In Part 2 of our preview of the 2010 VISA U.S. Championships, guest blogger Matthew Rusk explores Glen Ishino, Steven Legendre, Danell Leyva, John Orozco, Paul Ruggeri, Alex Naddour, Kevin Tan, Brandon Wynn and Tim McNeill. Matthew leaves no stone unturned as he analyzes each gymnast's chances for making the 2010 World Team. As is customary for Matthew, he unveils his predictions for medal winners at VISAs and the makeup of the team that will represent the United States at the 2010 World Championships, which will be held October 16-24 in Rotterdam. [...more]
StickItMedia is once again pleased to have our brilliant young guest blogger Matthew Rusk analyze 12 of our top gymnasts vying for the highly coveted six spots on the 2010 U.S. World Championship team. Matthew outdoes himself in this, our 2nd annual installment. Only 17 and a resident of Houston, TX, Matthew is now a crafty media veteran, whose refreshingly candid, technical approach endears him to serious gymnastics fans. Part 1 of our series focuses on Jonathan Horton, Chris Brooks, Chris Cameron, Wes Haagensen, Kyle Bunthuwong and Joey Hagerty. In Part 2, Matthew will analyze the chances for [...more]
5280 Gymnastics in Wheat Ridge, CO is one of the top elite men's club gymnastics programs in the country. In recent years, the club has become a consistent producer of collegiate gymnasts such as Stanford's Lucas Hughes, Iowa's Anton Gryshayev and Air Force's Colton Wulf. 5280 is also the home of rising star Yul Moldauer. In convincing fashion at the 2010 JO Nationals, Moldauer, a three-year Level 9, captured national titles in the All-Around and on parallel bars. Coached by the Artemev family (Vladimir, Irina Bendassova and Sasha), Moldauer is a 2-year member of the Junior National Team (Level 9) and is now training hard for his upcoming debut as a Level 10.
According to Yul's dad, Shaw, he had an atypical early aptitude for gymnastics. At 18 months, Yul rode his little [...more]
New Hope Gymnastics in Fountain Valley, CA has produced many of the top men's collegiate gymnasts, including current standouts Bryan Del Castillo (Cal) and Yoshi Mori (Illinois). Head Coach Guonian Wu has several more in the pipeline, with Nick Spiro leading the way. Spiro is a current member of the Junior National Team and is a rising star who recently won the All-Around title (84.10) against a very tough field at the Region 1 championships. Here are some of Spiro's major accomplishments: [...more]
For the third time in the last four seasons, the SCATS Men's Gymnastics program (in Huntington Beach, CA) has produced a national champion. Last month, Sam Mikulak earned the Level 10 (16-18) all-around gold in a hard fought battle against Jesse Silverstein. Mikulak's exploits were key to helping SCATS win the Level 10 national team championship as well. In 2008, current Cal All-American and SCATS alumnus Glen Ishino won the Level 10 (16-18) all-around title at JO Nationals. And Mikulak's first national championship came in [...more]
Cameron Rogers had quite a season last year. He started out by winning the 2009 Region 8 all-around championship over such stalwarts as Edward Mesa, Harris Coleman, Alex Barrera and Wyatt Aycock. Although he placed 17th AA at JO Nationals, he came back with a vengeance at the [...more]
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U.S. men's gymnastics is developing some very formidable athletes on pommel horse. One of those is Jacob Dastrup, a level 10 gymnast who trains under Coach Bob Gauthier at Arete Gymnastics in Lindon, UT. Dastrup placed 2nd on the event at the 2009 JO Nationals as a level 9, and was the 2008 Level 9 JO Nationals pommel horse champion. He's also an accomplished [...more]
Over the past several years World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) in Frisco, TX has been a fertile breeding ground for many of the nation's top men's collegiate gymnasts. Just to name a few, WOGA has produced such stalwarts as Oklahoma's Steven Legendre, Stanford's Eric Hergenrader and Tim Gentry, Minnesota's Cole Storer and Colin McGuire, Nebraska's Cory Baumgarten and Ohio State's Phil Onorato. Last month, Nebraska announced the signings of [...more]
The Chicago area is a hotbed for men's gymnastics, and one of the top gyms in the country is Buffalo Grove Gymnastics. Former home of 2008 USA National Champion and Stanford All-American David Sender, Buffalo Grove is now home to one of the top men's club teams in the country. Head Coach Don Osborn is grooming an impressive crop of Level 10 (16-18) gymnasts that includes Wasef Burbar, Danny Berardini and Jacoby Rubin. Another important member of that team is Craig Hernandez. We have a soft spot in our heart for Hernandez because he happens to be [...more]
Max Mayr is known at Universal Gymnastics in Miami, FL as the "Training Machine." According to his coach, Yin Alvarez, "Max walked into the gym at the age of five and showed that he was a very mature boy. Believe it or not, at that age, Max knew what he wanted in the sport of gymnastics. He was like a little old man paying attention to everything I said and following instructions better than any of my older gymnasts. He is a very, very hard worker. He always wants to do everything perfectly. He is a perfectionist. He never gives up and gets upset when he doesn't do the skills how he wants to."
Up until the 2009 JO Nationals, injuries had limited Mayr to only one
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