The track record of success at Twistars USA is long and impressive. Twistars takes great pride in the accomplishments of it’s national caliber competitive team program. For years, the fantastics staff at Twistars USA has been producing record numbers of national qualifiers, national team members, state, regional and national champions along with an remarkable list of full ride athletic scholarship recipients. For years Twistars has ranked with the countries elite gymnastics clubs..... but now we have added another notch in the belt. TWISTARS USA IS THE NUMBER ONE RANKED WOMANS GYMNASTICS CLUB IN THE USA
according to meetscoresonline.com (MSO...the nations only available club ranking resourse). Twistars advanced up the charts from its forth place ranking in 2008. What a phenomenal accomplishment for a small town club! The ranking system used by MSO considers the number of state, regional and national qualifiers a club has at levels 8 and higher. They also take into account the team scores and results from various competitions throughout the competitive season. This is something the coaches, athletes, management and parents of Twistars USA can take great pride in.
JOHN GEDDERT INDUCTED INTO THE
REGION 5 HALL OF FAME
How do you even begin to recognize and reward someone who has achieved thirty- two years of INCREDIBLE SUCCESS as a gymnastics coach, and who has contributed countless hours...no, YEARS of volunteer time to Region 5 and the gymnastics community as a whole? You honor him with induction into the Region 5 Hall of Fame.
This year John Geddert, owner and head coach of Twistars USA, has the distinct honor of being the sole inductee into the class of 2009. Last year, the inaugural class of 2008 had six inductees. This is an enormous honor to say the least.
As John noted in a recent Team Newsletter: "I'm not old enough to be in a Hall of Fame, I thought, I'm not done coaching. Why not Dick Mulvahill (coach of 16 Olympians), Bill Sands (Olympic Coach and research extraordinaire), Steve Whitlock (God Father of Michigan gymnastics and educational wizard). Perhaps this is a mistake. These are some initial thoughts I had before feeling downright good about myself...WOW what an honor."
Shortly following his notification that he was being inducted, John also received notice that Twistars USA has been ranked the Number 1 women's gymnastics club in the Nation. What a Year! John's sheer dedication to coaching coupled with his desire to be the best at what he does has certainly been recognized and rewarded as he takes his well deserved place in the Region 5 Hall of Fame. Congratulations John!
JOHN AND KATHRYN GEDDERT RECEIVE THE
2009 REGION 5 ELITE COACHES OF THE YEAR AWARD
Twistars USA is proud to announce that owners and head coaches, John and Kathryn Geddert, have been presented with the REGION 5 ELITE COACHES OF THE YEAR AWARD for 2009. This is a great honor for our highly decorated coaches. This award follows on the heels of earning the 2007 NATIONAL JUNIOR OLYMPIC COACHES OF THE YEAR AWARD, a particularly coveted award as it was the first year that USA Gymnastics ever presented such an award at the NATIONAL level. In all, John and Kathryn have been presented with the Coach of the Year award at the State, Regional or National Level for 15 of the past 21 years. An outstanding achievement unmatched by any othergymnastics club in the region.
Congratulations John and Kathryn!
Some accomplishments tugged at the emotions. When an athlete deserves the rewards of a long and successful career yet breaks a few bricks as she hits the wall of misfortune, things can get a bit overwhelming. Waiting for colleges to take notice of the progress, the perseverance, or to see their way past the untimely injuries, can cripple even the toughest of mind sets. All that is left at that time is the belief that good things will happen to good people. Senior Kristen Seidowski endured an ugly Junior and Senior year dealing with one set back after another. She staggered a bit, doubted a bit more but in the end held on to her pride and the belief that hard work would pay off. AND IT DID!
Congratulations goes out to Kristen as she recently accepted a full ride scholarship offer from Western Michigan University. We are all so proud of Kristen and her undying pursuit of her dream of being a collegiate gymnast. Good things do happen to good people and this kid is absolutely one of the best!
Following in the footsteps of some very successful Twistars, Junior Amber Wobma recently accepted a full ride scholarship offer from the University of Arizona. Former Twistars athletes Jamie Duce and Brianne Workman had stellar careers for the Wildcats, and the UA coaching staff is hoping that Amber will follow suit. We know she will!
Size, talent, attitude and academic ability all play a major role in the recruiting process and Amber has shown that she has the entire package. Small, powerful, smart, and determined make for a great college prospect. Recognizing this ... many schools had their hats in the ring, but the final decision came down to a tough battle between Penn State University and Arizona with the Wildcats claiming the prize.
Congrats Amber, may the sun shine on your college career!
