Michigan State University Athletics
Daily Journal: Kristen Coleman at the Central Regional
4/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
April 4, 2006
Baton Rouge, La. - Follow Spartan gymnast Kristen Coleman in a daily journal chronicling activities surrounding the 2006 Central Regional. Get an inside look into Coleman's experience, preparations, practice sessions and competition beginning with the first installment on Thursday, April 6.
Bayou Bound...(April 5, 2006)
On the road again! Finally, a second to sit and relax! It has been a hectic week, filled with classes, exams and assignments due. We have to get done all the work we'll be missing this week!
I'm ready for the fun part now! Regionals are Friday and we are so excited! Practice these last two weeks has been a lot of fun. We're just trying to maintain the momentum and energy we built at the Big Ten Championships. I'm excited to see what we can do here at LSU this weekend. I think we are ready!
Today has been long, the travel always zaps a bit of energy out of me, so I'm looking forward to a good night's rest. Tomorrow should be a fun day, we'll get to show off the new line dance we learned tonight! Yee-haw!
Goodnight Spartans! :)
Practice Makes Perfect... (April 6, 2006)
On Thursday morning we all met downstairs for breakfast; just like all of the other teams here. It was a lot of fun seeing all of our old teammates from club gymnastics, who now compete at other NCAA schools. After breakfast we had some time to relax. Some of us (like me!) took a little nap, while others hit the mall for a few hours.
Next was lunch at a place called Jason's Deli, our LSU tradition. The salad bar is fantastic. We got to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine while we ate; the weather is beautiful here. Sarah even got some tan lines during lunch! :)
Our practice session began at 4 p.m., at LSU's Pete Maravich Center. We opened the practice on beam, just like we will at the meet tomorrow. The mounting and dismounting mats were real squishy, which required some getting used to, but by the end of our 15-minute rotation I think everyone felt comfortable.
Floor was next, and the Spartans warmed up very well! The floor is real bouncy and more forgiving on landings than most. We all finished early so we put on some George Strait and broke out our new country line dance! It was a lot of fun!
Next came vault. I loved the runway and the landing surface. Those softer landings really make a difference on the ankles. Everyone's vaults looked great!
Bars was a little bumpy at first, at least for me, but after scraping off some of the excess chalk and taking a few swings I felt right at home. I think tomorrow is going to be a great day! I can't wait!
Dinner at TJ Ribs was definitely something to talk about. Their baby back ribs are famous for being the best around, and over half of us tried them out for ourselves! Delicious! Lots of fun and laughs at the dinner table, as always!
After a team meeting and some ice and electric stimulation treatments, the day started coming to an end. But I wasn't tired at all! Dani, Bri, Mike ('Fib', our trainer) and I stayed up and had some fun, just being our crazy selves. It was a good way to end a great day! I can't wait for tomorrow!
Goodnight Spartans! :)
Competition Day (April 7)...
What a night! I guess I should start at the beginning of the day. After breakfast at the hotel, among a sea of gymnasts, we all went back to our rooms, propped open the patio door and the front door, and let the warm breeze roll through. Some napped, some studied and the rest of us lounged around chatting. I stretched out in my room with Chayla, Sarah, Bethany and Katlyn and relaxed, mixing in a little bit of flipping through notecards; I've got a couple of big exams coming up next week!
The sun was shining once again and we just couldn't resist soaking a bit of it in. The funny part was that our balconies are only about four feet wide and a foot deep. There were four of us packed out there together, all in a line, trying to get a tan! It was like we've never seen the sun before...
We enjoyed our usual day-of the meet lunch, where Kathie and Katie go to the grocery store and buy enough food to set up our own little deli in Kathie's room. It's a great system, I love just being able to go and grab a plate and eat as it is convenient, while getting ready for the meet.
Before I knew it we were off to the gym. Excitement! Everyone was relaxed and it felt like a great day for a meet. After some pre-meet hacki-sack (another great MSU tradition) we started our warm-up. All of the events went pretty well in warm-ups; I felt much more confident after getting the kinks out yesterday, during our practice session.
A flurry of teams clapping, cheering and march-outs ensued; we were led to the beam, where we would start our competition. I was up second and after what seemed like hours the judge finally started me. The routine felt good and I even had a stick dismount at the end! The rest of the girls finished off the event well, but we didn't seem to have our normal confidence and we had a few wobbles throughout. Afterwards, I was really excited...time to relax and have some fun!
Floor was an absolute blast! I don't think I've ever had that much fun performing my routine or watching the team perform theirs. We all sucked the crowd and the judges into our routines and executed great tumbling and jump combinations. I was especially excited to see Katlyn hit her routine. She's been fighting a lower leg injury and hasn't gotten many numbers in, but she made it look effortless today. Sarah's routine was also a highlight. In what turned out to be her last floor routine ever, she pulled off a gorgeous triple twist and wowed everyone with a passionate perfromance. It was an awesome event!
On to vault. I love LSU's equipment, especially the vault! It felt so easy to run down and do my vault; I know my ankle sure liked it more than usual! Our lineup did a great job, showing off our repertoire of 10.0 vaults, something we haven't been able to do in years past. Only one more event, bars, the meet absolutely flew by. We hit a bit of a rough patch towards the end of the line-up, but all things considered it was a pretty good rotation. I was last, and let the opportunity of the situation soak in a little bit. With the exception of a little step on the landing, I was really pleased with my routine!
The meet was over and I didn't quite know what to think. Our season was over, it was the last meet of Sarah's career and I was kind of sad about it all. I knew we had the potential to do much better, but I also know that these things happen and mistakes are made. You just have to accept them for what they are and move on.
Then along came a big surprise. During the awards ceremony it was announced that I had finished third in the all-around (so exciting!). After the winning teams were announced, Oklahoma and LSU, we found out that since the two girls who placed ahead of me were already going to national's with their team's, that I was next in line and had qualified individually for the all-around competition. Oregon here I come! I still can't believe that I am going! It is so incredible! I'm sad that my team won't be there to share the experience with me, but I am so honored to have this opportunity, to represent myself and Michigan State, at such a prestigeous event! I can't wait to see what it is like to compete at an NCAA Championship!
For now, I'll have to wait and dream about all of the fun things to come, it's past my bed time!
Goodnight Spartans! :)
Fun In The Sun (April 8)...
Vacation time! Today was an awesome way to wrap up our trip to Louisiana. After sleeping in, and then baking in the sun by the pool, we drove to New Orleans and spent the evening in the French Quarter.
There was quite a unique crowd of people down there! Lots of shops to visit and plenty of things to see! We all had a great time and of course took lots of pictures! Tomorrow we head back to Michigan. I'm sad to see the trip end and to leave all of this beautiful weather, but I'm ready to get home and back into the old routine.
Goodnight Spartans! :)
The Trip Home (April 9)...
Turns out that some of the girls may have got a bit too much sun yesterday. Dani, Bethany, Bri, Sarah and Fib (Trainer Mike!) all look like little lobsters! I think they'll be more than a little uncomfortable on the flight home.
Alas, our trip is over and we're on our way home. I'm going to try to get a little studying done on the way home. Back to the real world! What a great experience! See you in East Lansing!
Players Mentioned
