Posted on 01/18/2019 2:03:46 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT
If you haven’t seen the clip of Ohashi’s performance, go watch it right now. It’s barely a minute long. I’ll wait right here. OK, are we good? That was something, wasn’t it? I think there are a number of reasons why tens of millions of people are responding so positively—and emotionally—to this. First of all, Ohashi is an incredible athlete—she does about 20 things in this routine that if an ordinary human like you or me ever did, we would never stop talking about it for the rest of our lives. She makes extremely difficult maneuvers like tumbling passes look as normal as strolling down the sidewalk.
It’s so, so joyful. It radiates warmth and glee. There’s a playfulness to her routine, to be sure—UCLA coach Valorie Kondos Field, aka Miss Val, is a college gymnastics legend for the way she’s injected happiness into a rigid, often cruel sport—but it isn’t a goof, not at all. What Ohashi is doing is extremely hard to do
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Valorie Kondos Field
Current position
Title Head coach
The Coach
Valorie Kondos Field
Considered one of the finest college gymnastics coaches of all time, Field has led her Bruins to seven national championships during her tenure as head coach. On September 20, 2018, she announced her retirement as the head coach of the Bruins gymnastics team,[1] planning to leave after the conclusion of the 2019 season.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valorie_Kondos_Field
“The part autobiography, part self-help, part leadership book explores how a professional ballerina became one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history. Miss Val, as she’s affectionately known, has never even tumbled, flipped, or ever played any type of organized sports and yet was able to craft a legendary coaching career through curiosity, creativity, intention to detail, and unwavering care for the overall well-being of her athletes. For Miss Val, it’s not about the X’s and O’s, it’s about choreographing your life and owning the choices you make. [7]
“
The old East German team?
Some heavy hitters!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgl9DEYHBv0
Here is a montage of the evolution of gymnastics.
In the fifites it was all about grace and they were like
ballerinas.
Now it is more like hiphop.
Frankly, she is remarkable but to mesome of her moves were more like
a pole dancer than an athlete.
“Hail, Hail East Germany
Land of vine and grape
Land where you’ll regret
Any try to escape
No matter if you take a running jump,
Or tunnel under the wall
Forget it, the guards will kill you—
If the electrified fence doesn’t first”
Totally amazing. Thanks for the post.
Humans can be wonderful.
“Frankly, she is remarkable but to me some of her moves were more like
a pole dancer than an athlete.”
If you’ve got it, flaunt it!
If she was one of the very slender youngsters, near androgynous, same moves.
Would it still relate to a pole dancer?
The pixies are in the Olympics. College gymnasts are much different... very solid and muscular.
It’s a mishmash of Michael Jackson. I’m not sure if there’s music by other artists in it as well. College gymnastics is so much more fun. UCLA is known for beautiful, creative, fun floor routines as their longtime coach is a dance instructor turned gymnastics coach. She’s the best. Oklahoma also is loaded with great floor performers. Those two programs are the best right now, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
Hah. You answered my question as well.
Even tho it makes my oldish male body wince to watch it, I've seen the video and that young woman has an extraordinary talent.
Doubtless due in large part to Ms. Field's coaching outlined in that inspirational writeup above.
Most NCAA Titles:
Georgia 10 1987, 1989, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Utah 9 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995
UCLA 7 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2018
Alabama 6 1988, 1991, 1996, 2002, 2011, 2012
Florida 3 2013, 2014, 2015
Oklahoma 3 2014, 2016, 2017
“The pixies are in the Olympics. College gymnasts are much different... very solid and muscular. “
Is there a logical explanation for the differences?
Same rules?
Wow! that flip then landing in a full split and bouncing right back up — amazing! I also have to say that I like that she isn’t an anorexic little pixie, she’s built like a real young woman with strong muscles! And what a smile!
Yay UCLA pride. :)
The 50s films showed ballet because that was about all they had. Maybe a cartwheel or a handspring. As with figure skating, the dance elements are now much more hip-hop or ethnic than ballet, while the athletic elements were unimaginable only a decade ago.
I recognized the famous gymnasts from my childhood: Cathy Rigby, Olga Korbut, Nadia Comaneci. Olga Korbut was an answer in the WSJ crossword puzzle a few days ago ;-).
Probably it’s the fact that college gymnasts are older: not many 13- or 14-year-olds in universities.
landing in a full split and bouncing right back up — amazing!
Also at 30 sec, she bounces up from a sitting position?
I ran the video in slow motion, and near as I can see, she just does it.
The East German women’s team is Barack’s kind of girls!
Did I see Bruce Jenner in there somewhere?
(boy, we had no idea, eh? - pun not intended)
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