NCAA Graduating Seniors 2020- SEC

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March 22, 2020

For any Senior their last year of not only college gymnastics, but gymnastics in general, can be a hard pill to swallow. Leaving a sport that they have literally done their entire life can be a highly emotional concept to grasp. However, most Senior athletes come to terms with this at the beginning of the season and are prepared to that last competition that they will buckle their grips, pull on their leotard and tighten their hair a little more than usual. For many this moment does not occur until late April at the NCAA National Championships or others it may happen a bit earlier, but they are ready for it they have celebrated their gymnastics journey with their family, friends, coaches & teammates at the extremely emotional Senior Nights that have everyone reminiscing and looking back at glorious careers with fond memories and usually tears in their eyes.

Unfortunately, for these 2020 Graduating Seniors the season did not end in April at the NCAA National Championships, it ended far sooner and more abruptly in March. Many Seniors did not get their Senior Night, they did not get to look back fondly at their gymnastics careers. Instead, due to the Corona Virus, they were left with devastation and heartache, careers ended on someone else’s terms.

We here at the Region 5 Insider, who have followed these athletes from their first Level 10 meets to their last college meet, would like to recognize our Region 5 Alumni for all that that have given to the sport of gymnastics, to our Region, to their JO Clubs and to their schools! These young athletes, who have worked so hard, deserve much more recognition than photo galleries and social media posts, but once you are part of Region 5 you are a Region 5er forever and we take care of our own. So, with that being said we will be recognizing EVERY Graduating NCAA Senior.

We will be starting in this post with the SEC Conference

Amelia Hundley
University of Florida
Cincinnati Gymnastics

Career Highlights
-4 Time All-American
-2017-2018 All-SEC
-2019 WCGA Scholastic All-American
-2018-2020 SEC Academic Honor Roll
-2017 SEC All-Freshman Tean

Career Bests:
Vault: 9.90
Bars: 9.975
Beam: 9.925
Floor: 9.95
AA: 39.625

photo credit: University of Florida Athletics

Rachel Dickson
Georgia
Michigan Elite

Career Highlights:
-2018 First Team All-American
-2018 All-SEC Team Bars
-2017 2nd Team All-American Honors
-2017 First Freshman All-Around All-American since 2006
-2017 First Freshman to compete All-Around since 2013
-2017 Recipient of the Jennifer Moree Gymnastics Excellence Scholarship Endowment

Career Bests:
Vault: 9.975
Bars: 9.925
Beam: 9.925
Floor: 9.975
AA: 39.625

photo credit: University of Georgia Athletics

Shea Mahoney
Alabama
Legacy Elite

Career Highlights:
-2017,2018,2019 Scholastic All-American
-2019 All-SEC
-2019 SEC Community Service Team
-2017,2018,2019 SEC Academic Honor Roll

Career Bests:
Vault: 9.9
Bars: 9.95
Floor: 9.95

photo credit: University of Alabama Athletics

**Please remember if we missed an athlete it was not intentional, please let us know & we will add her to the feature. Thank You**

Meditative Movement with Perfect 10 Posture?

By

Jason MacDonald

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March 20, 2020

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Take this time to build a better foundation, build a better you? Reduce stress and anxiety and build up your overall confidence with meditative movement!

Hello Region 5!
I wanted to invite you to join in my daily live video streams as we navigate our way through these unprecedented times. There are three main goals with these video streams:

Lead important movement activities that are designed to strengthen and enhance the body’s immune system.
Introduce and help you practice different techniques to calm the mind and heal our emotional body.
Share thoughts and ideas and unique perspectives to help you maximize the opportunity being presented by this “life puzzle” we are currently working to solve.

To be clear – I am NOT handing out answers or a step by step list of what to do every day. I am simply sharing ways of thinking about ourselves and about our bodies that will enhance EVERYTHING that we wish to pursue or participate in once our world returns to its new state of normal. My wish is that we come out of this definitely CHANGED and definitely CHANGED for the BETTER!

#1- “Contributing to the team bucket” Make sure you are only putting in positive energy – that’s what you will be giving to your family, friends, community. AND that’s what will be in there when you need to use some of that community energy! Exercises – Birthday candle blowing; Foot connection; Spinal awareness

https://www.facebook.com/BodyByGymroots/videos/140210730680433/UzpfSTExNDM1Mjc3NDY6MTAyMjA3OTM5NTEwMTU2MjM/

#2- “Seize the Opportunity to Learn to Relax” Take this time of uncertainty and less structured obligations to get better at those things we say we WISH to be better at. What is it that you always complain about? Want to have less anxiety in your life and the lives of your family members? Want to learn how to calm your mind? Here is a great starting point…and it’s just the tip of the iceberg! Exercises – Perfect 10 Posture gym warm-up basics

https://www.facebook.com/BodyByGymroots/videos/833534633819407/UzpfSTExNDM1Mjc3NDY6MTAyMjA4MDM4NjcwMjM1MTc/

#3 – “Find Abundance in Nature” Utilize the opportunity to get out in nature and share of the abundance of healing energy that Mother Earth has to share. Exercises – Moving joints from the ground up; Breathing

https://www.facebook.com/BodyByGymroots/videos/1597529897052851/UzpfSTExNDM1Mjc3NDY6MTAyMjA4MTM3Mjk1OTAwNzU/

#4 – “Resetting the Central Nervous System” Keeping the brain out of panic state and returning it to calm as the community bucket gets full of anxiety. Using the struggle to become more aware and intervene sooner to avoid injuries or long term disability. Exercises – Eye exercises; Breathing; Using the “peanut”; Thoracic rotation

https://www.facebook.com/BodyByGymroots/videos/832603560588902/UzpfSTExNDM1Mjc3NDY6MTAyMjA4MzUyOTY2NDkyMzg/

#5 – “Integrating” Taking time to allow all the new information to integrate into our body – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Learning to practice, master, and embody the simple exercises that make up our strong foundation. Exercises – Energy circles; Breathing; Visualization/Meditation

https://www.facebook.com/BodyByGymroots/videos/515158655859651/UzpfSTExNDM1Mjc3NDY6MTAyMjA4NDY4NTMwOTgxNDI/

If you wish to take advantage of deeper healing opportunities, contact me directly at [email protected] and let’s have a conversation.

