Talking with Rhonda Faehn

gatorzone.com

After being named alternate to the 1988 US Olympic Team, Rhonda Faehn continued her gymnastics career at UCLA, where her coaching career began in 1992.  After coaching at the University of Maryland and the University of Nebraska, Faehn took control of the gymnastics program at the University of Florida in 2003.  During the past 11 seasons, Faehn has created a dynasty in Gainesville.  Faehn has led the Gators to four Southeastern Conference Titles (2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013) and two consecutive NCAA Championship Titles, the first coming in 2013, and tying the University of Oklahoma for the 2014 title.  I was able to talk to Faehn about this historic season.

Double Double Gym Blog: How do you feel about being co-champions with Oklahoma?

Rhonda Faehn: It was definitely great to share the national title with the University of Oklahoma. I have tremendous respect for their gymnastics and what K.J. (Kindler, Oklaho

ma Head Coach) has done with the program. I thought both teams, Oklahoma and Florida, performed exceptionally at the championship, and they were both deserving of the title.

DDGB: This is the second consecutive championship. How does this one compare to last year?

Florida Gators

RF: It’s completely different. The entire season and the championships were completely different. Our first title that we won, the season was, I felt, very easy. It seemed as if when we went to the national championship we knew that we had an incredible chance to win, barring complete meltdown. We made it extremely challenging by having to count a fall, but we still came away with the win. This past championship there was no chance that we would be able to count a fall and win. It was a more challenging season in that we just really did not have the depth that we had the year before. With that, we had to play with our lineups more, we had to really try and rest the athletes. It was very challenging, but what was different was that at the actual championship, this year’s team performed the best that they could in every area. That was really wonderful to see because we needed to do that to be able to win.

Completely different seasons and years and championships with the same result make it absolutely incredible. I’ve heard from other teams before that have won multiple titles that every title is different, and that is very true.

DDGB: Did you know how close it was between Alabama, Oklahoma and Florida going into the last rotation?

RF: I had an idea. They show the scores on the overhead scoreboards so everybody’s looking at that, but in my head I wasn’t actually adding and counting the numbers as each one of our athletes competed. I did not know exactly where we were. In fact, I did not even know that Alabama had a mistake over on balance beam. I was solely focused on our team on floor, and it wasn’t until after Bridgey (Bridgette Caquatto) competed that Adrian (Burde, Assistant Coach) told me the score she needed for us to tie or win. I didn’t see the score come up, and I heard Adrian yell, and he came over again and said, ‘We tied!’ and I of course said, ‘What does that mean?’ Just like the year before, I always look to Adrian because he’s the numbers man and always has it running in his head so I trust what he’s going to say.

alligator.org

DDGB: With every success on floor this season, how comfortable were you ending your championship run on floor?

RF: I felt good about that. I thought it was a great rotation for our team. I look at floor as one of our absolute strengths throughout the season. There were only a few occasions where I felt like we completely put it together, but that was for a reason. We certainly could not put our absolute top lineup in every single competition because we didn’t have the depth. We knew that Bridgey (Caquatto) was not 100 percent prepared at all times because we had to rest her as much as we could on the pounding on her tumbling. She didn’t do any tumbling out on the floor until the week before the national championship. There were certain things we had to do to ensure they were going to be at their best at the championship. But, knowing that Bridget (Sloan) and Kytra (Hunter) had scored multiple 10s this year and Bridgey had that amazing routine going up last in the previous Super Six, which put us in a comfortable space. After I saw Claire (Boyce) lead us off with a gorgeous routine, and then Spicy (Rachel Spicer) went up second and really performed the best routine she had done since the very beginning of our season. Knowing all the pain she was in with her Achilles, I knew that the team was going to feed off of that and continue to get better. That floor rotation was a lot of fun, just as much as the year before. This year everyone just hit it “lights out” so it was great.

DDGB: When Bridgette Caquatto finished her floor routine, what was your first thought?

RF: My first thought was that I was so proud of her because she had two occasions that she was really trying to make corrections to. At the SEC Championship, she stepped out of bounds on her last pass. She was really hard on herself. Before the regional championship, we still didn’t have her do the hard landings in training and so she went a little bit hard for her last pass and then sat it down. So, with those two occasions, she was struggling with feeling the pressure and maybe doubting herself a little bit. The week before nationals, Adrian did a great job with her floor training. I spoke with her, and she said, ‘Rhonda, don’t worry. I’ll figure it out. I went a little hard. I held back here and there, but I’m ready now.’

