Wednesday, December 20, 2000
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Wednesday, December 20, 2000 |
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Gym South on the verge of another exciting season By MICHAEL BOYLAN You can barely see the building from the highway, but you need only see the parking lot to see how much is going on at Gym South. The facility has dance and cheerleading classes as well as gymnastic classes for boys and girls of all levels. The gymnastic teams recently wrapped up a successful year and now are preparing for the upcoming season, which begins in January. The boys' program has seven levels. The entry level is Class VII and the top level is Class I. Class VI is when the students have committed to the sport and start to learn the skills and a compulsory program. By Class I, the students are doing a modified version of the events one sees on television. They are performing sets like international competitiors. The ages in the boys program range from six to 17 years old and many of the older boys have been involved in the program from a very young age. "It's best to start young," said Kyle Sherritt, assistant coach of the Men's team. "But we have several members that started later and they have progressed as just as quickly as the others." The team has also seen one of their former students head to college on scholarship. Mitchell Griffin is now a member of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers gymnastcics team. The men's program competes in six events floor exercises, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bars. The team practices 17 hours a week and does no other exercises outside of the gym, meaning no weight training or other strength conditioning. That is impressive when one sees the musculature of some of the athletes. The girls' program has enjoyed a great amount of success as well. The Level IV team recently placed seventh in the state and had many gymnasts earn high places on an individual level. David Burke and Nikki Sherritt coach the Level VIII girls. Though the girls division goes to Level X, the gym does not have any athletes currently competing at that level. While boys compete in six events, girls compete in four. Burke coaches the girls on the uneven bars and the vault, while Sherrit coaches the girls on the beam and the floor exercises. "This is my first year with the girls," explains Sherritt, who moved to Georgia from Canada. "It takes some time to get used to each other, but we just went to a practice meet, to get them out of the comfort zone of the gym, and I was pleased with the results." The girls on the Level VIII team range in age from 12-14 years old. Their season will begin in January and the team will also compete in a national tournament at the Disney complex Jan. 26 and 27. To qualify for the state meet, the girls must earn an all-around score of 31 in one of their seven meets against other state teams. Two gymnasts to pay particular attention to this season are members of the top level men's team. Josh and Sean Blackman have been members of the gymnastic program since the ages of nine and seven years old, respectively. Josh, now 18 and a senior at Fayette County High School, is being recruited by several top collegiate programs, including the Naval Academy, Ohio State University, Temple and James Madison. "My goal is to get a full scholarship to an NCAA school and compete on their gymnastics team," explains Josh. This should not be a problem for him, as he has already had a taste of the big time. After the Olympics, members of the U.S. men's and women's olympic teams and the Russian men and women's teams toured the country. At each stop, they asked some of the state's top gymnansts to perform an exhibition. Josh did a set on the rings at Philips Arena and got to meet some of his idols on both squads. "It was incredible," Josh said. "I got to hang out with Alexi Nehmov, who is just the best and very cool, and Steve McCain of the U.S. team. It sows what my perseverance in the sport may lead to." Josh's brother, Sean, who is almost 16, loves the sport as much as his brother. "The thing I like best is defying gravity," explained Sean. "There is always something new to try and a new challenge to met." Josh agrees, but likes the adrenaline of the sport and said," I enjoy controlling something that is out of control." Sean's favorite event is either the floor or the rings, while Josh's favorite is definitely the high bars. Both young men are completely dedicated to the sport and know that there will come a time when they won't be able to compete anymore. "School comes first," explains Josh. "We won't be doing gymnastics 30 years from now." It will always be an exciting competition with the Blackmon brothers involved and they, and the rest of the students at GymSouth, are looking forward to another successful season. |