Best of: 2020 R5 Insider Classic | Level 9 and 10 Gymnastics Highlights

By

Jason MacDonald

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March 19, 2020

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Best of: 2020 R5 Insider Classic | Level 9 and 10 Gymnastics Highlights presented by Midwest Gym Supply

2020 R5 Insider Classic Coverage Page

20 Questions with Maggie Mace (CGA)

By

Kim Dowis

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March 17, 2020

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Even though meet season has ended Region 5 Insiders coverage has not! Break Time is over and our 20 Questions Series is back to bring you Gymnastics joy outside of the gym, while everyone is waiting to get back inside the gym. Our first 20 Questions Athlete is a graduating senior from CGA, who will continue her Gymnastics in the fall at Penn State University. For these graduating athletes the end to their JO Gymnastics & High School careers did not go as planned, but let’s get to know Maggie a little better as she looks to the future and the next chapter.

1. How did you get into gymnastics? How old were you? I got into gymnastics at 2 years old when my sister was taking classes and I couldn’t sit still and watch. I always wanted to do what the “big girls” were doing

2. What is your favorite event? My favorite event is bars. I love the feeling of swinging and flying through the air

3. What is your favorite skill to train/compete? My favorite skill is my gainer double full off beam because not many people do it and I think it looks really cool

4. What is your Dream Skill? My dream skill would be a par full on bars

5. What is your favorite part of Gymnastics? My favorite part of gymnastics is that feeling you get after you finally achieve your goals you’ve been working so hard for.

6. What college do you plan on attending? I plan on attending Penn State University in 2020. WE ARE…..

7. What is your favorite meet to compete at? why? My favorite meet to compete at is Coaches Spectacular because it is our home meet and all of our friends and family come to support us

8. What is your Biggest accomplishment in Gymnastics so far? My biggest accomplishment is gymnastics so far is signing my NLI to compete in collegiate gymnastics.

9. What is your favorite Region 5 series or feature? My favorite Region 5 Insider series is “Making Moves Monday” because I love seeing all the new skills everyone is learning around the Region

10. What kinds of things really make you laugh? My Teammates never fail to make me laugh and a good fail video, gymnastics or not, gets me every time

11. 3 Things you could not live without? I could not live without my phone, a microwave and iced coffee

12. If you could be any animal, what animal would you be and why? If I could be any animal I would be a kangaroos because they’re super bouncy and they have a handy pouch

13. 5 Most important or Must have items in your gym bag? The most important items in my gym bag are my grips, tiger paws, a back up pair of grips, spray deodorant and lots of rolls of tape.

14. Do you have any pre-meet rituals or superstitions? I always do my hair before my make-up but I do different hair and make-up every meet.

15. What do you like to do outside of Gymnastics? Outside of gymnastics I like to spend time with my family and friends and sing to super loud music in the car with my sister

16. Most embarrassing meet or gymnastics moment? I think I’ve had too many to count….but the most embarrassing moment would be when at the first meet of the year when I went backwards on my beam mount and fell off, then had to still do the whole beam routine after (check it out in the “Best OMG Moments of 2018 video or on my IG ;))

17. Do you have a nickname? if so what is the story behind it? Yes! everyone at the gym calls me Marge or Margie, because my full name is Marguerite and no one really knows hot to say it so they just stope at Marge. At first I didn’t really like it but it kind of grew on me.

18. Which athletes (any sport) do you respect the most and why? I respect Tom Brady, the New England Patriots quarterback, because he just love the game, he plays to win until the clock runs out and doesn’t stop a second before.

19. Something you learned from Gymnastics that you will take with you? Something that I learned from gymnastics that will stay with me forever is the value of hard work, there will be more talented or gifted people than you, but if you work your absolute hardest, it will pay off when it matters most.

20. Most memorable Gymnastics or JO Nationals Moment? My most memorable gymnastics moment would be qualifying to JO Nationals for the first time, it was the best feeling and an experience I will never forget.

21. What is the most valuable piece of advice or wisdom you coach has given you? The best piece of advice a coach has given me is the power of self talk and what you think about you bring about. Don’t think about what you don’t want to happen, think about what you do want to happen, because your brain can only hold on thought at a time so fill it with strength, confidence and postivity.

Bonus Question: Tell me something interesting about yourself……. I am doing two years of high school in one so I can go to college a year earlier than I was suppose to.

Photo Gallery: 2020 International Gymnix

By

Jason MacDonald

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March 14, 2020

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2020 International Gymnix from Montreal Canada.

Results: Seniors | Juniors | Event Finals

Live streams: Seniors | Juniors | Event Finals

The members of Team USA, MyKayla Skinner, Emily Lee, Lillian Lippeatt & Faith Torrez, took the top spot in the Team Competition followed by Belgium in 2nd and Canada 1 in 3rd. Our Region 5 Athletes Faith Torrez (Legacy Elite) finished 4th in the All-Around, 3rd on the Uneven Bars, 4th in the Balance Beam & 5th in the Floor Exercise while her regionmate Lilly Lippeatt (CGA) finished right behind her in 5th in the All-Around, 3rd in the Floor Exercise & 6th on the Balance Beam. Lilly is in her first year as a senior and Faith is in her second (hasn’t even been an elite for a full year yet).