

The Fierce 5...What's next?

Jordyn Wieber

After doing the 40 city Olympic tour, Jordyn plans on finishing her senior year at DeWitt high school in January. In the fall of 2013, Jordyn will attend UCLA as the volunteer assistant coach for the gymnastics team. Jordyn hasn't ruled out continuing gymnastics yet and her coach John Geddert hopes she'll give the 2013 Worlds a go. "She's a senior in high school. I think she has another good year before she goes off to college. Worlds is certainly a realistic goal for her." he told the press after the London Olympics. Wieber said she has thought about 2016, but won't make a decision until after the tour. "It's very hard to picture myself going another four years, but it's definitely in the back of my mind. We'll see." she told the Lansing State Journal.

Mckayla Maroney

Mckayla was planning on doing only some of the tour stops and then possibly heading back to the gym. But right now, things aren't looking to good. Mckayla injured her fibula in rehearsals for the tour and then injured her left knee when she landed a bar dismount during the show. You can watch it here. She is currently going under medical evaluations and tests to determine the extent of her injury, then she would like to return to competitive gymnastics. "I'm almost positive that I really want to stick with this and stay with gymnastics, at least to another worlds." she told the press in London. Mckayla also talked about possibly doing the triple twisting yurchenko vault and getting it named after her.

Gabby Douglas

The Olympic all around champ will only be doing about half of the tour stops but is "definitely" looking forward to potentially competing in Rio in 2016. That is, if she doesn't get to caught up in the fame. But first she'll be writing a memoir set to be released in December called "Grace, Gold, and Glory, My Leap of Faith." "Even before I competed in the Olympic, I always wanted to write a book." she told People magazine. Gabby will also be doing her junior year of high school online and is already being recruited by colleges like Spelman University. In fact, the schools president even flew out to London to meet Gabby and give her a gift bag.

Aly Raisman

While Aly's original plan was to do the full 40 city Olympic tour, that may change. During an uneven bar performance at the Ontario tour stop, Aly fell from the bars and bruised her knees. While reports are saying she is fine with an icing & a treatment regimen, it has yet to be determined if she'll continue to do all of the tour stops. However Aly doesn't want to be finished quite yet. "2016 is in the back of my mind." she told her local news.

Kyla Ross

The most quiet from the Fierce 5 is still getting her chance to shine in the spotlight. Between the VMA's, appearing on Ellen, and doing the west coast tour stops...Kyla is ready to head back to Aliso Niguel High School where she'll be a sophomore and of course, back to the gym. "I am proud to go back to school and back to my teenage life. I definitely want to start training again. I'm looking forward to getting into routine shape and looking forward to the next Olympics in Rio in 4 years." she told the Aliso Viejo Patch.









Photo Credit: Emmanuel Dunand, Teen Vogue, Mark Boster, Fit Perez

Written by: Ashlee

Gym Mom Book Review

Title: Gym Mom: The Twists and Turns of Your Daughter's Gymnastics Career

Author: Rita Wieber

Price: $19.95

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars

It could simply be called the beginners guide to gymnastics. "Gym Mom" is filled with stories of Jordyn's childhood and useful information for parents of gymnasts. This book covers many topics including, recreational vs. competitive gymnastics, the cost of gymnastics, dealing with injuries, and finding balance in life as an elite gymnast. The book starts out taking you through Jordyn's journey in gymnastics, from recreational to World Champion, showing personal photos (in black and white) along the way. Rita shares her advice on how to select a good gym, how to keep your gymnast healthy, and when to retire from gymnastics. (And much much more!) "Gym Mom" also features interviews with experts such as national team physician, Larry Nassar and UCLA head coach, Valorie Kondos Field. I thought the book was interesting and I liked that the information was coming from a reliable source. I also like that with each piece of advice or information, Rita shares how it worked for Jordyn and tells little stories along the way. I think it's great that people can possibly relate to the Wieber family. I would recommend this book to any parent who has a child that is a gymnast or the average gym fan that loves to read anything gymnastics related! "Gym Mom" is also a great read if you just want to learn a thing or two about gymnastics! This book is very well put together for Rita' first book and I enjoyed reading it! If you have read "Gym Mom" too, let us know what you thought below! 

Gym Mom will be sold at all of the Tour Of Gymnastics Champion stops!

Buy your "Gym Mom" book here.

Follow Rita Wieber on Twitter

Visit the books official site: http://gymmom.net/