Regionals prep continues for Shannon Welker & Co.

On Saturday afternoon, fans were welcomed retired to Tiger Performance Center for a past look astatine nan squad earlier they caput retired to Lexington, Kentucky connected Thursday for NCAA Regionals, which will return spot connected Friday,

“We’re excited to deed nan roadworthy later this week. We’ve sewage a small spot of mentation still to do, you know, arsenic we’ve sewage a mates much days… When we’ve sewage this bye week, we conscionable sewage to usage it correctly and make judge we’re prepping and figuring retired wherever do we get those past small half tenths from and really do we build assurance arsenic good pinch our young ladies.”

While we were told that Friday’s attraction was level and vault, Saturday focused mostly connected bars and beam pinch a small spot of vault connected nan side. While I didn’t person immoderate reports astir floor, nan Tigers looked particularly bully connected vault, pinch sticks from Hannah, Kimarra, Elise, Dakota and Railey. The non-sticks, I’m told, were very mini steps aliases hops and controlled. “It was a very beardown practice.”

Saturday’s unfastened practice/intrasquad convention featured believe sessions connected vault — I saw sticks from Olivia Kelly, Ayla Acevedo (twice!) and conscionable a flimsy ft move from Railey Jackson — beam, and bars earlier moving into much of a meet-style format pinch 2 sets of six-up lineups to trial retired immoderate different variations. Some tough-scoring judges were connected manus — it appeared to beryllium a combo of coaching unit and Kennedy Griffin connected beam (I couldn’t spot nan bars scoring, mostly).

“We’re building connected consistency. I deliberation this team’s gotten amended arsenic we move done nan year,” Shannon said. “We person a small spot of a younger team, but they proceed to get better. I deliberation besides to solidify immoderate options arsenic well. You know, readying connected competing 2 days, we whitethorn request immoderate options to sub in, sub retired successful those areas. So I deliberation that was what we were trying to get done nan past mates of days here, and conscionable cognize who those options are.”

Round 1: Bars

Round 2: Bars

When asked astir nan small specifications that nan bars squad is still moving connected — they looked fabulous connected Saturday — Shannon first called retired nan alteration successful coaching, arsenic Whitney’s backmost (and will beryllium astatine Regionals!). Let’s not forget, beloved readers, that he had antecedently proclaimed nan logic nan bars squad was doing truthful good for a while was because he was successful charge— he mentioned this jokingly connected several occasions.

“I deliberation it’s conscionable slowing down. The specifications are nan differences, I deliberation betwixt nan beautiful bully teams and nan awesome teams,” Shannon said. “So I deliberation we conscionable effort to spell backmost to immoderate basics. Really deliberation astir hitting handstands. You know, either sticking aliases astatine slightest minimizing steps connected dismounts, right? It doesn’t ever person to beryllium a stick, though that would beryllium nice. But if we do person mini step, make it a mini step, not a large measurement aliases thing for illustration that. So I deliberation it’s going to travel down to not conscionable who sticks nan champion and hits handstands nan best, but who tin negociate immoderate of nan small things successful between.”

Round 1: Beam

Round 2: Beam

When asked astir Amy, who did a afloat regular successful information 2, and her wounded progression, Shannon said, “We’re conscionable limiting numbers, but I deliberation that 2nd regular looked beautiful good, beautiful coagulated complete there. And moreover nan first 1 was good. We conscionable pulled retired nan jump series. We changed that up successful nan dismount, conscionable because we were moving a different lineup and she was conscionable benignant of hopping successful location astatine nan extremity connected nan first round.”

“So yeah, I deliberation she’s looking good, you know. I deliberation we conscionable person to measure her time by day… I cognize she tin spell 1 day, I deliberation we’re conscionable assessing, are we going to beryllium capable to do 2 days successful a row, and is that nan champion action for our team? So that’s benignant of why we ran it for illustration that. It’s conscionable moving different lineups successful location and conscionable different personnel.”

I asked astir Hayli’s emergence successful nan lineup, arsenic it’s been a beautiful caller occurrence. “She’s doing good complete there, right? She moves good connected that event. It’s conscionable getting immoderate numbers and getting immoderate reps, you know. Hayli was retired her elder twelvemonth of precocious schoolhouse — she had a small knee thing, thing awesome — but it conscionable kept her retired of nan season. So, you know, it conscionable took her a small longer to get backmost into comp mode and get going connected those things. So yeah, I’m excited for her. She’s taken a bully domiciled complete location and filled successful erstwhile we needed her to. And I deliberation this twelvemonth is going to beryllium really bully for her, but I deliberation adjacent twelvemonth you’ll spot a large jump from her, too.”

Vault

Watch nan vault compilation video below! Kaia stuck her Pike Front Half successful warmups.

Both Ayla, who replaced Railey successful nan lineup astatine SECs past infinitesimal connected vault, and Railey, looked awesome connected Saturday. Does that person immoderate implications for nan Regionals lineup?

“I deliberation we’re conscionable trying to build bully options, right? And if we tin create immoderate competitiveness wrong our ain team, moreover better, right?” Shannon said.

Regarding Railey, Shannon posed that title apt helps her arsenic well, arsenic she knows, “Hey listen, I’ve sewage to beryllium bully if I want to make this lineup. You know, I’m not conscionable getting successful because I person a 1.5 (Yurchenko 1.5 vault) complete there. And 2) I deliberation that really builds assurance because past group don’t consciousness like, hey, it’s either I sewage to do it aliases it’s each riding connected maine now that they cognize different group tin do it, too. And I deliberation that brings a consciousness of assurance and calmness.”

When asked astir Ayla’s capacity specifically astatine SECs, he said, “I was really proud of Ayla, because we had that business popular up erstwhile earlier successful nan year, and I popular her into a lineup benignant of late, and it didn’t spell rather arsenic good arsenic we wanted. And past to spot her do it again, you know, we benignant of telephone her our concealed limb connected vault. That we tin conscionable benignant of popular her in, popular her out, and she’s bully pinch that. But I was really excited for her.”

UP NEXT:

Lexington, Kentucky and Historic Memorial Coliseum for NCAA Regionals.

When asked astir nan connection for immoderate of nan squad members who would beryllium going done this portion of nan play for nan first time— athletes for illustration Maiya Terry, Kimarra Echols, Hayli Westerlind, Ayla Acevedo, for illustration — Shannon said, “I deliberation this athletics successful peculiar is ever chasing perfection, and truthful if you don’t deed it, it’s easy to, I think, you know, find nan negatives, right? Which unfortunately, that’s portion of our jobs. We’re ever trying to find wherever nan errors are, wherever those missing tenths are, wherever that worldly is.”

He continued. “So I deliberation we’ve tried to flip nan mindset a small spot arsenic we move into this portion of nan year, and conscionable admit really overmuch advancement has been made… It’s not 10 aliases bust, right? There’s immoderate different bully scores successful there, and there’s immoderate areas wherever I deliberation they conscionable request to observe that and understand that… It’s seldom going to beryllium perfect, and truthful to understand that it’s okay if it’s not perfect. And I deliberation sometimes our young competitors hide that, and truthful we arsenic coaches too, we sewage to punctual them to bask it, too.”