It's crazy to think that another Olympic cycle has come and gone, and you know what that means. A new quadrennium equals new faces on the elite scene. The year after an Olympic games is a great time to start observing the up-and-coming talent in USA Gymnastics, so we've identified a few first year elites who we think could be fan favorites in the coming years.
Sienna Robinson- Browns Gymnastics
Sienna Robinson is a little powerhouse. Formerly a teammate of Junior National Champion Mailie O'Keefe, you might also recognize Sienna's name from all the crazy skills she's been seen doing in the gym--hello quad double! (Click here to see it). Sienna is only 11 years old and therefore isn't eligible for the 2020 Olympics, however, her future looks very promising. With a plethora of skills and a gold medal from the 2016 HOPES Championship in her back pocket, all Sienna needs is some experience and to polish up her skills. Sienna is now training at Browns gymnastics; the same gym that 2008 Junior National Team Member Asi Peko trained at.
Annie Beard- Texas Dreams
Kim Zmeskal has another rising star in her hands and that is 13 year old Annie Beard. Last season as a level 10, Annie won the all-around and floor title at JO Nationals and also won International Gymnast's "Gymnast of the Year" award; the perfect stepping stone towards having a strong elite career. Annie might not have all the big skills yet, but in typical Texas Dreams fashion, she's super clean and has all the basics down pat. This little one is definitely one you'll want to keep your eyes on in the next few years.
Lillian Lippeatt- Cincinnati Gymnastics
13 year old Lillian Lippeatt caught a lot of peoples attention at the Nastia Cup earlier this year where she finished first on beam and floor. For her young age, Lilly shows a lot of confidence out on the competition floor and you can tell she loves to perform. Lilly is eligible for the 2020 Olympics, so as she gains some experience over the next few years she could become the next star from CGA!
Konnor McClain- Revolution Gymnastics
Konnor McClain has some serious star potential! At just 12 years old she's already making a strong case for herself. Last year at the HOPES Championships she took gold on vault, bars, beam and in the all-around. Her routines are packed with difficult skills and connections such as a standing full and a two foot layout series on beam. She has showed an impressive upgraded bar routine on her Instagram as well! (Click here to follow her and check it out!) Not to put too mush pressure on this young lady...but her routines already look like they could rival those on the international stage, so it will be exciting to see where she goes in the next few years. Unfortunately, Konnor misses the cut off for Tokyo by a few months so she'll have to hang on through 2024 if the Olympics are on her radar. (Fun Fact: Konnor was featured on the Steve Harvey show last year! You can watch it here.)
Anya Pilgrim- Hills
Another promising prospect for 2020 is Anya Pilgrim. In 2016, Anya competed as a level 9 and won the Eastern National Championships. In the last year she has worked hard to compose elite level routines and has come a long way. Anya shows great flexibility throughout and is particularly impressive on beam where she competes two triple series! She has also been training an arabian double front dismount in combination, which she does very well! (Click here to see it.) Anya needs to clean up her skills a bit, but the potential is definilty there for her to have a strong elite career!
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Saturday, May 13, 2017
Thompson Tough
There aren't many things that will stop Sage Thompson from chasing her dreams. Within the last few years she has had to overcome a lot of adversity, however, there appears to be a continuous theme in her career: never giving up. That's a special promise that she made to her dad, but we'll get to that later.
Best known for her YouTube channel "SuperGymnastSage," Thompson has come a long way since that first YouTube video of her seven year old self doing double backs on the tumble track. She is now fourteen years old and a level 10 gymnast at All American Gymnastics in Utah. That YouTube channel has now garnered over 21,000 subscribers. Her Instagram has even more with over 24,000 followers. For this reason alone, Sage isn't your typical fourteen year old girl. "It feels good to know that a lot of people enjoy watching me and that people look up to me," she told us. Occasionally she will be approached at meets by fans who want a picture or autograph. "It makes me happy that so many people are interested [in my gymnastics]."
But it wasn't just her raw talent from a young age that caught the world's attention, it was her story. And it was her strength.
When Sage was eleven years old, her father died after an 8 month battle with leukemia. Throughout that journey, gymnastics is what kept her going. "It was something to help me have fun, be distracted and [gave me] friends to talk to," she recalled. "But it could also be really hard."
While she knows that her dad is proud of her and always watching over her, there are of course days when she wishes he was here. "It makes me really sad that he can't actually be here watching my meets and helping me with everything in my life," she said. "Like when I decided to do level 10, I wish he was there to help me or I guess approve of [my decision]." Despite the heartbreak, Sage and her three brothers kept pushing forward, using their dad as motivation to not give up. "He didn't want us to give up on our dreams," she told us. "He had my mom promise to not let us give up."
