Michael Jumps High
Location: UCLA, Los Angeles, California
Submitted By: Jay Glicksman (coach)
Background
It was in the early 1990’s and I was one of the coaches working with the male gymnasts in our training site in San Jose, California. After our local competition it was time to select which athletes would go on to the program championship at the University of California, Los Angeles (this was before the California program was split in half). Our quota was 3 athletes and one coach. In previous years, female athletes had gone since we had a lot more female gymnasts at our training site. That year, however, the head coaches decided that it was time for the males to go and so I had the good fortune to go as the coach.Michael was one of the athletes chosen to go. He was around 12 or 13 at the time and this would be his first trip away from home. I talked to his parents to assure them that he was in capable hands and luckily they gave their approval. It was going to be a whole new experience for him: an airplane ride, big university, LA celebrities, and, of course, his first competition at a different venue (our local competition was held in the facility where we practice).
Surfing with (front to back) Carl, Duane, Michael, Jay
Michael did Level 1 routines which are for new gymnasts (there are two, more challenging levels). Michael did all but one of the male apparati and I am going to tell you about his vaulting. Level 1 vault is the same for both male and female athletes and is a jump off a springboard but without the horse. The idea is that the athletes get used to jumping high enough to get over a horse but don’t have to worry about the horse itself (this occurs in levels 2 and 3). Nonetheless, jumping high off a springboard can still be scary to some athletes and many just run off the end of the springboard or give very tiny jumps. Michael did the latter.
In practice Michael would do a proper two foot takeoff but there was no elevation at all. I tried everything: holding his hands and having him bounce on the springboard, giving him small obstacles to jump over, etc. but nothing seemed to work. At best he would get about an inch above the springboard. At our local tournament he again didn’t get up in the air but he had good form and a good landing so had a respectable score. He did well enough on the other apparatus to be one of our best finishers and he earned his trip to the California Summer Games.
The Competition
Michael was the quiet one of the three athletes that I went with to Los Angeles. It was hard to tell if he was having a good time and when there was a choice of things to do (UCLA had a great Olympic Village with many great activities) the others were very vocal but I always had to ask Michael what he wanted.When we got to the gymnastics venue the athletes got very excited because it was larger than our facility and much more festive. There were lots of unfamiliar athletes walking around including many male athletes. During our warmups I could see the anxiety grow with the other two athletes and did my best to calm them all down. However, Michael was typically quiet and I couldn’t tell how he was affected.
Now came the actual competition. Coaches aren’t allowed near the athletes except to spot them and since they would get more points if I stayed away, I kept my distance. Michael was in a group of about 5 level 1 male athletes and now it was his turn for his first vault: a tuck jump. He does his run, takes off, and whattheheck… he JUMPS ABOUT 3 FEET in the air and sticks a perfect landing. My jaw hit the floor. I turned to one of the other athletes and said, “Did you see that???” Meanwhile Michael calmly walked back to the group. I tried to catch his eye to give him a thumbs up or some other sign but he wasn’t looking at me.
Next up, his second jump (of two) was a straddle. He only jumped about 2 and half feet in the air this time (the staddle is the harder of the two jumps) and again had a perfect landing. Now that the event was over I couldn’t contain myself and ran over to congratulate him. I tried to express how amazing his performance was and how proud I was for him but he quietly just wanted to get back to our team area. Needless to say, he won the gold medal for his division and it was by a wide margin.
Michael went on to win several more medals at the competition and he did tell me that he had a good time when it was over. I’ll never forget his amazing performance and how wonderful it made me feel.