Michigan's Road to the Super Six
4/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
It started years ago; the preparation for this one day -- this one moment. It started in gyms across the country, from North Carolina to Florida; from the Northwest through the Rockies; through the Midwest and to the East Coast. It started in small gyms in Miami. Corvallis. Butler. With young girls taking their first gymnastics lessons, lessons that grow into a passion, passion that grows into dreams; dreams that lead those young girls here, to Cleveland, to the NCAA Championships, to Super Six. One step away from a dream coming true.
You can't count the hours, the days, the sets -- there's no way to measure the disappointment of all those fall or the triumphs of all those stuck routines. The high of a podium finish, an event medal or a team championship. You can't tally the sacrifice -- time, training, health -- exchanging nights out and free time for sore knees, bad shoulders, and hours and hours in the gym. Chalk, grips, tape and ice -- the trappings of a life of gymnastics.
Little girls dream of the Olympics. College athletes dream of an NCAA championship. They dream of representing the school on the diploma, singing their fight song on the podium, celebrating with the teammates who they've trained with, studied with, celebrated with and cried with during some of the best years of their lives.
Our student-athletes dream of the Block 'M.' Two seniors whose careers started with season-ending injuries, who each decided four years wasn't enough. Who each decided there was unfinished business. Two seniors who could have easily coasted on talent, who instead dug deep, set new personal highs, continued the program's tradition of excellence and helped set an example for the future.
Three other seniors with three distinct stories. One who gave up the sport after six knee surgeries and four torn ACLs saying enough was enough. She had great grades, limitless job prospects, friends, family and a diverse social life -- she had it all. But enough wasn't enough. She wanted her team back. She too had unfinished business. So she came back. She worked harder than ever before, earned the trust of her coaches, her teammates and her own body and put together her greatest season ever.
There's the senior with all the pieces to the puzzle who finally figured out what the picture on the box was this year. She set history with one of the best seasons ever by a Michigan gymnast and completed nearly all the goals she set out for herself and her team. True, she didn't win the Big Ten all-around title, but she was happy to trade it in for a team championship, just as she'd gladly throw her AAI Award into the Cuyahoga River if it meant her team could hoist the national championship trophy.
The final senior, the hometown girl who made her final season count. Through injuries and misfortune she found herself on the outside looking in after a breakout freshman year. With one season left, she made each opportunity count. She worked her way into the line-up and earned the respect and trust of her team -- leading off on one of their best events -- vault. With four Big Ten rings and a shot at a national title, she'll need no help singing The Victors on Saturday night.
Three sophomores here and now -- each instrumental in putting Michigan back into the Super Six. Each an All-American, two with multiple awards -- experts covering four events. The sophomores were the new blood of the 2010 team but have been the lifeblood of the 2011 squad. They don't want to wait. They want a national championship now.
Seven freshmen -- the largest class in 20 years -- a mix of personalities from six states covering all four disciplines. Each with a distinct personality but all focused on common goals. Big Tens. Regionals. Super Six. A national title. Three goals accomplished; one to go. If these rookies have anything to say about it, they'll be in Duluth next year, site of the 2012 NCAA Championships, each with a large ring and the bragging rights that go with it.
The coaches dream of the Block 'M' too -- the coaches who live, breathe, eat and sleep Michigan gymnastics. The coaches that remember the past, train the present, and recruit the future. So that banners continue to get added to the rafters, names engraved on Big Ten and All-America plaques and the names of Michigan student-athletes stenciled on university diplomas.
The architect, who arrived in Ann Arbor two decades ago with no head coaching experience, taking over a program with five Big Ten wins in seven seasons. The architect, who won a conference title in her third year at the helm and forgot to stop winning -- capturing 17 more Big Ten titles over the next 19 seasons to give Michigan more Big Ten titles than any program in any women's sport in the entire conference.
The architect, who surrounded herself with talented colleagues. First, paired with the athletic trainer who has been at her side for all 18 of Michigan's Big Ten titles and every trip to NCAAs. Part healer, part psychologist, she's been as much a part of the team and its success as anyone in the program.
The architect found others who brought the Block 'M' to the gymnastics world. She brought the general to the program in 1997 with Michigan on the rise -- with a chance to keep the Wolverines at the top. He's been a key part of Michigan's success for 15 years, coaching some of U-M's brightest talents and helping land some of the most talented recruits. The architect kept a steady flow of strong, new blood on the payroll. For the past three seasons, it's been the Hall of Fame gymnast from the Land of Lincoln who helped push the program to new heights. This core, together, along with the quiet multitude of support staff -- event management and marketing to volunteers, team managers, even bus drivers -- each has played a part in the championship mentality of the Michigan Wolverines.
It started a long time ago. It all leads to this. One night, one goal, one championship. For 15 gymnasts, their coaches, the support staff and Wolverine gymnastics fans everywhere -- everything has led to this one night. Win or lose, first or sixth, this road ends here. But it's only the beginning. There will be another road next year and more roads after that. Another road for the 10 gymnasts who return -- one year older, one year wiser. A road for the incoming Wolverines who can't wait to represent the Maize and Blue in 2012. A road just beginning for the little girl taking her first gymnastics class who loves how it feels to play on the mats. That girl, that first taste of gymnastics, the seed that grows and takes her through the long journey that ends here -- Saturday's Super Six at the NCAA Championships.
