Catty Comments here with a quick update - Mattie Larson, to no one's surprise, is leaving her long-time gym AOGC in Los Angeles after her team finals floor meltdown. Word is her coaches haven't spoken to her since the competition.
Since Mattie graduated from high school this spring, there is probably an option for her to enter UCLA early. However, word is that she is looking at other top elite gyms, including Brestyan's (Sacramone, Sleepwalker the Raisman), Hills (with no apostrophe - I know, right?!) (Kytra Hunter, Corrie Lothrop, Kupetseses, Elise Ray & Dominique Dawes) and Legacy Elite (Caquatti, Anna Li.) I hope she will either go to WOGA for Valeri to properly code-whore the hell out of her bars & floor and she can learn how to compete beam, or UCLA so she can get healthy and consistent and learn how to compete beam.
I think Mattie should just go ahead and go to UCLA. Her destiny is to win an NCAA FX title... and that's it. Good riddance to an overhyped gymnast. The only event she was ever good at was FX, and that's all she'll excel at in college. I doubt Miss Val can beat the attitude out of this one.
ReplyDeleteYou feel like a man now Mister? You get off on insulting sex abuse victims? I hope people will take this as a lesson to not make snap judgments. You never know what's going on with someone.
DeleteThe real surprise is that she's continuing with elite. Talk about willfully ignoring the writing on the wall.
ReplyDeleteMost of the coaches mentioned were at Worlds and know damn well what Marta thinks of Mattie. Are they going be willing to invest in an excommunicated, fragile, 19 year old? WOGA has never in it's history accepted an AOGC transfer. (Mutual Russian respect?) I will eat my pajamas if Mattie becomes the first.
sadly there is no way mattie will ever thrive under the US system. beautiful gymnast, but she is too mentally fragile to survive martha's circus. valeri liukin is not going to touch her with a barge pole.
ReplyDeletewith anna li at aogc, would wu jiani be willing to mess with that? wu isn't exactly proven as a producer of international success stories, anyway. hill is semi-retired and doubtfully going to both with such an outside shot. brestyan will never get her where she needs to be on bars.
*cue jaws music* MLT, heh?
Not a good sign. If she were serious about overcoming the fiasco at Worlds, she would not be flaking out changing gyms, but would suck it up with her current coaches, with Marta, and just put nose to grindstone and try to make it work.
ReplyDeleteI think she is not really taking full responsibility for what happened (based on the interviews and FB activities) post Worlds. So, far, not really seeing anything to make me think Mattie has the stones to even give this thing the best try.
And the odds would STILL be against her, even if she showed grit. But as is? No chance. Stick a fork in her. She's done. Time for college cheerleading, I mean gymnastics.
"based on the interviews and FB activities"
ReplyDeleteOhhh, tell me more, Anon @ 5:27PM... I'm interested!
Mattie sounds like a partier to me, so I'm surprised/impressed that she is driven and wanting to continue to try to make something out of herself in gymnastics. Yeah, she could take the easy route and just go party and do watered-down routines at UCLA next year, but maybe she'd prefer to get back in Elite competition and HIT the floor set that she knew she was capable of doing at Worlds. It's not always just about making it to the Olympics... Sometimes it's about self-redemption and personal pride.
ReplyDeleteAs for the coaching change, hopefully she goes somewhere who knows how to do bars. Bars is probably a lot more realistic for Mattie to upgrade than beam. And let's hope her new coach can give her the endurance/focus/nutritional advice she needs to stay healthy and get through a floor set.
I just wish people would stop telling her to just go to UCLA just because she won't have enough skill to get to the Olympics. First of all, you don't know until you try AND THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER COMPETITIONS BESIDES THE OLYMPICS. Second of all, many athletes do not want to end on an awful note. Mattie's last memory is her falling on a double pike, of all things. Why not try to erase that? Athletes are COMPETITIVE. They don't want to just crawl up in the fetal position because they blew one competition.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if a coaching change is the answer, but only Mattie knows how those coaches helped prepare her for Worlds. Yes, some athletes make the mistake of blaming the coach for their own errors, but we don't know for sure.
