Behind the Scenes: Holiday Preparations and the Intrasquad
12/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
MONDAY | DECEMBER 15, 2008
Michigan women's gymnastics junior Maureen Moody (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) continues her coverage of the U-M women's gymnastics team, writing about the team's Maize and Blue Intrasquad and the team's holiday plans.
The last week and a half has been fun-filled for the gymnastics team. In the gym we fine-tuned our routines for the Maize and Blue Intrasquad meet, while outside the gym we were busy preparing for our team's annual formal party.
We invited celebrity judges to participate in the intrasquad, so to get them acclimated to the sport, they came to watch practice and try some gymnastics moves for themselves. I was quite impressed with Brandon Graham's floor routine. He exceeded my expectations by doing a back tuck on the floor! However, my favorite performance was Zolton Mesko's rendition of Tachi's floor routine. His dance moves were so good that some of the girls are considering asking him to choreograph their floor routines for next season. All three judges (Nick Sheridan came to the gym too) were able to show off their gymnastics skills at the intrasquad on the video boards. In between our routines, video clips of their efforts were played on the big screen at Crisler, but the real highlights of the night were our routines. Both the Maize and Blue teams looked great and all around it was a perfect way to kick off the season.
The night after the meet, our team got together for a holiday party. I was in charge of the music, so I made sure the playlist had plenty of my favorite Christmas music. Tachi made an activity checklist for everyone to complete before the night ended. The list included things like making a Christmas tree out of construction paper with your hands behind your back and dancing to the song "All I Want for Christmas is You". My tree didn't end up resembling anything close to a Christmas tree, but I hung it on the wall for everyone to admire anyway. It was nice to spend time with all the girls before finals end and everyone goes home for break. I am looking forward to December 18 when I can head home for break and spend time with my family. There is nothing better than hanging around the house with my mom, dad, and brother during the holidays. I will also get to see my extended family because every year my dad's side of the family comes to our house for a Christmas party. With five aunts, an uncle, and all my cousins at the house, the party is never dull. It should be a great winter break. Until next time, Happy Holidays everyone and Go Blue!
Players Mentioned
