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Show Page IB South Edition Lakeside Review Wednesday, March 23, 1 983 Viewmonfr Gymnasts Drop to Highland f concentrate on your routine. "They have to know what they are doing, said Arhart later. And that is one thing we are still struggling with. Most of the investment is there but cutting the program from the junior highs really hurt us. The rational that is used is that it is expensive, and that it (gymnastics) is available in the private clubs, but the cost is really out of reach of nearly all By DALE PERRENOUD Review Correspondent SALT LAKE CITY You ask, how can a team lose when they take so many first and second places? Coach Bonnie Pierce of Viewmonts gymnastic team explained it like this: You have to have both depth as well as quality. Julie Sorenson and Kim Sarris took first and second in everything in the optional program but we dont have any others that compete in the optional class. One more just wouldnt have helped us win. Girls compete first in class three and there were some that were competing for their first time at Highland. Pierce explained how she sees the two levels. It depends on the girl, we like to give them one year in class three, unless they are really outstanding. We like to give them one year of success and experience out on the floor out in front of people and then if you see it then push them up. In the class three, all of the contestants compete by doing the same routine, so the judges can see how well each gymnast performs the same compulsory routine. In the optional round the better gymnasts do their own routine. We would like to be able to move some of our juniors up next year and get some sophomores involved in the program by talking it up at school, said Pierce. We have gone to the junior highs a couple of times but the district had dropped the gymnastics program from their curriculum and it seems that our juniors this year have more to offer than they did last year. Even though none of last years girls are back, Viewmont enjoys the comfort of having two gymnastic coaches. Bonnie Pierce and Jane Arhart. Arhart plans the meets and lets Bonnie take care of the optionals. Coach Arhart explained to one of her charges; Thats the name of the game in gymnastics. You cant let the audience bother you. It (pressure) comes in all forms, but you have to V of the kids. . Most of the Olympic hopefuls do come out of the private clubs. That is where you can find those who can and do dedicate four hours a day to the sport and not have to just work during the season. So that, combined with the instructors who know and teach just gymnastics, makes the separation. We have been given the instruction from the Davis School District that we are not even to hold gymnastic classes to try to help and give our beginners some background. Their rationale is that they are trying to get everyone to get into p.e. and not specialize anymore. We keep it going. We are lucky to have two gymnastic coaches at Viewmont, said Coach Arhart. The kids have been so supportive of each other, even though they have to compete for a spot on the team, She added. Kim Sarris won all four individual events in the optional class in which she competed (vault, balance beam, floor exercise and uneven parallel bars). With that she also took Option honors. Julie Sorenson finished in second place in all optional events, except for balance beam in which she took third place. In the class III competition, Mindi Salmon tool honors with wins in floor, bars, and vault. Shelly Knighton came in second, Viewmont made a clean sweep, by winning all six places in the class III floor exercise. On April 6, Viewmont will host the region four gymnastics tournament at 3 p.m. all-arou- all-arou- d. s 9 By KENT SOMERS Reivew Staff Youve got to be the est coach Ive ever seen, said the man with the stadium seat in one hand and a thermos in the other to a local high school coach, whose team had just lost a close region game. People surrounding the two sh men, and those walking by them, probably thought the two men were friends kidding each other. But there were no smiles in this conversation, no back slapping, no nice words of consolation. You depend on one kid all year long and it cost you, the man with the thermos told the coach, who now had the look on his face. He was up to you know where with youve-gone-too-f- ar criticism. Go home and watch television, thats where you learned about football, the coach told the man with the thermos. And you thought coaching high school sports was a fun job? It can be, but coaching can also be a burdensome profession when outside pressure, as the true situation above, as well as pressure, are self-impos- erted. ex- The pressure of the business, school officials claim, may be one reason coaches are getting out of the business after a few years instead of making it a career. James Hill, Davis County Districts director of ath- School letics and health, has noticed the change and the increased demands, particularly in the off season, for a coach to be competitive. The phrase is put in quotations because at many schools there is no such thing as an any longer. The trend in coaching is not staying in it as long, Hill said. off-seas- parallel bars challenge one's sense of position in space. At the same time the athlete must have a look of grace. Viewmont was outnumbered by Highland in their meet last week and that caused their loss. THE UNEVEN In order to compete, coaches are required to do a great deal of A basketwork in the ball coach just doesnt turn the switch on Nov. 7 and then turn the switch off at the end of the n. Darts Take Braves In Region Gymnastics p need another class II to be competitive. Were working with Tracy SumIt was a matter of numbers in the ner, and were hopeful she will be in the by regionals, Brown gymnastics meet. in region Davis had 25 girls competing while continued. We are now Bountiful fielded a team of just eight competition but its our class Ills that girls. Davis sent two girls to compete win the meets