And that she hasn't.
Sage's first meet as a level 10 was dedicated to her dad. All the gymnasts wore orange ribbons in their hair, the color associated with leukemia awareness. The judges and coaches wore a leukemia ribbon pinned to their shirt in his honor.
Sage continued to train hard in pursuit of her goals. For the longest time, she had her sights set on going elite. In 2015 she qualified to HOPES pre-elite after a strong performance at a developmental camp and later passed the compulsory testing for junior elite. Trying to qualify elite while working through injuries was challenging, but Sage was determined not to let anything set her back. "I trained through it all and did whatever I could." she said. Doing whatever she could even meant tumbling with one arm when she broke her wrist. That not only takes talent, but extreme dedication as well. (Check out some clips of Sage training with one arm down below. It's pretty impressive!)
Eventually Sage began to have on-going hip problems that forced her to reconsider her elite aspirations. "Training elite kept making it worse and causing overcompensation injuries in other areas," she explained. "That's why I had to cut my repetitions way back and water down my routines in order to start to heal and still be able to compete level 10."
Earlier this year, Sage decided to forgo attempting to pass her elite optionals, despite having already passed compulsories. She officially decided to shift her focus towards having a successful JO career and earning a college scholarship. So far, it's a decision that she's content with. "I'm a lot happier with JO than I was training for elite. With constantly fighting injuries it was always stressful."
The 2017 season was short but sweet for Sage. She only competed once before the State Championships, where she took first on vault and in the all-around. A few weeks later she became the Regional all-around and floor champion. Her performances qualified her to her first JO National Championships where she finished 17th in the nation, a result she wasn't exactly thrilled about. "I was a little bit upset about Nationals because I got my lowest score of the season," she explained. "I hit everything but I made a few little mistakes that kept me from placing in the top five." (Click here to watch Sage's routines from Nationals.)
Not being 100% satisfied with her performance only leaves Sage with more ambition to achieve her goals in the future. She now has her sights set on winning the all-around title at Nationals, scoring a perfect 10, and hitting a score of 39 (Her career high right now is a 38.350). She is also looking into several colleges and plans to hopefully do some visits this summer. Right now she's interested in Utah, Oklahoma, UCLA. Michigan, LSU, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
Sage continues to be an inspiration to many because of her perseverance and strength. Despite losing her dad and dealing with many injuries in her young career, she keeps an optimistic outlook on life."It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you're going through something hard," she admitted. "I've been thrown a lot of curve balls. My life and gymnastics career hasn't been what I thought or dreamed it would be." However, at the end of the day, Sage is able to acknowledge that this journey has only made her stronger. "As I get older I can look back and find the good in all of the hard times and be okay with where I am," she said. "I am excited about my future and what I can still accomplish and work towards."
Not only is Sage mature, but she is wise beyond her years. When asked what advice she would give to younger gymnasts, she offered some insight from her own struggles. "I would say not to get stuck in one hard phase of life because it's just a phase. Push through because there's always a light at the end of the tunnel, even if it's not exactly what you thought it would be."
With another competition season in the books, Sage is back in the gym and continuing to work hard. One thing's for sure, she won't be giving up anytime soon.
 |
| Sage on floor at JO Nationals. |
Best known for her YouTube channel "SuperGymnastSage," Thompson has come a long way since that first YouTube video of her seven year old self doing double backs on the tumble track. She is now fourteen years old and a level 10 gymnast at All American Gymnastics in Utah. That YouTube channel has now garnered over 21,000 subscribers. Her Instagram has even more with over 24,000 followers. For this reason alone, Sage isn't your typical fourteen year old girl. "It feels good to know that a lot of people enjoy watching me and that people look up to me," she told us. Occasionally she will be approached at meets by fans who want a picture or autograph. "It makes me happy that so many people are interested [in my gymnastics]."
 |
| Transformation: Sage at the age of 8 and 14. |
But it wasn't just her raw talent from a young age that caught the world's attention, it was her story. And it was her strength.
When Sage was eleven years old, her father died after an 8 month battle with leukemia. Throughout that journey, gymnastics is what kept her going. "It was something to help me have fun, be distracted and [gave me] friends to talk to," she recalled. "But it could also be really hard."
 |
| Sage visiting her dad in the hospital. |
While she knows that her dad is proud of her and always watching over her, there are of course days when she wishes he was here. "It makes me really sad that he can't actually be here watching my meets and helping me with everything in my life," she said. "Like when I decided to do level 10, I wish he was there to help me or I guess approve of [my decision]." Despite the heartbreak, Sage and her three brothers kept pushing forward, using their dad as motivation to not give up. "He didn't want us to give up on our dreams," she told us. "He had my mom promise to not let us give up."