Mattie seemed to get along really well with Brestyan at Worlds. I think Brestyans would be a great fit for her besides the fact that they can't teach bars (which is a huge problem).
ReplyDeleteShe is garbage. She needs to go pro so we do not have to watch her destroy ucla. I never saw anything special about her. Talk about overhyped! How can you trust such rubbish anymore? She is crap. She cost the usa a gold medal.
ReplyDeleteStay in Cali Mattie. If you wear that Yankee hat in beantown we will make you cry with our mean words. COUNT ON IT.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 5:58, you're being ridiculous. Mattie is a talented gymnast... Maybe not THE most talented, but she's up there in the US and deserves as many chances as she would like to compete at Nationals and try to make a future World team.
ReplyDeleteWow...I can't recall reading such cruel comments about one athlete. This is what I've read so far.......
ReplyDelete- good riddance to an overhyped gymnast - doubt Miss Val can beat the attitude out of her - willfully ignoring the writing on the wall - too mentally fragile - flaking out changing gyms - stick a fork in her, she's done - sounds like a partier - she is garbage - never saw anything special about her - overhyped - how can you trust such rubbish - she is crap........
Do any of you KNOW why she is wanting to train under a different coach? Do any of you KNOW her side of the story? Do any of you care to know before you spew your venom? Or do you just enjoy grinding people down to make yourself feel better? She fell. Get over it. She has made a decision to make a move to another gym which hopefully will be a better fit for her moving forward. And for that she deserves to get trashed by your ugly comments?
I'm willing to believe that most of the above mentioned comments are from just plain ignorance...ignorance of the nature of sports in general and ignorance of Mattie's side of the story in particular. And until you have some clarification on her side I'd suggest you get on with making YOUR own decisions about YOUR own life the best way YOU are able. At least you can rest assured that nobody will be going online frothing at the mouth eager to wipe the floor with you .
Mattie is a lovely girl who has been a joy to watch on the local JO circuit, and I think she should go straight to UCLA and kick butt.
ReplyDeleteI can just picture the kind of losers who made the nasty comments above - overweight, sitting on the couch with KFC drumsticks, criticizing young girls. Wipe the grease off your faces, get out of your trailers and get a life.
Oh, and if Mattie doesn't go to UCLA, bet she ends up at West Coast Elite
I think it is a good thing that she is continuing if it is what SHE wants...... it is likely what her mother wants but lets face it, She is mentally weak, she made a mistake, she was a bubble kid, There are others that are better. she is a liability. What I feel bad about is that she could have the meet of her life at nationals next year, she coulb be at her physical peak, but she will be lowballed much like Natasha kelly was. I doubt there would be any sense of joy in her after this.
ReplyDeleteIf this is truly what Mattie wants to do, then she should go for it. Unlike gymnasts like Bieger and Kelly who most people really didn't like before they fell out of favor with Marta, I think Mattie has a lot of really great qualities to her gymnastics that make her worth watching. I do agree that she has her work cut out for her if she intends to win Marta over again, but as long as she stays competitive, I'll still welcome seeing her compete elite. There just ain't no one on the US team who has the artistry and style like hers (at least not until Alicia starts competing on floor again and wows us with her thigh-rubbing choreo).
ReplyDeleteYes let's send Mattie to MLT! She'll just get skinnier and have more injuries, what fun! I'm sure Brestyan's can give her an excellent bar routine.
ReplyDeleteAs for WOGA not touching AOGC gymnasts which ones have they had grace their doorstep besides Nica Hults? The only other high profile transfer was Hailey Mossett and she stayed in Cali.
Wow. It's amazing to read these comments. Your analysis of the situation AND of Mattie is waay off.
ReplyDeleteI love these anonymous people that say they know the situation and yet do not say it nor do they use their names. It really does not matter the reason why she is leaving, her parents were warned before but it did not matter then.
ReplyDeleteyou don't need to give you name, but please dish on the situation and on Mattie. Thanks!
