Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A Georgia Update
After much delay, UGA has posted highlights from their Sneak-A-Peak. Notice how much of a 2:42 highlight reel is taken up by shots of the team cheering. That is not a promising sign. Given the delay, one must wonder if they've spent substantial time editing this to make them appear in the best possible light.
Gina Nuccio and Kat Ding were absent from the intrasquad on vault and floor and both are questionable at best for Saturday. If Kat does compete, it will only be on bars.
Only one more year of watching Hilary Mauro do that series and that vault, phew. That series is quite a leap for her and certainly interesting technique. Mauro and McComb look like the stars of this season (along with the few appearances Shayla Worley will grace us with.)
Get ready to see a LOT of Noel Couch this season. There is no way around that.
Substantial time was also spent showing Kaylan Earls, who is injured and out for the year.
Lindsey Cheek is supposed to compete three events for the Gym Dogs on Saturday. While Lindsey has a decent Yurchenko Full, let's take a look at her gymnastics to show just how in danger the team may be of losing to Denver.
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Oh, my God. OH MY GOD THOSE BARS MY EYES.
ReplyDeletethis is kind of like after Florida basketball won the titles in 06 and 07 and graduated half the team to the NBA. Their team was a drastically different and less talented team.... but they still had "Gators" on their jerseys. Everyone in the SEC saw it as revenge time after being in the shadows for two year. Only for UGA its five years of imposing futility on everyone. They will probably be underdogs... to Alabama and Florida....in ATHENS!!!! plus a dangerous trip to LSU.
ReplyDeleteYou can bet Alabama will be hell bent on humiliating Georgia in Athens... something Sarah Patterson hasn't done in ages.
You took the words right out my mouth, Anon at 2.17! I'm not a code expert but there must have been a point and a half in deductions there (bearing in mind it wasn't the right angle to judge hit handstands...) If Georgia have to use that horror on bars they are finished. If that's their level of recruitment, God help them.
ReplyDeleteI'm probably the only person in the world who likes Noel Couch, so shoot me. I think she looks much less 'gawky' this season, and the position Georgia's in they can't be complaining about a girl who'll go hit every week, even if she isn't gonna bring in the 9.9s.
As to the intrasquad 'sneak peek' itself, WTF? I'm sorry, look at UCLA - they post every routine in FULL with the gymnast's name at the bottom, so you know exactly who's doing what. They must be in damn trouble if they don't post a single complete routine, and bulk their two minutes out with dancing and cheering.
Anonymous at 2:17 PM, couldn't have said it better myself -_-
ReplyDeletewhat is most amazing is the fact that a gymnast like this is on the team. It is entirely possible that Georgia could hit at regionals and nail ever event and still not make it on. I knew that suzanne was a great coach but wow, this team is making her look like a superstar!
ReplyDeleteHow old are those Lindsay Cheek vids? Hopefully she has cleaned up her form a bit.
ReplyDeleteThe quality of recruits at Georgia has gone off the cliff.
ReplyDeletePart of me wants to feel sorry for Jay, but the hard truth that he's in way over his head is becoming harder and harder to avoid. Recruitment, fitness, coaching, PR: everything about the program is visibly in decline.
Part of the issue is that Julie is not that bright or quick. Jay doesn't have someone to fill the job he used to do as well as he did because he wanted to put his wife on the payroll. Julie has a lot of energy and is a nice person, but she is a bit of a flake.
ReplyDeleteIn all fairness, that bars routine was from early 2009. So, I'm hoping Jay has cleaned the hell out of it.
ReplyDeleteShe just arrived on campus. Jay wouldn't have been doing the cleaning.
ReplyDeleteWow, you guys are brutal! Everyone has been talking all Fall about how much better the Gym Dogs look than they did last year, and now you are absolutely slamming them as well as Jay. I know there have been several untimely injuries on this team for major contributors, but I don't see how that is Jay's fault or makes him a bad coach. Yes, the season outlook has definitely changed for the worse with the loss of Earls and the uncertainty of Ding and Nuccio, and that's a reality that they are going to have to deal with. People need to realize this isn't the same Georgia as the 2005-2009 teams, there's an adjustment period for everyone involved.
ReplyDeleteAt this point Jay needs to keep a cool head and do what he can to make adjustments and be strong for the team. Last year he showed some signs of panic and I think that adversely affected the team. I would like to see him adopt the smile-plastered-on-my-face-even-though-that-girl-just-majorly-effed-up approach at meets.
Lindsay Cheek actually looked pretty good at the sneak peek. She was coached by Kim Arnold and it looks like they cleaned up a lot. They others looked not up to their previous standards but by no means 'bad'. If they can just hit, I think they can do well in Denver
ReplyDeleteThe loss of Earls, Ding and Nuccio is costing them up to 12 big routines, as all three were training in the AA. Now Ding and Nuccio on beam are nail biters, but these are a great deal of 9.85s and 9.9s that the team was counting on.
ReplyDeleteI've said all fall that if healthy, they'd be better than last year. A year ago, the chemistry was fractious between Jay and the seniors (notably Grace Taylor after he was pissed about her engagement and said she wasn't 100% invested in the team) and he didn't respond to each girl individually the way Suzanne did. She knew which ones to be tougher on, who needed a gentler touch, etc. Jay was stressed last season and it came across as harsh for the team.
Jay is absolutely a good technical coach. He is a good bars coach. As a head coach, it remains unclear whether he has the personality to really lead the charge and be inspiring under averse situations. He has been known to be the stressed/withdrawn/moody type when shit hits the fan, as it did all of last season.
It is not good for a coach to just smile and accept mistakes, but they have to be able to turn around and motivate the next person to hit, get them intense, build their confidence and stop the bleeding. Last year, he got stressed and pissed over mistakes and the girls tightened up and made even more.
He was an amazing assistant coach. One of the things he really has to do is be able to divvy up his head coach duties. He was a great recruiter, but has been spread thin. Unfortunately, if they don't rack up some wins this season, the recruits won't feel as compelled to come to Athens in the future.
It is a little scary that we've yet to see a single full routine from Georgia, excluding vault. It does feel like they're trying to hide something.
ReplyDeleteWell I don't think there is anything Georgia is hiding... If that were the case then practices would not be open to the public everyday I am sure! It is so funny what comments are really made and what opinions are formed on this blog. I really like the videos because they are a new addition to the programs site along with the Iphone App...so to get any practice footage and a little more of the girls personality weekly is actually pretty nice. The videos are done in the office I believe so so editing and videoing is probably not the most professional---i mean are you all really reading into not seeing a full routine. well buy a ticket and go see them next week! Also, i am sure Jay appreciates the feedback you are giving him since you have been in his shoes...well I hope you all enjoy the gymnastics season this year as it all starts up this weekend.
ReplyDeletewow. I will post something nice for the Dawgs like they have quite a lot of talent, great coaching and I hope they pull out a win on Saturday! Go Dawgs!
ReplyDeleteAnon 7:43 Yes, UGA'd videos are nice, but if you look at the other stuff our there... Utah and Alabama are also in house they their videos are often and usually show full routines.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the Dawgs will be fine, they just appear as though their hiding something in contrast with the 24/7 vidoes coming out of Salt Lake and Tuscaloosa.