And that she hasn't.
Sage's first meet as a level 10 was dedicated to her dad. All the gymnasts wore orange ribbons in their hair, the color associated with leukemia awareness. The judges and coaches wore a leukemia ribbon pinned to their shirt in his honor.
Sage continued to train hard in pursuit of her goals. For the longest time, she had her sights set on going elite. In 2015 she qualified to HOPES pre-elite after a strong performance at a developmental camp and later passed the compulsory testing for junior elite. Trying to qualify elite while working through injuries was challenging, but Sage was determined not to let anything set her back. "I trained through it all and did whatever I could." she said. Doing whatever she could even meant tumbling with one arm when she broke her wrist. That not only takes talent, but extreme dedication as well. (Check out some clips of Sage training with one arm down below. It's pretty impressive!)
Eventually Sage began to have on-going hip problems that forced her to reconsider her elite aspirations. "Training elite kept making it worse and causing overcompensation injuries in other areas," she explained. "That's why I had to cut my repetitions way back and water down my routines in order to start to heal and still be able to compete level 10."
Earlier this year, Sage decided to forgo attempting to pass her elite optionals, despite having already passed compulsories. She officially decided to shift her focus towards having a successful JO career and earning a college scholarship. So far, it's a decision that she's content with. "I'm a lot happier with JO than I was training for elite. With constantly fighting injuries it was always stressful."
 |
| Sage on bars at JO Nationals. |
The 2017 season was short but sweet for Sage. She only competed once before the State Championships, where she took first on vault and in the all-around. A few weeks later she became the Regional all-around and floor champion. Her performances qualified her to her first JO National Championships where she finished 17th in the nation, a result she wasn't exactly thrilled about. "I was a little bit upset about Nationals because I got my lowest score of the season," she explained. "I hit everything but I made a few little mistakes that kept me from placing in the top five." (Click here to watch Sage's routines from Nationals.)
Not being 100% satisfied with her performance only leaves Sage with more ambition to achieve her goals in the future. She now has her sights set on winning the all-around title at Nationals, scoring a perfect 10, and hitting a score of 39 (Her career high right now is a 38.350). She is also looking into several colleges and plans to hopefully do some visits this summer. Right now she's interested in Utah, Oklahoma, UCLA. Michigan, LSU, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
 |
| Sage with her friend and former teammate MaKenna Merrell, who is now a gymnast at Utah. |
Sage continues to be an inspiration to many because of her perseverance and strength. Despite losing her dad and dealing with many injuries in her young career, she keeps an optimistic outlook on life."It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you're going through something hard," she admitted. "I've been thrown a lot of curve balls. My life and gymnastics career hasn't been what I thought or dreamed it would be." However, at the end of the day, Sage is able to acknowledge that this journey has only made her stronger. "As I get older I can look back and find the good in all of the hard times and be okay with where I am," she said. "I am excited about my future and what I can still accomplish and work towards."
With another competition season in the books, Sage is back in the gym and continuing to work hard. One thing's for sure, she won't be giving up anytime soon.
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
A New Era | Introducing Head Coach Courtney Kupets-Carter
There are two people who are often associated with the glory days of the Georgia Gymdogs: Courtney Kupets and Suzanne Yoculan. In case you live under a rock, Courtney is a two time World Champion, two time Olympic medalist and one of the most accomplished collegiate gymnasts the sport has seen. (13x NCAA Champion) Suzanne became the head coach at Georgia in 1983 and led the Gymdogs to 10 National titles (the most of any school), 16 SEC titles and 4 undefeated seasons. After long but successful careers, both Courtney and Suzanne retired in 2009. That was the end of an era for the University of Georgia.
Relationships play a strong role in a teams dynamic and performance. Not only do the athletes need to get along and trust each other, but their needs to be a bond between the gymnasts and coaches. There needs to be a level of respect, understanding, and confidence in one another and I'm glad that Courtney understands that. This particular quote from her really stood out to me: "What I look to do as a head coach is put the athletes first and always, now and forever." In the wake of so many abuse allegations, this sport needs more coaches who have the athletes best interest in mind.
As of May 9, 2017, a new era begins. Courtney and Suzanne are back with the hopes of restoring the legacy that they left behind. Courtney will take on the role of head coach while Suzanne will mentor her in the role of volunteer assistant coach. Getting back on top of the podium won't be an easy task, but the combination of Courtney and Suzanne leaves many fans hopeful.