ReplyDeletemattie is a gorgeous gymnast to watch, but when her time counted to get the big score in, she didnt deliver, so when given another chance, she failed to deliver again. she needs mental toughness and needs a coach who can teach her that. I think she would thrive under chows. He has a few elite gymnasts and and would give her the attention she needs
ReplyDeleteI love how anyone who criticizes a gymnast is automatically fat, living in poverty and in to fried chicken.
ReplyDeletebottom line is this: mattie left out a requirement. If she did not, the team gold would have been US. Losing just 2 tenths at a world championships when ur given a second chance is too hard to forgive. She's a veteran gymnast leaving out an important element. this is no excuse
ReplyDeleteFor those who say Mattie cost the USA the gold, well actually you cost it. Mattie contributed a score, you contributed nothing.
ReplyDeleteIf this girl is that sensitive that a slight criticism will destroy her mentally then she needs to run away from elite gymnastics. Mattie has proven herself to be mentally unstable. I have only seen one other gymnast fall apart as quickly as she did........that was Vanessa Atler. She went to Woga as well. Didn't work out so well now did it?
ReplyDeleteTo who ever said Mattie did not cost the usa the gold medal, do the math, who are you trying to kid? We have seen her do beautiful gymnastics, she just mentally fell apart. She is not a viable gymnast. To go from being the second best gymnast in the all around in the usa to being able to make the line up in one event less then a month later despite the heavy training argues that something is very wrong.
How can anyone argue that she did not cost the usa the gold?
She needs to quit, but on the bright side, she has achieved almost immortality by this fuck up. That has gotten her far more exposure then her clean gymnastics ever could.
It is funny in the fact that Marta did not "like" Kayla Williams. Kayla could hit. If Kayla had been on the team and did a weak watered down floor routine, the USA would have won gold.
ReplyDeleteMarta did not want her going to Hills or Woga. I am sure that Marta will not want Mattie (who is clearly competing to make Russia win) mucking up WOGA
Stop calling her a "veteran" when it was her first Worlds and her first international competition in years. She's allowed to make mistakes just like the rest of us. If she improves for next year, she'll have as good of a shot of making the World team as all the other "bubble" gymnasts. I applaud her for not giving up just because there's been a little adversity! Everyone here can learn from this.
ReplyDeleteMattie has been competing for years internationally. She has also competed in an olympic trials. She is hardly a neophyte. She is NOT allowed to make mistakes at this level. You just can not do it. People talk about second chances. She will get her second chance in NCAA but for international competitions, there are none. If there was a second chance then they would have let her redo her floor routine. Lets face it, she screwed up. Marta did not want to use her but the coaches out voted her. I can assure you that they will think twice about bucking her. Wake up smell the coffee, she blew it. Will she get another chance and will you be so forgiving if she was to lose olympic gold?
ReplyDeleteI think that trying is the best thing she can do. I dont know how likely it is that she will make another team, but she needs to try find out and let the cards fall where they may. I give her credit for trying and really it is smart for her to go to a different gym anyway.
ReplyDeleteMattie is a great gymnast. Period. It's easy to point fingers and try and scapegoat one gymnast, but the reality is that every member of the US team had bobbles, steps, and hops that contributed to coming in behind Russia. Mattie's errors were more glaring, but she was by no means the only US gymnast to make mistakes. It's a TEAM competiton and blaming one gymnast for the loss is absurd.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 11:18 and 4:45 - so by your rationale, everyone on the team technically "loss" the gold medal because based on math anyone could have probably save two tenths in their routine. So, unless someone had a routine with a crazy high D-score and a perfect E-score they technically contributed to the US "losing" the gold.
ReplyDeleteGet over yourselves and continue criticizing behind your veil to compensate for your own insecurities.
Teams do win and lose together. But to say the other girls are just as responsible for the loss as Mattie is ridiculous. It would be like saying if Russia lost by 2 tenths that Mustafina was just as responsible as Nabieva because Aliya stepped out of bounds. I'm sorry but no. Mistakes happen in Team Finals, what you hope for is no major ones.
ReplyDeleteJust because its a team competition doesn't mean that individual performances win/lose aren't evaluated. If I'm Marta I'm happy with how every girl performed but Mattie. And since Mattie is only really useful on one event, why keep her?
