Utah posted the highest score in collegiate gymnastics this season on Friday. In return, head coach Greg Marsden gave the team the weekend off. Monday, however, marked the beginning of a long week of practice for the Red Rocks.
“(The Michigan meet) was a great high,” said senior Nina Kim. “It was exciting and it gave us a big confidence boost, but we need to stay levelheaded and keep working hard just like before.”
This is only Utah’s second bye week in the past 20 years; the other came last season.
There are pluses and minuses to the long break between meets for the Red Rocks, who don’t compete again until March 6 when they host Arizona State in the Huntsman Center.
Considering how rare a bye week is in gymnastics, Marsden has some difficult decisions to make8212;who to rest, who to work and how hard to work them.
“For the majority of people, we’re going to try to get some things accomplished this week,” Marsden said. “It’s rare that you get four practices in a week, then we’ll have three next week. So this is a good period of time to work on some things.”
Although the team did not count a fall in competition or in exhibition last weekend, there are still a lot of improvements to be made before nationals. Some of the team will be working on consistency and others will be looking to add final adjustments to their routines. Either way, after the hectic schedule the Red Rocks have had up to this point, coaches and competitors alike have welcomed the bye week.
“It will give us a chance to work on some things that we didn’t have a chance to work on before because we were so busy,” Kim said. “We’ll also get a chance to rest our bodies. Because we do have more time, we will be able to put more into these two weeks rather than two days.”
Marsden already has a good idea of whom he needs to rest, and who needs the seven days of practice to iron out the final kinks. One thing is for sure8212;just because the Red Rocks have a bye doesn’t mean they will say bye-bye to hard work.
“We’re not going to take (the week) off,” Marsden said. “Unless there is an issue that we feel would be better served to let them rest. One example would be Annie (DiLuzio’s) foot.”
DiLuzio has been fighting a case of turf toe all season and at this point, all Marsden and his staff can do is manage the workload DiLuzio puts on her foot. That is only one of Marsden’s worries during the long break.
Often in sports, after long layoffs, teams come out of the break in one of two ways. Either the team is eager and hungry to get back out and compete, or the team is flat.
“Of course it’s something you worry about,” Marsden said. “You just don’t want to get lethargic and not be sharp coming out of the bye week, but we’re going to try not to do that.”
The next time the Red Rocks are in action is eight days away. Only time will tell how the team will react to the long layover.
Thien SokAfter posting the highest score in the nation on Friday versus Michigan, Nina Kim and the Red Rocks emphasized the need to stay focused for their upcoming meet against Arizona State on March 6.