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Show Coach to head Pan Am effort Bv G.B.HART BOUNTIFUL-Gymnastics coach Chris Leech will coach the United States Gymnastics Team at the Junior Pan American held later this week. Although he has served as an assistant coach in the past, this is the first time he has been given the head coaching position. "It's very exciting," said Leech. ' 'This is the first international meet that I've coached. This is the first time I've been in charge of the whole thing. When asked what duties the head coaching spot would entail, Leech replied with a grin, "I don't know exactly. I'll coach the younger gymnasts and assist with the elite level athletes." Because Casey Bryan, ' one of Leech's gymnasts, is competing at the Olympic Festival in- Minnesota, Leech has opted not to leave for the Pan American games until July 19. "I'm supposed to go for 10 days to get the team ready," said Leech. "But being the gym owner and keeping the gym running, I can't leave for more than a week, or some of my younger athletes who will eventually compete on this level won't get the training they need." Leech owns USA Gymnastics World in Bountiful. "Technically, I guess I relinquished relin-quished the head coaching responsibilities, respon-sibilities, but they've gone out of their way to fly me down because this is the fifth time Casey has competed com-peted in the games, and I've never been able to be there. ' ' According to Leech, the United States' gymnastics team has an excellent chance of winning the games. "Canada will probably be our biggest competition," said Leech. Cuba has an excellent team, too. "Casey should win the bronze in the floor if he's healthy," said Leech. Bryan has been recovering from a stress fracture in his ankle. The Pan American games include teams from countries throughout the Western Hemisphere. |