When senior Alexys Aben sets her sights on something, she will eventually achieve the goal. Sometimes it takes longer than expected but there is something to be said about stubborn determination and perseverance. When a challenge is laid before this senior from Saline, the outcome becomes even more inevitable. She will achieve! In this case the challenge was in the form of nay sayers and doubters in her ability. Some made mention that perhaps she didn’t have D-1 scholarship potential. We assured her otherwise and advised that she simply stay the course. Her athletic ability would be noticed. Well the course had many obstacles ... untimely injuries .... a bout with mono ... a car accident. Many would have thrown in the towel long ago. Not Alexys. Her dream of becoming a collegiate scholarship athlete has been realized in the form of a Full Ride offer from Southern Utah University. SUU is a small school with a big gymnastics history and one that consistently ranks in the top 20 in the nation. Additionally SUU is known for its outstanding emphasis on academic excellence. This is going to be a great fit for Alexys Aben. Congratulations goes out to her and her family. Well deserved!
Twistars USA is proud to announce that one more of its outstanding junior collegiate prospects has accepted a full ride scholarship offer. This time it is Holt High School Junior Maci Sump, the daughter of Dan and Lisa Sump. Maci has been a productive gymnastics standout for Twistars USA for many years. She was an exceptional compulsory gymnast who trained hard, honed her skills and remained focused and determined to accomplish her ultimate goal.... a full ride scholarship. Maci recent acceptance announcement came after careful consideration of offers from several schools .... most notably Southern Utah, Western Michigan and the University of West Virginia. WELL THE WINNER IS.... THE MOUNTAINEERS from the University of West Virginia. Maci's academic interests played a major role in her decision making process (as it should for all collegiate athletes). She would like to pursue a career in education and WVA has an outstanding under grad and masters program for aspiring teachers. This along with the fact that WVA has a strong a stable gymnastics coaching staff, a great training facility, and great team members, finally pushed the pendulum in favor of UWV. We are all so very proud of Maci's accomplishment. The recruiting process is sometimes a very stressful time for athletes and parents alike. With this life changing decision behind her, Maci can now focus on upping her gymnastics game and placing a few more notables on her resume.
ATTA GIRL MACI!
It may seem like the University of Pittsburgh has found the recruiting pipeline to Twistars USA with the 3rd signing in 3 years. (Brewer in 2009, Ketner 2010). Be that what it may, in this case it is just what the doctor ordered. University of Pittsburgh has long been a major consideration for Brianna Hogan. What a great reward it is when years of dedication pay off in the form of a free post high school education. It is even better when your school of choice comes calling. Bri is relatively new to the Twistars family, but her impact was felt immediately. She joined our team after the 2008 season with the goal of improving her gymnastics skills in hopes of landing the ultimate goal ... a full ride athletic scholarship! Although the mission has been accomplished, this by no means indicates that it was an easy task. Bri has set the pace when it comes to admirable work ethic in the gym. A phenomenal attitude, combined with daily determination usually leads to good things... in this case amazing things! With 2 full competitive seasons left in her Twistars career, Bri now hopes to build on her club gymnastics resume prior to joining the ranks of the Pittsburgh Panthers in the fall of 2011. We will enjoy every minute that she has left! Congratulations Bri! Well earned, well deserved!
Sweet satisfaction is when patience and perseverance, hard work and dedication pay off in the form of receiving a full ride gymnastics scholarship to your number one school of choice. Complete and utter fulfillment comes when you know the reward is rightfully deserved.
Twistars USA Junior standout Maya Ketner had her sights set on University of Pittsburgh ever since the recruiting process started, (actually since former Twistars coach Mike Rowe accepted the assistant coaching position 3 years ago). She waited patiently for her offer, never once standing pat on her current credentials. Instead she labored to improve, add difficulty, enhance competitive performances and polish her resume of skills. This approach earned her great respect and in turn, the eventual offer of a free collegiate education at the UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH!
Maya is a delightful teammate, friend and leader in the Twistars program. Her humor keeps the training sessions fun and enjoyable. Her work ethic provides a grand example for the next generation to follow. She is sincerely a sweetheart and we at Twistars could not be happier for her and her family as they reap the rewards of quality athletics.
Congratulations Maya!
Jordyn Wieber picked up exactly where she left off 14 months ago. Some critics waited in anticipation of a disastrous return to competition following a prolonged recover from a nagging hamstring injury. The return to competition could not have gone better for this 14 year from Dewitt. AND NOW the skeptics are now silent!
14 months ago Jordyn capped a remarkable run of competitive success by winning the 2009 American Cup and the the 2009 Gym Nix Invitational. Many wondered how she would fare at the prestigious Pacific Rim Championships held in Melbourne, Australia in late April of this year. This competition would be loaded with some of the worlds best gymnasts representing countries that border on the Pacific Ocean. World powers like China, Russia, Australia and more were to be on hand.
When it was all said and done Jordyn was simply Jordyn! Cool, calm, focused and determined as she captured the Junior All Around title and advanced to all four individual event finals. Her AA score of 59.55 was the highest posted by the USA and would have been enough to win the Senior division also. Side note: USA destroyed the defending Olympic Gold Medal winning China by over 15 points!