Florida

That routine was one of the best she’s done since probably the national championship last year. I just remember her running toward the podium stairs, and I just wanted to hug her because I was just so proud of her really putting it together and knowing that it was just going to continue to build her confidence from here on out. I wasn’t thinking or concerned about the score. I was just happy that she hit that routine and that she was going to walk away feeling she did the absolute best she could.

DDGB: When the tie was announced, what were you thinking? Did you think that honoring the tie was the right decision?

RF: When the tie was announced, at first I didn’t really know what that meant because there’s never been a tie before for first place. I know that in our SEC Championship, we have the rule stated that if there’s a tie, it will not be broken. I was familiar with that, but when it comes to advancing out of regionals and the qualification round into the Super Six, the tie is always broken by adding the sixth score. In my head, I thought maybe they were going to go to the sixth score so I instantly asked Adrian to add up the sixth score and then who would win. While that was going on, Sarah Patterson from Alabama came over to me and said, ‘Congratulations on winning.’ I said, ‘What do you mean? What’s going on?’ and she said, ‘Well, they don’t break the tie. I found out the rules, and they don’t break the tie.’ That’s when I turned to the girls, and I announced that we won. We were celebrating, and I think during that time Adrian ran over to Oklahoma to let them know that they had also won because he didn’t want it to seem as though our team was celebrating and maybe they thought they lost the tie-break.

gatorzone.com

I thought it was great. I am not a proponent of breaking the tie, or extending the competition to 10 or 11 at night, or picking one athlete for an additional routine. I really think that the competition is extremely challenging and hard in the current format. It is so hard to win a championship - it needs to be honored if it’s a tie and not be broken by some other measure.

DDGB: What are your thoughts on the state of scoring in the NCAA?

RF: I think the judges have a very challenging job, and it’s always very hard for them. They try, and I think they do a great job in trying to separate the routines and trying to judge what they see in front of them. I would not want to be in their position, and I respect what they do.

DDGB: Was there any glitter hairspray used during the championship?

RF: I did not actually have to use the glitter hairspray this year. However, the girls did put it in their hair. I remember Macko (Mackenzie Caquatto) coming over to me and making the comment, ‘Do you see the glitter hairspray we put in?’

I didn’t feel the need to have to actually pump them back up because we didn’t have to count a fall anywhere or have any mistakes. It was very smooth sailing. I thought we performed, just from top to bottom, probably the best we could on every event.

But I’ll always have to have a can in my bag, just in case.

Interview with Amelia Hundley

Amelia Hundley is the newest senior gymnast from Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy.  After standing out in the first two Nastia Liukin Cups as a energetic, talented young gymnast.  Now at sixteen, Hundley is entering her first year as a senior with an impressive junior resume.  In 2013 alone, Hundley became the National Champion on bars, and brought the bronze in the All Around and on floor, won second place All Around at Classics, as well as taking home medals on bars and floor.  After an ankle injury sidelined her for the early season meets, Hundley is ready to compete as a senior in 2014. 

Property of Melissa Perenson

1. You were in the first two Nastia Liukin Cups, did those competitions help prepare you for elite competitions? If so, how?

Being in the first two Nastia cups I think did help me prepare for elite. Just because it's a big arena with a huge crowd on podium. It feels like you are competing at Classics or Championships almost. So I definitely feel like that helped prepare me for competing as an elite!

2. Over the past few decades, Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy has established itself as one of the most powerful gyms in the country.  Do you feel there is a lot of pressure on you and the current CGA gymnasts to keep the legacy alive?

 I have never really felt pressure from trying to keep the legacy alive. I just grew up at CGA always wanting to be an elite gymnast and now that I am there I just want to be the best I can.

3. Last year, Gymnastike came to your gym to film a Beyond the Routine documentary.  What was that experience like?

When Gymnastike came in to film it was really fun. It's cool for other people to see what training is like and our daily routine is.

4. What was your the 2009 Junior Japan Meet like, and how does it compare to other International Competitions you've competed in?

Gymnastics Wiki

When I went to Japan in 2009 it was probably one of my favorite international assignments. It was my first assignment so I didn't really know what to expect. But once we got there we had so much fun!

5. The friendship between you and Lexie Preissman is well publicized in the gymnastics world.  What is it like to compete and train with and without Lexie?

Lexie and I have been so close ever since we started the sport when we were about 4 years old. We have been best friends ever since. We have always helped each other in workouts. Like if we need a pick me up or some encouraging words we can always help each other. We are competitive but in a healthy way like if we see one of us taking steps forward then that pushes the other person to work hard. Were always happy for each other no matter what the outcome is. 

6. You have committed to the University of Florida.  How did you make that decision and did you visit any other colleges? 

