Gymnastics team uses 'MAC Week' to prepare for conference championships
CMU gymnastics coach Jerry Reighard considers the week of practice prior to Saturday’s Mid-American Conference Championships the most crucial of the season.
Tuesday’s and Thursday’s practices involve nearly the same amount of preparation as an actual conference championship — because that is what they are supposed to represent.
“We simulate exactly what will happen, and try to make as many distractions,” he said. “We feel like that is the only why we can prepare for that meet.”
Reighard employed several different techniques to prepare his team in what he calls “MAC Week,” which essentially means performing in the style of an official conference championship.
All of the intricate aspects of a meet are carried out, and the gymnasts are judged and scored during every rotation. Their entrance into an event also is critiqued, as Reighard hopes to simulate as closely as possible the situations the gymnasts will face in at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green.
The intense nature of these meets helps prepare the team, especially some of the younger gymnasts who get a small glimpse of the atmosphere they will face, Reighard said.
Sophomore Kristin Teubner competed on the big stage of the MAC Championships last year, and she is an advocate of “MAC Week.”
“It just prepares you for what could happen at a meet, because you never know what could happen,” she said.
CROWD NOISE
An unfamiliar part of competing on the road in the championship is the crowd noise.
With all seven MAC teams involved and four competing in the gym at one time, the noise and distraction is as loud as it will be all season.
It is the reason why Reighard began to include fan participation in the week of practices several years ago. He invites fans to come to the gym to help create noise by performing opposing team’s cheers and creating general distractions.
He said it tests his gymnasts’ mental strength, and he likes his athletes to practices under these conditions before the actual meet.
“We have to really push that mental rock because, if we make a mistake in this meet, there is no tomorrow, and we as coaches have to get the athletes to take it to heart,” Reighard said.
TUESDAY PRACTICE
The distractions were noticeable while the gymnasts performed the beam rotation during Tuesday afternoon’s practice. Several fans and gymnasts cheered loudly and waved pom poms, while crowd noise was funneled through the gym’s speaker system.
Junior Andrea de la Garza said it is important to be prepared to perform under intense scrutiny with many distractions in the gym.
“This is a really chaotic meet, there are a lot of distractions,” she said. “You have to stay really focused and stay within your team.”
3 P.M. THURSDAY
Reighard said he encourages fans and students to attend the team’s 3 p.m. Thursday practice to help provide a realistic meet atmosphere.
Thursday’s practice is the last “MAC Meet” practice of the week before the team departs to Bowling Green.
