The Next Step
September 22, 2009 10:34 AM | General
September 22, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Their smiles said it all.
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| Naja Johnson and her Mountaineer teammates begin preseason practice today.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
The West Virginia University gymnastics team always faces a daunting strength and conditioning regiment during the four months that lead up to a season’s opening. The 2010 squad’s get-fit plan is no different. To break up the redundancy, assistant strength coach Beth Byron mixes in a different challenge each week, designed to push the team’s abilities to the limit.
Two weeks ago, the Mountaineers had to tackle the WVU Coliseum stairs, and last Friday they squared-off with the WVU Law School Hill. Each obstacle could have forced the team down – both physically daunting challenges; a weaker squad would have pouted, complained and only given a 50 percent effort.
Not the Mountaineers. Junior Naja Johnson says that instead of giving up, the team stared down the tests and completed each – with smiles.
"I can't stand all of the running, but I think doing those challenges helps us build teamwork," Johnson, an Austell, Ga., native said. "I could never do the stairs or Law School Hill by myself. I need my team there by my side and cheering for me."
For Johnson, the solid foundation of support that her teammates provide makes the difference between excelling in the gym and booking the first flight back to Georgia.
"The team's confidence in one another helps," she said. "Even if you don't believe in yourself, the team believes in you, and that gives you confidence.
"Meets can be so frustrating. You just always need that extra push when you are out there competing, and that's what the team is for."
To hear Johnson describe meets as "frustrating" is odd, given the fact that the athletic gymnast made competing look easy her sophomore season.
Restricted to action on vault and bars during her rookie campaign, and sidelined with an injury late in the year, Johnson found it difficult to find her place among her fellow Mountaineers, despite tallying 96.325 points in her first season, and securing a spot on the WVU bars rotation.
"I never thought I would make it this far (in her career)," the multi-disciplinary studies major said. "Freshman year, I was pretty sure I was going home. I just thought it was too hard and I couldn't do it."
Yet, much to the delight of Coach Linda Burdette and Johnson's mother, Jeanine, the tumbler stuck it out at WVU, and in her second season, emerged as an asset on the Mountaineers' floor lineup.
The transition was not natural; Johnson did not believe she had the skills necessary to excel in the event.
"The coaches all wanted me on the floor lineup, but I immediately said 'no'," explained Johnson. "I didn't think I could do it."
The coaches refused to accept Johnson's answer, and instead urged her to push herself and inserted her into the lineup at No. 1-ranked Georgia, then nine-time NCAA champions, in the 2009 season opener. Performing in front of a partisan crowd of over 8,000, Johnson scored 9.575. Though the point total was low, Johnson's high-energy, powerful routine set to the tunes of Michael Jackson proved to be just what the Mountaineers needed in the middle of their floor lineup.
"I clearly don't have the highest skill-level routine, but it's clean when I do it," Johnson said.
Though Johnson was held out of the floor lineup for two meets with a foot injury, her return on Jan. 31 proved to be a turning point in her young career.
Trailing Maryland, 145.6-144.575, and heading into the fourth rotation, the Mountaineers needed a phenomenal floor showing to secure the win over the Terrapins.
Johnson had a breakthrough performance, nailing each of her passes and cleanly performing her routine for the first time in front of the WVU fans. She earned a solid, season-best 9.85 points for her performance - a score she would repeat two weeks later.
Though WVU fell short of defeating Maryland, Johnson finally believed in her abilities and knew she had found her place among the Mountaineer tumblers.
"It surprised me when I earned that score - it was the first 9.8 floor score I had ever received,” she recalled. “I knew then that I could perform like that in every meet."
Johnson concluded the season with a 9.805 regional qualifying score (RQS), which ranked her 24th in the Southeast Region - a phenomenal feat, given the talent, like the powerful Bulldogs and perennial contender Florida, the region boasts. Johnson also earned a No. 18 ranking on the bars with a 9.8 RQS; each of her rankings earned her East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) first team honors, both career firsts.
As the Mountaineers return to Cary Gym today for the first official practice of the 2010 season, Johnson brings with her a renewed sense of confidence she hopes will propel her to the next level, for she knows she has the talent to also excel on the vault and balance beam.
"I want to compete in all-around," Johnson hesitantly said. "I don't know if it will happen this season. I'll be happy if it does, but I'm definitely going to try my hardest to succeed there by my senior year.
"I know I have the skills, but I need to make myself go out there and do it. It's hard. I think I have a lot of work to do, but if I really want it, I can make it happen."
That new attitude, no doubt aided by the success Johnson achieved as a sophomore, should help her lead the Mountaineers towards the lofty goals she has proposed for the team - winning the EAGL Championship, hitting 24-for-24 routines at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship, a meet set for the April 10 at the WVU Coliseum, and qualifying for the national championship.
"I really think we're going to be good this year," Johnson enthusiastically said. "What I've seen so far, everyone has stepped up their efforts. I've seen a lot of good things during open gyms, so I feel like that's going to help us this season once we get on the road and compete."
Johnson's confidence in the Mountaineers comes as no surprise, given that she has witnessed her team tackle weekly physical challenges over the past month. And while she knows the upcoming season will not be without its own obstacles, Johnson said there is no distraction that will derail the progress she plans to make with her team.
"These next two seasons are my last with this team, and I want to make them the best two years," she said. "I want to do better than last year. I had that chance to compete more, and now I know what it feels like to succeed."
With her teammates by her side, and smiles on their faces, there's little reservation that Johnson's next step will far exceed her expectations.