for us. while the Braves sent in the For Bountiful, having so few girls to three. Davis also won the meet 263.6 to meant defeat. The Braves compete 246.95. Debbie Symonds finished third in the have lost three gymnasts to injuries on competition, but she won the heart of their already small club, but they won with an excellent perthe crowd as she took a bad fall on the the floor exercise but went on to finish the formance from Kim Peterson with a total score of 36.10. Jill Palmer finishmeet. She took a bad fall on the beam two ed second with a score of 32.8. In the weeks ago and we didnt know if she class III category, Bountiful got a good performance from Kathy Shaffer. would have been abl6 to compete, Our team is smaller than usual today But Brown. said Davis Coach Mike Debbie is typical of most gymnasts. but our girls are big in heart, said Shell compete with great pain. She Braves Coach Jan Whittaker. Theyscored a 8.0 on the vault and a 8.1 even re doing routines we usually wouldnt to do, but thats the kind of after her fall on the floor. From there ask them on she just couldnt get her mental girls I have at Bountiful. I just hope have a lot of success this year game together. She got a 6.9 on the theyll cause deserve it. they We 7.2 on a and beam. the really bars season. It didnt used to be that way. Twenty years ago a coach did his coaching during the season. years of experience and I wanted to pursue a career in ad- There were few camps or workshops to attend, and most of the athletes played more than one sport. ministration. But is a successful coach necessarily a winning coach? ,The change, said Hill, a former coach, was gradual. You go back 15 years ago and you didnt have the pressure to develop your talent because there were regulations against that. This has changed over the years. Now you have colleges and professional players having camps. All of these things to be more competitive has added to the pressure and time committments that shortens the number of years coaches stay in the profession, Hill explained. Most people would say yes, but there are some coaches I think people should stop and think about high school athletics, and what it has to offer, said Johansen. I dont know how much longer the secondary education system can operate like a college; if you dont win your fired. Paul Waite, a winning football coach at Bountiful High School when he quit the profession a year ago, said that coaching is d no different from American society. If a coach next door holds a summer weightlifting camp, then other coaches do the same to keep pace. Johansen said he and Paul Jeppeson, basketball coach at Skyline High decided what a high school coach had to do to be successful under todays standards. You have to win every game by 30 points, play everyone and everyone has to make or someone will be dissatisfied. high-pressure- You do what the guy next door is doing, Waite said, sitting in his office at Centerville Junior High, where he is a viceprincipal. You always have to do something a little bit more and the time requirements are all-sta- te This year, Johansens team won three games, but he has had years when his clubs were ranked near the top in the state. He said the real pressure is on the coach with the talent, the ones expected to win. getting greater and greater. Coaches are their own enemies. who would like that to be different. Ron Johansen, head basketball coach at Viewmont, said he also likes to see kids develop into good individuals, and have the ability to pick themselves up after they fall. That, he said, is also a part of success. off-seas- worst All of this added time andwork sucis dedicated to one goal cess, i.e. winning. After all, whats a coach there for, if not to win, many people think. And that makes a coach different from any other teacher. You his take the average teacher productivity is not put on the line on Friday night, Waite said. You measure a coachs productivity on the scoreboard. People say With your talent you should win a state championship, Johansen said. You walk on the floor afraid to lose. Hill agrees that high school sports should be put in the proThere is no per perspective. in if were competitive question sports, we would be amiss to say were not in it to win. But I dont think we should put so much pressure on kids and coaches that we have to win at all costs. There needs to be a balance. Waite said he quit because even when he was winning he couldnt totally relax. I was always a little concerned about not giving the community and the players what they expected. of losI was afraid of falling ing. Even when I was winning I was thinking what about next year. Those were my own fears, I dont think the community put that on me. Plus I was a head coach at 24 and at 34 I had 10 But that balance is not present now, and after facing the pressures from parents, administrators and themselves, many coaches ask at the end of the season if $1,100 in extra coaching pay is worth it. And more coaches are deciding it isnt. By SHERILIN ROWLEY Rviw Correspondent all-arou- Davis-Bountif- ul 2-- 0 Week's Eve mills all-arou- all-arou- Heres a schedule of spring sporting events for the area high schools. Since baseball, soccer, tennis and track are dependant on the weather, it is a good idea to check with the school prior to the game to see if the event is still planned. The following times and dates were recieved by the schools. BASEBALL Clearfield at Viewmont, Thursday at 3:30 Birghton at Woods Cross, Thursday at 3 p.m. Viewmont at Roy, Friday at 3 p.m. I (No info available from Layton at Ogden Tourney, Thursday and Friday. Bountiful.) TRACK TENNIS Bountiful at Davis, today a 3 p.m. Woods Cross at Morgan, today at 3 p.m. at Davis with Clearfield and Box Elder, Thursday at 2 p.m. Viewmont at Layton, today at 3 p.m. Woods Cross at Bountiful, Thursday at 3:30. (Only info available). Tri-Me- et SOCCER Woods Cross at 3:30. GYMNASTICS Viewmont at Davis, Thursday, p.m. . vv 3 at Bonneville, today Brighton at Woods Cross, Thursday at 7 p.m. (Only info available.) |