In contrast if I'm Alexandrov, I'm pretty much happy with Mustafina and to a much lesser extent Dementieva. At this level you look at how people handle pressure and you evaluate.
sure, Mattie can have another chance, but what I have seen so far has not shown me she has heart.
ReplyDelete1. She did not take responsibility for the team losing gold. sure, her teammates could have disagreed. Sure, permissive liberal whiners here could have disagreed. But she should have manned up and gotten in front and said something. She didn't. Alicia took a lot more honest responsibility in 2008.
2. I think there is this meme going around that there are bashers and defenders. And I bet Mattie is buying into her defenders. And that means she is not taking enough of a look at herself and buying in too much too people going against her.
3. She was childish about wanting to do TF after the prelim miss. She just seems like a typical selfish childish female gymnast. She can go to NCAA and learn to be part of a team. the US men were much more of a team.
4. She's 18 and has been in the mix since 2008. She;s graduated high school. Heck, she's older than Sloan. She should take responsibility, not avoid it.
5. The flaking out and changing gyms is a veeeery bad sign. She should man up, talk to the fans, talk to MArta, talk to her coaches and try another time. That would be stirring. instead she is running away. I can see perfectly well why her coaches don't talk to her now...she's an ingrate.
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Have fun wandering around, Mattie. You fucked up, not AOGC. Maybe a few years from now, you'll mature. Or maybe you'll go the rest of your life thinking people are being mean to you.
Hopefully Mattie realizes that people have short memories. It was not long ago when Sacramone fell TWICE (beam & floor) in the Olympic Team Finals costing the U.S. the gold medal. Now, she is America's sweetheart.
ReplyDeleteThough, I must say that the nature of their falls were different. Sacramone seemed to fall from overdoing or trying too hard (especially floor w the over-rotation bounce out of bounds). Mattie's falls seemed to be from 'lack of heart'.
I agree, Mattie needs to get in front of those that count, her coaches, Marta and her World teammates and take responsibility. She is not lacking skill, therefore her coaches have done a good job on that front. She should stay where she's at and work through her problems. Disrupting the chemistry at some other gym seems like a bad idea. If I'm a coach at another gym I would be saying go home and work it out.
ReplyDeleteI love that you people even waste time on here arguing such a moot point. you're all losers...including Mattie, Marta, & Team USA.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Funny that people are getting so riled up over a silly argument. I highly doubt any of you will have a significant role in constructing the next Worlds or Olympics Team. If you do, show me some credentials. Chillax people. It's not that serious.
ReplyDeleteActually I'm not so sure AOGC isn't somewhat to blame. Did Artur have Mattie training make up options, if she missed that one tumbling pass? He should have, and if he wasn't it, than a huge amount of what happened is on him.
ReplyDeleteOh look, it's Bekalynn, weighing in. Are you completely under the impression that 2 tenths couldn't have been made up elsewhere? You know, like stuck landings? Of course Mattie contributed to the biggest mistake and she is the easiest meat to grill for that but every little point counts too.
ReplyDelete[Quote]
ReplyDeleteOh look, it's Bekalynn, weighing in. Are you completely under the impression that 2 tenths couldn't have been made up elsewhere? You know, like stuck landings? Of course Mattie contributed to the biggest mistake and she is the easiest meat to grill for that but every little point counts too.[/Quote]
Where did I suggest that the 2 tenths couldn't be made elsewhere. Of course it could have been. But the fact is if Mattie had done her job and at the very least made sure that she fulfilled ALL the requirements in her floor routine. The US would have won even with her falling. To me it seems bare minimum of expectations to ask an athlete to at least make sure they fulfill all of the requirements. BARE MINIMUM.
Yes of course the US team would have had bronze if China/Russia had hit anyways. But the fact is Marta and company nor the US girls can control China or Russia's performances, they control theirs. And if every girl on that team had done what they were suppose to do-they would have won.
