Gymnastics Diary: Kiersten Spoerke
October 28, 2009 02:02 PM | General
October 28, 2009
 |
|
| Senior Kiersten Spoerke will be counted on to lead the Mountaineers in the gym this season.
WVU Staff photo |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Throughout the WVU gymnastics team’s 2010 fall preseason, several Mountaineers will take the time out of their busy schedules to share stories of practice and preparation with the fans.
The second diary entry comes from senior Kiersten Spoerke, the reigning Mountaineer balance beam anchor and a valued team leader. Primarily a two-event, all-EAGL first team specialist (beam and floor) over the last two seasons, the Suwanee, Ga., native is pushing for a spot on all four lineups this year.
Preseason is in full swing as the team comes within weeks of our annual Turkey-Indian Meet. The number of routines is increasing gradually and that will help us prepare for competition. This is the time of year for full floor routines to begin, and the team has risen to the challenge, completing the routines better than I have seen in my prior years at WVU.
The start of increased routines means the beginning of event intrasquads. So far, we have had intrasquads on bars, floor and vault, and the team has performed amazingly! It is great to see the team pulling together to cheer for each other and it is a good indicator of the great things this team and this season have to offer.
On beam, pressure routines are starting in the form of partner routines and small group skill sets. Stuck dismounts are being enforced on both bars and beam, which will help our consistency by the time competition season comes around.
Senior Chelsi Tabor has done a great job thus far after a freak ankle injury held her out of practice for a few weeks. She did a great vault during the intrasquad after just a few vault workouts under her belt.
Junior Naja Johnson has made some significant steps this fall and I am really excited to see her twisting her vaults again! Classmate Amy Bieski has shown her talent in completing her new floor routine with ease.
Last week was really exciting, as we took team pictures and had the opportunity to participate in the homecoming parade. I am really excited to see the team pictures because everyone looked great! Walking in the homecoming parade is a great opportunity for our team to hand out our schedule cards and allows us to be able to meet and greet the fans who support our program and are interested in coming to our meets. This is an important time for us to gain support for our program on a more personal level.
Our objective this year is to stay focused on our number of hit routines, which is important to start early. I think the coaches have done a great job at planning our assignments and keeping us on track with that goal. I am enthusiastic about the great things Mountaineer gymnastics has in store for the 2010 season!
Let’s Go Mountaineers!
