Day 1 of the 2011 Winter Cup is in the books. The day's top qualifier was Oklahoma's Jake Dalton, who logged an 88.10 to outlast Danell Leyva's 87.45. Not surprisingly, the day's top 6 AA scores were posted in the day's second session. The top two qualifying club gymnasts were Jake Martin (82.95) and Stacey Ervin (81.80). Several prominent scratches have marred this meet, such as [...more]
It is with our deepest regrets that we deliver the news to you that our dear friend and SCATS Boys Team coach since 2008, Anatoliy Zhydkov, passed away Friday, January 21st, 2011 following heart complications. Those who knew Anatoliy knew a man whose love for the sport of gymnastics and his students was only matched by their adoration and respect for him. He was kind, caring, committed and beloved by his family, friends and those who had the pleasure of working alongside him. We are truly heartbroken to say goodbye to him this way and do so with heavy hearts. [...more]
The 2011 men's club gymnastics season kicked off this past weekend, and the top two meets were the Vitaly Scherbo Invitational and the Windy City Classic. Some amazingly high early-season scores were posted at both meets. At the Windy City meet, Orlando Metro's Jake Martin had the highest all-around score (89.10) and highest score on floor (15.00) in the 16-18 division. Meanwhile his teammate, [...more]
As one of the nation’s fastest top rising stars, Stacey Ervin had a breakout season in 2010. At the 2010 JO Nationals, Ervin qualified for the finals on four events (FX,SR,VT,PB) and ended up capturing 2nd place on parallel bars and won the national championship on vault. His hard work paid off with a 3rd place all-around finish. Maintaining that momentum at the 2010 VISA U.S. Championships, Ervin placed 4th in the all-around, took 3rd on floor and again won a national championship on vault. Ervin, a high school senior, trains at Mills Gymnastics in Southgate, MI under [...more]
It's now the early signing period for college gymnastics recruiting. Lasting a week (Nov. 10-17), the remaining men's programs have been scrambling for the past several months wooing the nation's best club prospects. As of now, only Oklahoma has formally announced their impressive recruiting haul. The Sooners have signed Jacoby Rubin, Dylan Akers, Danny Berardini and William Clement. Rubin and Akers are current Junior National Team members. Assuming the rumor mill is accurate, Oklahoma will probably end up [...more]
Rick McCharles and Full Twist posted great perspectives on the current state of gymnastics blogging and new media. As they both duly noted, the most prolific new media representatives who reported from the World Championships in Rotterdam were Anne Phillips from Gymnastike, Blythe Lawrence from Gymnastics Examiner and Brigid McCarthy from the Couch Gymnast. As Coach Rick said, FIG and USAG have wisely embraced new media, and are [...more]
The U.S. contingent of Junior National Team gymnasts prevailed in a tri-meet against host Great Britain and Switzerland. The meet, held at the Lilleshall National Sports Centre this past weekend, was the culmination of a week-long joint training session among the three teams. Coached by Orlando Metro's Cas Suarez, the U.S. team was led by Orlando Metro's Sean Melton and South Coast's Timmy Wang, who placed 1-2 in the All-Around. Wang placed [...more]
ust a few weeks after an exciting 2010 VISA U.S. Men's Championships, six of our top gymnasts completed a successful competition in Guadalajara at the recent 2010 Pan American Games. Team USA, comprised of Glen Ishino, Jake Dalton, Wes Haagensen, Alex Buscaglia, Dylan Akers and Bryan Del Castillo, walloped Brazil, Canada and the rest [...more]
Jonathan Horton picked up where he left off Wednesday night, improving his all-around score by almost a full point, and held off Danell Leyva to successfully defend his U.S. Championship title. Horton posted a 91.30 to best Leyva's 90.00 in Friday night's competition in Hartford, CT. He hit on all six events this time and even improved his score on pommel horse (14.10). If not for his slightly watered-down high bar routine (14.90) and his lower score (compared to Wednesday's 15.30) on parallel bars (14.90), Horton would have scored [...more]
Jonathan Horton obviously brought his A-game to the first night of competition. He even hit his re-vamped pommel horse routine (13.95). Although he fell on his signature event (high bar... 14.20), he still posted a respectable 90.35, outlasting 2nd place finisher Danell Leyva by a full point. What a weird day, chock full of falls and mishaps. Brandon Wynn tore it up until his 12.35 on pommel horse. Still, this guy hit 15+ on three events to potentially force his hand on the selection committee. Wynn's 16.00 on rings, plus his impressive all-around performance, seems to make his [...more]