Yes if I was a coach, I'd remind the whole team about how those 2 tenths were a step on a dismount, etc. And use it as a reminder to try and fight for every tenth possible. But in the end these girls are doing very ridiculously hard routines all of them under ridiculous amounts of pressure. Little mistakes like steps are going to happen. What you want is for everyone to do give solid performances. Which the rest of the girls did.
Please don't get me wrong I love Mattie's gymnastics and I don't agree with Marta not talking to her etc. But to argue the other girls are just as responsible for the loss is ridiculous. All of the other girls gutted out some pretty solid performances. And sorry you can't be as mad at a step on a dismount as you are on a fall and a missed requirement.
How is wanting to do TF childish? It wasn't her choice, it was Marta's choice and I suspect Mattie wanted to compete to go out there and redeem herself.
ReplyDeleteAs for not altering her routine, one would think that an athlete would throw in a front ariel or punch front or something to get in the front tumbling requirments in there but usually that doesn't happen. I guess they spend so much time training that one routine they don't plan out deviations.
Alicia Sacramone..2 falls..at the OLYMPICS..but she gets a pass apparently..
ReplyDeleteI don't understand this need to "blame." And I don't understand just how pointed and mean these remarks get here. For Mattie to accomplish what she has, she is freakin' talented. And if she wants to train more, who is anyone to decide she shouldn't?
ReplyDeleteWhat upsets me more about this story--if true--is if her own coaches really haven't talked to her? That is just plain WRONG. I hope that's not true.
Jess: It's the typical little brat wanting to be on top of the wedding cake princess attitude. Look at the difference with the men, where Cameron was struggling with the floor and decided that Brooks should do it instead.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the coaches haven't talked to Mattie, since they think she did not take enough responsibility, just put on her headphones and dialed into the meme of all you defenders out here.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anon 2:37. I hope Mattie's coaches talked things over with her post Worlds. And then eventually, back in the states perhaps, a decision was made by all parties to part ways. I hope AOGC as a company/gym would attempt to depart from a great athlete in a respectable way especially since she is barely 18!
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time believing that Mattie's coaches were vindinctive in cutting off communications. I find it much more likely that Mattie does not have her head on square. That she is the cause of the problem or perhaps that she disregarded some of their instructions.
ReplyDeletethis is sort of a random question, but are gymnasts required to have both front and back tumbling in their floor routine? or was mattie just missing the double salto pass requirement?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 6:15 AM... Get over yourself. It's not YOUR gold medal to lose.. It's the GYMNASTS' gold. If someone messes up at the Olympics, it does not affect your life.
ReplyDeleteThis is a sport, and if being perfect and never falling was a requirement, ROBOTS would be competing, not GYMNASTS. Those 2 tenths could have been made up anywhere. Yes, Mattie's fall made it harder to pass Russia, but it wasn't impossible by any means. You win as a team, and you lose at one!
No, Alicia Sacramone did not a get a pass easily or did you forget the slew of hate facebook groups and media bashing?
ReplyDeleteOf course, most people were oblivious to the fact that gold was pretty out of reach for the US at Beijing unless China majorly blew it.
Nobody here knows why Mattie is leaving AOGC, so don't just claim she's blaming them for her mistakes in competition. Maybe she think she could be better prepared somewhere else. It's not like AOGC has a great track record. Before this year, Mattie ALWAYS had bad injuries.
ReplyDeleteI am proud for Mattie for NOT caving in and just quitting because she messed up. Strong athletes never give up just because they fell. It's not how you fall, it's how you get up.
Some of the people commenting here are probably AOGC members and upset that Mattie is leaving. The emotions will settle eventually.
ReplyDeleteSac at least proved herself over a few worlds. Mattie fucked away a gold medal period! This will not happen. She is pure garbage. Mentally the best thing that could happen to her is if she had an injury that she can milk {much like shayla did} so she does not have to tell her kids that she tried and failed.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 5:21pm. Get your facts correct. Shayla didn't milk an injury, she broke her damn foot at the selection camp trying to make the Olympic team.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 5:21pm is plain weird... and probably from AOGC.
