August 8, 2022 at 8:32 a.m.
Aschenbrenner settling in with gymnastics contact days
Aschenbrenner settling in with gymnastics contact days
The team held a five-day camp at the end of July and is holding open gyms two days a week throughout the month of August. That's in line with what Aschenbrenner's predecessor, Heather Sturtevant, did in the past in terms of summer season training.
Turnout has been solid for both the middle and high school levels and Aschenbrenner said it's an important period of time for both the athletes to train for the upcoming season and for her to get acquainted with her athletes.
"Some of these girls are new and I haven't been able to work with them before," she said. "I've had the opportunity working at the Y(MCA of the Northwoods) the last five years to work with a lot of these younger girls who are moving up into middle school now. Just to get to know the girls and being able to read their face - are they scared, do they have anxiety about this right now, then maybe we need to change our approach."
All of the gymnastics equipment is set up in the Hodag Dome, as it would be during the winter season. Aschenbrenner said it was a chance for returning athletes to knock off some rust though, from what she's seen, there hasn't been much.
"A lot of girls are actually starting where they left off at the end of the season. It's amazing," she said. "There's new girls to the sport. They hadn't done gymnastics and they're doing phenomenal. And just the biggest thing is the positive attitude and willingness to help each other out. It's been great. It's just an opportunity for girls to get on the equipment and work on those skills that they want to get for the next season. Then, hopefully, start thinking about things like floor music and choreography and some of those things. When you show up for the first week of the season, it's very hard to choreograph 10 routines in the first couple of weeks, so just getting a jump start on that is going to be huge."
Having 10 routines to choreograph would be a luxury for the high school team considering that, due to injuries and other circumstances, the squad finished the 2021-22 season with only four gymnasts. Between returning gymnastics and incoming freshman, Aschenbrenner said she's hopeful that number will be at least doubled by the time official practice rolls around in early November.
"With what we're seeing and the girls that are coming in, we'll definitely have the five (per event to field a full varsity lineup)," she said. "It looks like maybe eight girls for high school right now. That's a team. We'll be able to get in there and be competitive."
All told, Aschenbrenner said she has averaged seeing roughly 15 middle and high school athletes per session and that the number of girls who have attended at least some of the contact and open gym days is just shy of 30.
"You can really see the passion for gymnastics when all the different levels are working out together," she said. "They're helping each other, giving each other ideas, cheering each other on. It's exactly what you want to see in a program."
Open gyms will continue on Mondays and Wednesdays this month and Aschenbrenner said she is working to organize a time where her athletes can get into the weight room on a weekly basis to improve their overall conditioning and core strength once school begins in early September.
According to the WIAA calendar, Nov. 7 is the first day of official in-season practice for gymnastics this season.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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