In event finals Jordyn brought home 2 more gold medals after posting the highest scores on the Uneven Bars and Floor Exercise (fans can see these routines on YouTube). She also won the silver medal on vault.
Patience is sometimes one of the best attributes when dealing with athletes on the comeback trail. In this case the 14 months of patience paid off. Congratulations Jordyn for your victory down under.
Sometimes training 30 hours per week can be grueling but when training hard pays off in terms of being crowned the LEVEL 10 NATIONAL ALL AROUND CHAMPION, the effort is repaid.
14 year old, Grace Williams from Linden, drew comfort from those hours of training and her natural talent to capture the Junior A (youngest age division) National All Around Title. Her score of 38.175 marked the fact that she was spot on during the entire competition. Grace also earned a GOLD MEDAL on the uneven bars with a score of 9.5 which also proved the importance of hard work (bars used to be a weak event for her... but don’t tell her that).
The Level 10 National Championships were held in Dallas, Texas during the first week of May. Twistars USA was well represented with 9 national qualifiers (only one club in the USA had more).
Brittany Holmes and Amber Wobma contributed strongly to the Senior A division and their NATIONAL TEAM TITLE.
Erin Freier won the Jr. C National Title on Uneven Bars turning in a spectacular performance for a score of 9.6.
Lyndsay Lemke suffered from back spasms and had to withdraw from Floor and Vault competition BUT bravely turned in medal performances on Bars (9.5) and Beam (9.45) good for 4th and 5th respectively.
Also helping region 5 to their 2nd place national finish as a region were Twistars Maci Sump, Jodi Andrews, Anna Hill (Bar Medal), and Bailey Lorencen. We are proud of you all for representing Michigan, Twistars, Region 5 and the sport of gymnastics with class and style. Great Job Ladies!
The phase “good things come in threes” could not be any closer to the truth when speaking of Bri Higgins, Arlyn Amor and Rachel Haines. All three are members of the Twistars USA level 9 team, All three have displayed the best in training attitudes, commitment and team support, and ALL THREE were recently crowned LEVEL 9 EASTERN NATIONAL ALL AROUND CHAMPIONS FOR 2010.
Bri Higgins is finishing her first full year at Twistars and what a year it has been. She has progressed from a Level 8 Regional Champion last year to the top of the level 9 world this year. She captured the Jr 8 age division with an score of 37.1 which featured a 9.5 (2nd) on vault, 9.45 (4th) on Bars, 9.0 (9th) on Beam and 9.15 (7th) on Floor.
Rachel Haines found herself defending her 2009 Level 9 National AA Title (a season long hamstring injury prevented her from moving to level 10). Rachel made the best of a bad situation and not only did she defend it but she did so posting the highest AA score of the meet (38.15) and won 3 individual event titles. Rachel won Vault (9.6), Bars (9.5) and Floor (9.7) and placed second on Beam (9.35).
As a first year level 9 many would simply hope to qualify to the national championship meet. Arlyn set her goals a bit higher. Arlyn posted the second highest AA score of the entire competition (37.725) (Note: Twistars USA had the top 2 AA scores of the competition with Rachel and Arlyn). She easily won the Sr 3 age division and added 2 individual event titles as well. Arlyn won Vault (9.6) and Floor (9.425), placed 2nd on Bars (9.425) and 4th on Beam (9.275) to cap a fantastic nationals performance.
Congratulations to our EASTERN NATIONAL ALL AROUND CHAMPIONS!
"Pirouettes and Dismounts" $20 (produced 2008) This DVD covers the lead ups, progressions and drills for proper pirouetting skills like Handstand Pirouettes, Giant Blind Pirouettes and more. It also covers the progressions for developing strong flyaway dismounts from the basic tuck through the advanced E level dismounts
"Shaping for Uneven Bars"$30 (produced 2009) Great for all events. Highlights the various conditioning Skills and Drills used to develop quality shapes in gymnastics. Great Conditioning and Idle Time station ideas.
"Round Off Entry Vaulting"$30 Lead ups and progressions for the Round Off Entry (Yurchenko) Vaults. Tons of round off and board drills, Rotations and Air sense Drills, Pre-Flight Alignment and Blocking Drills as well as examples of Tuck through Layout Fulls.
"Beginner-Intermediate-Advanced Bars"$30 5 Part DVD that covers shaping drills and conditioning, Level 5 and 6 routine development, drills and progressions, Intermediate Skills (Toe Shoots, Bails, Straddle Backs, Front Giants etc) and Advanced Bars (D level releases and dismounts)
To reserve your copy now, send an email to successvideos@twistarsusa.com Include your name, gym name, quantity requested
and preferred payment method (cash, check or credit card)
Video can also be mailed upon request($5 S&H)
RECREATIONAL BULLETIN BOARD
Recreation schedules are now available online and at the office upstairs