ReplyDeleteShayla was over-rated. (Some) people liked her for being skinny and having strange eyes. She was kind of a wench in personality (look at the donation fiasco/scam...and yes, she is part of the blame there...not just her trashy mom.) And even if healthy, she probably wasn't better than Sloan, Beiger or Hong. She never put up the scores. She's overhyped like Shapiro. Except Sam is actually cool.
ReplyDeleteI have to say its ridiculous to call Mattie "Garbage" for making a mistake in a competition. Yes Mattie screwed up big time, and if I were Marta, I'm not sure I'd ever let her on a team again. (Although you never know)
ReplyDeleteBUT, this is just a sport a game. And sometimes mistakes happen and you lose. People aren't "garbage" or worthless for messing up a competition. Save those things for those who deliberately hurt others.
imo Mattie is just as overhyped as Shayla. The only difference is that until worlds she hadn't given anyone a reason to strongly dislike her. Thin/long limbed with a dash of pointed toes seems to be a formula for instant adoration.
ReplyDeleteI'm no Mattie fan, but I wouldn't go so far as to call her garbage for tanking.
Actually, the difference between Mattie and Shayla is that Mattie is the NATIONAL CHAMPION on floor. Her floor routine is great and that's why people like her. Shayla was never the top gymnast on any event. Mattie, at her best, is very useful to the US team on at least floor.
ReplyDeletemaybe mattie might redeem herself and change her ways. who know she might be on the 2012 olympic team. go mattie!! adversity builds character!! learn from this
ReplyDeleteI'm not completely sure why Shayla was brought up, but as a comparison, Shayla was more helpful to the US. Mattie may be a national champion on floor, but bars are the US's weakest event, and Shayla was good on bars. Secondly, Shayla may not have done her best routines on bars or floor in team finals in Stuttgart, but she HIT. Thats more than Mattie can say!
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I like Mattie and was rooting for her to make the AA and EF on floor. However, she proved that she's not mentally strong enough. After falling in prelims, Marta gave her a second chance, and the result was a disaster for Mattie and for the team. Trying to throw Alicia, Shayla, or any of the girls under the bus won't change that fact. It doesn't make Mattie a bad gymnast by any means, but she didn't deliver. Hopefully, moving forward, she'll be more successful (in NCAA or in elite).
what is most amazing is how certain gyms can totally work for people and not for others. Mattie needed to leave. Even if the olympics were not in the picture, she needed to leave. They did a good job with her, but it was time to leave.
ReplyDeleteIt takes a special kind of coward to slam an 18 year old athlete for having the misfortune of having a really bad run at her very first world championships. While Mattie didn't perform well, that doesn't make her garbage, or selfish, or immature or any of these other characteristics so many posters are ascribing to her. You people don't even know her! You're probably not even gymnasts or former gymnasts and have no idea what the experience is like. And if her coaches are so unprofessional that they're not speaking to their athlete following a bad competition, Mattie should leave - that's unacceptable. Coaches are supposed to support and guide their athletes even during the bad times. Especially during the bad times.
ReplyDeleteHey, TCO
ReplyDeleteGet your boys straight. Chris Brooks didn't do the FX for the US men - Brandon Wynn did.
You're right, slick. My bad. Here are the TF results.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usa-gymnastics.org/PDFs/Results/m_10worlds_finals_team.pdf
Maybe it was prelims that Brooks subbed in on? Still think they rode the big boy's shoulders a bit. Even with him having that v-ball/curb injury. Was an interview discussing it. Cameron was having a hard time with the floor.
P.s. Grr...you caught me out, reading this damn site. Decent content in here. Could we please cut all the skating and all the homosexuality? If that is not redundant?
marie, so true. people saying the girl should "take responsibility" probably never got beyond the varsity team in any sport... you've got no idea whatsoever how hard it is to be an elite athlete. no idea. and the coaches behavior is if it's true very unprofessional. mattie should leave and i'm glad she did.
ReplyDeleteRe: 5:04 - It is my understanding that the requirements are that the routine must have at least one front tumbling element as well as a series with more than one salto. So Mattie had 2 requirements riding on that one element - her punch front. When she missed that, she could have thrown in a front aerial or punch front to make up for the forward tumble and would have only been missing one requirement.