Yes I am so excited to go to The University of Florida! I visited Georgia and Alabama before visiting Florida. I love the coaches and all the girls there. I just felt like I fit in the best at Florida.

7. Last year was your last year as a junior, which ended with a third place All Around and a National title on bars.  Do you think those results will help you this year at the senior level? 

Doing so well and getting the placement that I did at Championships last year as a junior, I think will help me going into the senior division. Just having that title is such an honor and having that little extra confidence is a plus.

8. Can you describe your current injury?

I am coming back from an ankle surgery right now. Over the last year I have sprained this ankle a few times and every time it would just get a little worse. It would get really swollen and would hurt. The last time I did it we decided that if we need to get something done then now is the time. So it all happened so fast I got called in to an ankle specialist do to a cancelation and they decided that it was going to happen at the end of that week. My ankle was really loose and junky. So they went in scraped out all the junk. They put in a cadaver tendon to tighten it. And cleaned out the rest. They called it ankle reconstruction. It's doing very well right now and should come back stronger than before. 

9. When do you think you will be back into full training and full competition?

USA Gymnastics

It has taken me about four months to be fully recovered. I am practically back to normal right now. I am full tumbling and vaulting into soft surfaces. I am doing a lot of therapy to try to get it stronger to take the harder landings when it's time. I mean my ankle has it's days but it is feeling pretty good for the most part.

10. What are your goals heading into your fist senior year? 

Going into the senior division this year. I just want to look more mature and precise than I was before. I want to show that I can play with the big guys. I want to make the national team. But the big goal this year would to make the world team.

Fixing Floor

Due to low difficulty ratings on required skills, long routines and a lack of endurance, and the absurd rules the Federation of International Gymnastics has implemented,  floor has become the lowest scoring apparatus in Women's Gymnastics, by quite a large margin.  It appears that those with endless energy and springs for legs are the ones that seem to excel (I am looking at you, Simone Biles).  Let's look at the All Around Final from the past Olympic Games, we can see 6 of the top 10 athletes in the All Around Final yielded their lowest score on floor, including the gold and silver medalists Gabby Douglas and Viktoria Komova, the latter who performed her best routine on floor to date and stepped off of the mat on her vault.  Why is this and how can we fix this?  The current rules are preventing gymnasts like Aly Raisman and Brenna Dowell from maximizing their strengths in All Around competition, while minimizing the damage done to weaker floor workers like Viktoria Komova and Kyla Ross.

shannonmillerlifestyle.com

The Current Code of Points on Floor prohibits the high scores on floor that we see on vault and bars.  The current rules in place require a minimum of three dance moves be credited for the difficulty score.  This was intended to prevent gymnasts from maxing out their D-Score by doing insane tumbling run, and thus, prevent injury.  How ever, the Code of Points does not give any leaps, jumps, or turns a difficulty rating over a D, with the exception of a triple wolf turn and a quadruple turn, skills that are almost never competed.  When an elite gymnast and coach create routines, they rarely count elements less than a D for their final score, however, they are forced to do so to meet the requirements.  The only way to boost D-Scores, and thus final scores, is to raise the values of dance elements.
Also, the rule that will be put into place this month states that one can not use the same diagonal to complete a tumbling pass was designed to prevent back-to-back tumbling runs, a trend that was prevalent in the '90s, is sure to limit the number of tumbling passes one does in a floor routine.  In a routine that has a 1:30 time requirement, many gymnasts struggle to fit choreography, leaps, jumps, and four tumbling runs into that time period.  By requiring time to move from corner to corner, many gymnasts may drop one tumbling pass all together, lowering D-Scores and floor scores.

gymnasticscoaching.com

In a floor routine with a time component, endurance plays an issue.  As I previously mentioned, gymnasts have a lot to do in a short amount of time, and the requirements set by the FIG do not help.  By the time elite gymnasts are ready for their last pass, they are so exhausted, the gymnasts hardly ever do more than the required D-level dismount that you see occur on the other events.  On floor, gymnasts do the bare minimum, which leads to lower difficulty scores.

gymnasticsrevolution.com

When the FIG removed the "Lunge Rule", more deductions occur.  Possibly the most controversial rules of the past quadrennium was the rule that states gymnasts must stick their tumbling passes.  This rule ended an era of the sport, and created more deductions.  I can understand the reasoning, a stuck landing is the best indication of a truly controlled pass, but not only does it lower floor scores, it causes more stress on the body and can lead to more injuries.    