Georgia is not the same program that it was back when Courtney and Suzanne left. The Gymdogs used to be the best team in the nation...their level of talent and performances proved it time and time again. Georgia defended their NCAA title for 5 years straight (2005-2009) until Suzanne's departure. Since then, the team hasn't placed higher than fifth at the National Championships. They haven't won the SEC title since 2008. Nowadays, just making it to the Super Six is an accomplishment for Georgia.
Take a look at their Championships history throughout the last several years:
2005- 1st
2006- 1st
2007- 1st
2008- 1st
2009- 1st
2010- Didn't qualify.
2011- 10th
2012- 11th
2013- 6th
2014- 5th
2015- 9th
2016- 6th
2017- 12th
While it's not completely disastrous (a lot of teams would be thrilled to consistently qualify to Nationals), I would be lying if I said that it's not the slightest bit disappointing to see a program go from #1 to mediocre within such a short period of time. Within the last seven years they've had two head coaches fired and lost a lot of strong recruits. I think the athletic department at Georgia is being quite clear with their expectations for this team. They want to win again.
Bringing in Courtney and Suzanne is an interesting, yet exciting choice. These two know what success looks like first hand, so the decision to bring them in is understandable. You can't blame Georgia for wanting to give them a shot. After all, Suzanne is pretty much responsible for any success the program has had and Courtney is arguably the greatest NCAA gymnast of all time. Do they have what it takes to turn this program around? I suppose time will tell, but I have faith in them.
It's no secret that Kupets doesn't have a strong coaching resume. Following her retirement in 2009, she served as a student coach for the Gymdogs for one season. She has also done some coaching at the recreational level but nothing too competitive. This is where Suzanne will come in handy. Courtney has competitive experience that she can use to her advantage. Suzanne has years of coaching experience and will show her the ropes on how to lead a team to success. (Given her track record, I think we can trust her to do that.) The combination of Kupets and Yoculan could be exactly what the program needs to get back on track.
As a former student-athlete, I expect Kupets to bring a new and refreshing approach to this team, especially from a psychological standpoint. From listening to the initial press conference, Courtney already seems to get it. "I think having an open relationship is going to be key," she said. "Building the trust with the athletes, so that when you do have tough love, you know where it's coming from and it's not just being harsh." When talking about how she plans to bring Georgia back to being National contenders, Courtney stressed the balance between good coaching and creating a mental program to build trust within the team. "The intention is to make sure the program is set in place, that we build a gymnastics program for them to help them peak at the right time, physically, and we build a mental program for them to help feel confident in themselves but also confident in their teammates. I think that's a very important factor for athletes going up to compete. If you're going up there and your teammates don't trust you, how are you going to stay on that beam when you're the only one trusting yourself?"
As a former student-athlete, I expect Kupets to bring a new and refreshing approach to this team, especially from a psychological standpoint. From listening to the initial press conference, Courtney already seems to get it. "I think having an open relationship is going to be key," she said. "Building the trust with the athletes, so that when you do have tough love, you know where it's coming from and it's not just being harsh." When talking about how she plans to bring Georgia back to being National contenders, Courtney stressed the balance between good coaching and creating a mental program to build trust within the team. "The intention is to make sure the program is set in place, that we build a gymnastics program for them to help them peak at the right time, physically, and we build a mental program for them to help feel confident in themselves but also confident in their teammates. I think that's a very important factor for athletes going up to compete. If you're going up there and your teammates don't trust you, how are you going to stay on that beam when you're the only one trusting yourself?"
Relationships play a strong role in a teams dynamic and performance. Not only do the athletes need to get along and trust each other, but their needs to be a bond between the gymnasts and coaches. There needs to be a level of respect, understanding, and confidence in one another and I'm glad that Courtney understands that. This particular quote from her really stood out to me: "What I look to do as a head coach is put the athletes first and always, now and forever." In the wake of so many abuse allegations, this sport needs more coaches who have the athletes best interest in mind.
Overall, I'm excited to see what Courtney and Suzanne can do for Georgia. Courtney seems like a very genuine person and she knows a thing or two about the sport, even if she hasn't done a lot of coaching. I think she will bring the passion and dedication that Georgia needs to get back in the mix. Her experience combined with Yoculan's should benefit the team positively. I mean, if anyone can motivate and inspire this team I would trust these two to do it. Both of them have experience as leaders, but now they will be leading in different roles.
So in the words of coach Courtney, "The season starts now."
You can read a transcript of Courtney's press conference here.
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