ReplyDeleteTo make up for both, she would have needed to do a pass with 2 saltos, one of which must be forward... she didn't have much time left in her routine to do that. She would have needed to really think fast on her feet and understand exactly what requirements had been missed. Another gymnast might have been able to salvage that, but it's a poorly constructed routine that has one element needing to fulfill 2 requirements. It is extra-harsh that Mattie appears to have balked and didn't throw the salto that she clearly had the power and room to throw. Whereas, if she had fallen on that pass making it impossible to throw the final salto, she would still be missing 2 REs. but perhaps wouldn't be so slammed for "choking." Very unfortunate.
u guys know nothing, she is going to win all around at the olympics. she is beautiful. I think she screwed up to prove how the usa can not win with out her being her best. She sure showed them!
ReplyDeleteI know it doesn't matter now, and there's really no concrete way of knowing, but does anyone think that maybe Mattie was planning on adding a punch front to her dismount? I've been watching the video and it looks like she took out the punch front from her third pass to avoid going out of bounds (it actually looks like she had room). Maybe the fact that she was thinking of throwing another skill on the last pass caused her to doubt herself and miss the landing prior to going into a punch front. Just a thought. I know it doesn't matter but I am just analyzing the video and wanted to see what you guys think.
ReplyDelete@ 7:14 she was going to add a punch front to her double pike? what are you smoking and where can I get some?
ReplyDeleteAJ plz disable anon commenting, it's not that I think the anon people are cowards but it's hard to keep track of who is saying what. So rather than respond to all of you guys individually I'll just say this.
ReplyDeleteI've always liked Mattie's style but figured her to be both way too injury prone and mental error prone to be a great competitor. I'll eat my keyboard if she wins AA in 2012. Odds are she won't be healthy enough to make the team if she is still competing elite. The US is not lacking for floor contenders with Bross, Weiber, Maroney in the mix, and Shawn and Alicia could potentially contribute if they are healthy. They are still very weak on bars.
I hardly think her desire to compete in TF is a princess attitude. These athletes are always encouraged to not dwell on their mistakes but correct them and move on. Bross's shaking off her beam routine in AA to do a killer floor set is a good example of this.
And to whichever commenter was asking about requirments on floor they are as folllows:
a) dance pass of 2 different leaps/hops, 1 with 180º split
b) tumbling pass with 2 different saltos
c) salto forward/sideward AND backward
d) double salto AND salto with at least full twist
e) dismount (C dismounts lose .2)
Mattie was having issues with getting enough punch off the Jansen Fritsen floor, which is notorious for being hard as a rock. She had been tucking her layout in order to get it around. She competed a tuck in prelims and I guess made a split section decision not to do the tuck because she wasn't sure she could get enough punch out of it to rotate it to her feet.
Thank you MsJess I was going to post the FX SR for the person asking about the front/back salto requirement. She would not, however, have been able to use an ariel to fulfill the front salto requirement. Because ariel elements have a one foot take off it is not considered a salto.
ReplyDeleteIn my mind the two and a half was the real issue with the JF floor, she couldn't get enough rotation to get her feet under her to execute the front t/p/l. I was thinking as a backup she should have done a pass similar to Aly's first pass, but with a tucked double back instead of the double arabian.
It's hard to imagine not planning for something like that, especially with the trouble she was having with the floor. Mattie and her coaches were obviously not on the same page with that one.
Anon at 5:11 AM, aerials CAN be used to fulfill the front salto requirement and, in fact, quite a few gymnasts utilise it on floor for that exact reason. What aerials do not count as, however, is a tumbling line, which is why they're useful, because you can do one to fulfill the front tumbling requirement but still do four proper passes.
ReplyDeletee.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMrIrXb-798
That JF floor is hard as a rock, and Mattie wasn't comfortable with it. To call her mistakes "mental issues" is short-sighted. Athletes can't pinpoint exactly what causes errors a lot of times. Sometimes it's just a bunch of little things adding up. I'm sure she'll have chances to redeem herself in the future, if not at the Olympics, but at Nationals. At least she isn't a quitter!