How can the Federation of International Gymnastics fix these issues on floor?  If dance skills had higher ratingings on floor, scores would increase due to a higher start score.  Low difficulties are the main reason for low scores, not because a gymnast is incapable of competing harder skills, because it is impossible to get as high of a start score on floor compared to other events.  By raising the value of dance skills, higher scores can be achieved and will balance out the separation of points in competitions.  By re-implementing the lunge allowed out of tumbling passes, less deductions will occur, and can lead to a rise of floor scores.

Comparing 2008 and 2012

Ever since the Fierce Five won Gold in London, people have been disputing which team was better, the 2008 Silver-Winning Beijing Team or the Gold Medal Winning 2012 Team.  As code changes makes it hard to compare between codes, I've coded the routines competed in Beijing and those performed in London to see who had the higher difficulty.

Vault

Bridget Sloan	5.8	Jordyn Wieber	6.3
Shawn Johnson	6.3	Gabby Douglas	6.3
Alicia Sacramone	6.3	McKayla Maroney	6.3
Total	18.3	Total	18.9

Bars

Shawn Johnson	5.8	Jordyn Wieber	6.3
Chellsie Memmel	6.2	Kyla Ross	6.1
Nastia Liukin	6.3	Gabby Douglas	6.4
Total	18.3	Total	18.8

Beam 

Alicia Sacramone	5.7	Kyla Ross	6.2
Nastia Liukin	6.0	Gabby Douglas	6.4
Shawn Johnson	6.4	Aly Raisman	6.4
Total	18.2	Total	19.0

Floor

Alicia Sacramone	5.8	Gabby Douglas	6.1
Nastia Liukin	5.7	Jordyn Wieber	6.1
Shawn Johnson	6.2	Aly Raisman	6.4
Total	17.7	Total	18.6

*Thank you to  SportEverywhere and The GymnastFan Hub for their videos on the correct coding of these routines, which allowed me to check if I was correct or not. *

Keep in mind that these routines were not designed for this code of point, many skills were downgraded/ upgraded so these difficulty charts are not 100% representative of the difficulty capabilities of these athletes.  

Just for kicks, I know a people argue, "Difficulty is not the only important factor of Gymnastics!", so I included the execution score given to these routines and the Olympics.  

Vault

Bridget Sloan	9.4	Jordyn Wieber	9.433
Shawn Johnson	9.5	Gabby Douglas	9.466
Alicia Sacramone	9.375	McKayla Maroney	9.733

Bars

Shawn Johnson	9.05	Jordyn Wieber	8.266
Chellsie Memmel	8.725	Kyla Ross	8.533
Nastia Liukin	9.2	Gabby Douglas	8.6

Beam  

Alicia Sacramone	8.6	Kyla Ross	9.033
Nastia Liukin	9.375	Gabby Douglas	8.833
Shawn Johnson	9.275	Aly Raisman	8.433

Floor

Alicia Sacramone	7.925	Gabby Douglas	8.966
Nastia Liukin	9.0	Jordyn Wieber	8.9
Shawn Johnson	8.5	Aly Raisman	8.8

Looking at these execution scores, the 2012 Team has higher vault and floor execution, while 2008 wins on bars and beam.  It is important to note, however, these routines were judged under different Code of Points and different deductions, so the routines were not judged the same.  So, lets call execution between 2008 and 2012 a tie, as both teams had higher execution scores on two event.  The 2012 team had higher difficulty scores on each event compared to the 2008 team.

Lastly, I made charts showing the complete scores by adding the execution given at the Olympics and the difficulties I found under the 2013-2016 Code of Points.

Vault

Bridget Sloan	15.2	Jordyn Wieber	15.733
Shawn Johnson	15.8	Gabby Douglas	15.766
Alicia Sacramone	15.575	McKayla Maroney	16.033
Total	46.575	Total	47.532

Bars

Shawn Johnson	14.85	Jordyn Wieber	14.566
Chellsie Memmel	14.925	Kyla Ross	14.633
Nastia Liukin	15.5	Gabby Douglas	15.0
Total	45.275	Total	44.199

Beam

Alicia Sacramone	14.3	Kyla Ross	15.233
Nastia Liukin	15.375	Gabby Douglas	15.233
Shawn Johnson	15.675	Aly Raisman	14.833
Total	45.725	Total	45.299

Floor

Alicia Sacramone	13.725	Gabby Douglas	15.066
Nastia Liukin	14.7	Jordyn Wieber	15.0
Shawn Johnson	14.7	Aly Raisman	15.2
Total	43.125	Total	45.266

2008 Team Total                                                            2012 Team Total

180.7                                                                               182.296

In conclusion, 2012 was a better group of gymnasts overall, "beating" the 2008 Team under this code of difficulty by 1.596.