ReplyDeleteI'm not smoking anything, 7:48. I was just asking a question, I was not aware that it was impossible. I love the sport but I am very much a spectator. In the future I will refrain from commenting since I'm not an expert like you. Your attitude is what makes it so hard to attract new gymnastics fans. The sport is intricate with lots of technical minutia and it stands to reason that more novice fans might have questions. However, your elitist and know-it-all attitude is a turn-off.
ReplyDeleteTo anonymous 3:24, it actually crossed my mind too that perhaps Mattie might have been thinking "oh crap I missed a couple requirements, I need to make them up on this last pass" and instead of doing something simple like a front layout + front tuck (for instance) she decided to try punching a front tuck out of her double pike. Which is probably something she never even trained before, but I wouldn't consider it out of the realm of possibility that she might have had a fleeting thought of throwing it, which caused her to flub the pass altogether. It's not like it's some impossible pass, considering people have competed double layout + punch front in the past.
ReplyDeleteNo, a double pike front tuck isn't impossible, but it's a hell of a lot easier out of a double tuck or double layout. Mattie lands her double pike with her chest down some of the time and doesn't show tons of amplitude on the landing - unless she literally threw a punch front from her deep squat, it wouldn't have worked, especially spur of the moment TF situation. I made that original "what are you smoking" comment in jest, thinking simple gravity/body position would show that it was a pretty inane comment from the original person who suggested it.
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't have a degree in physics or kinesiology so my admittedly amateur eye did not realize that my observation would prove to be a "pretty inane comment". I was just asking a harmless hypothetical question hoping to get some real feedback/insight (like what Ronald N. posted and also what you posted in the first part of your comment @8:08). Like I said I love the sport and want to learn more, but your original snarky reply wasn't really helpful. Your second comment contains some more clear technical info and I appreciate the insight.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that Mattie can come back from this mishap. She is not the first person to have an "Error" on floor, and she most certainly will not be the last. 2008 Olympics- World floor champion Shawn Johnson stepped outta bounds on her very first pass, a pass no one would have thought she'd step outta bounds on. Nastia stepped outta bounds on her very first pass also, and I love Alicia Sacramone but she had a similar disaster on floor like Mattie. Falling a tumbling pass she's landed hundreds of times, and then stepping out of bounds at the end of her routine. You don't expect that from a veteran, but you do keep in mind that something can go wrong for a rookie, and Mattie Larson is a rookie. Alicia proved to the world she could bounce back from what happened and she did, claiming her 5th National vault title, then going on to claim world gold on the same event! Mattie is no Alicia, but I think that with the proper coaching that she can rise back from this, but she also needs to face the facts and take responsibility for what happened. She screwed up, now she can look back and see her mistakes and learn from them. If I was her I'd take that floor routine as a very hard lesson well learned.
ReplyDeleteSupposedly she is back with her old coaches. That is a good sign. She must be writing my comments...
ReplyDeletegosh so many of you are so mean!!
ReplyDeleteI think Mattie should follow her dreams and keep doing elite competition.
ReplyDeleteI think Mattie is awesome!!! But personally I think that she should go to Legacy Elite! I mean Wu Jiani and Li Youjoui ( I don't know how to spell his name) definatelly know how to teach bars Mackenzie, Anna, and Bridgey are great on bars! I also think Galena is a very cold hearted person and have seen youtube videos of girls training at her gym where she just gets mad and walks away. Also she could do really well at Perfection Gymnastics ( Enriques gym he coached Cincinattis elites for a while and is involved with the natioanal team) and at maybe even Gedderts Twistars or Texas Dreams. Who knows I just hope she stays elite and continues to do well and Marta lets her in again!! You rock Mattie!! :)
ReplyDelete"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
ReplyDeleteAnyone that knows Mattie, knows that she is truly a wonderful person, a stunning gymnast and a tough competitor!!!
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I bet you all realise now how much of a buch of idiots you really are...
ReplyDelete"She's a party girl", "overrated", "she's done", "stick a fork in her". No, you ...(god help me)...she was "too busy" getting abused to have her 19 year old mind in the game...
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