Spring Break
Stack it up
Olivia Vivian
Issue date: 2/20/09 Section: Sports
At the college level of gymnastics, there are certain experiences we have all gone through. We have left bloodstains on the equipment, straddled the beam (numerous times), farted (loudly) in front of the coach and "stacked" it.
A "stack" is a really awkward, unplanned, complicated fall. It's much more painful than a simple fall to your backside or hands. For example, you're doing a skill on the uneven bars and you slip off. You then land on the bar and fall to your face.
When you "stack" it, you might endure some pain, you will definitely grab the attention of the whole gym and you tend to form a fear of doing the skill again. The only way to conquer this fear is to get up and do it again (the skill, not the stack!).
But over the years, we have learnt how to brace ourselves and become more aware of our whereabouts so we can land a little more safely.
It's common to miss the bar on a release move and fall a great distance onto your stomach, or to have a foot slip off the beam, resulting with you sliding off onto your back. It's just a part of our sport.
Some would say we aren't a contact sport, but I would have to disagree. We might not come in contact with other people, but our opponents are much worse.
Imagine taking on a solid wooden beam. I will tell you right now that the beam ALWAYS wins the fight. The only strange way you could punish the beam is to scratch your name in it with your fingernail. But really, there's no point in that because it doesn't get your skills done, it just hints to the coach who was damaging the equipment.
So you learn to cooperate with the apparatus and perform your skills the right way to reduce the risk of hurting yourself. It's very rare that a "stack" was caused by faulty equipment. Ninety-nine percent of the time it's the result of you performing with wrong technique.
I want to dedicate this to my teammate Leslie Mak. She has survived some pretty nasty falls in the past few weeks. She had a nasty "stack" on the uneven bars this week. If you were there and you witnessed it, you would have needed a change of underwear!
Amazingly, Leslie always manages to get back up again. She pushes hard for this team, and I am one of many who appreciate her persistence.
Olivia Vivian, OSU gymnastics
sports@dailybarometer.com
A "stack" is a really awkward, unplanned, complicated fall. It's much more painful than a simple fall to your backside or hands. For example, you're doing a skill on the uneven bars and you slip off. You then land on the bar and fall to your face.
When you "stack" it, you might endure some pain, you will definitely grab the attention of the whole gym and you tend to form a fear of doing the skill again. The only way to conquer this fear is to get up and do it again (the skill, not the stack!).
But over the years, we have learnt how to brace ourselves and become more aware of our whereabouts so we can land a little more safely.
It's common to miss the bar on a release move and fall a great distance onto your stomach, or to have a foot slip off the beam, resulting with you sliding off onto your back. It's just a part of our sport.
Some would say we aren't a contact sport, but I would have to disagree. We might not come in contact with other people, but our opponents are much worse.
Imagine taking on a solid wooden beam. I will tell you right now that the beam ALWAYS wins the fight. The only strange way you could punish the beam is to scratch your name in it with your fingernail. But really, there's no point in that because it doesn't get your skills done, it just hints to the coach who was damaging the equipment.
So you learn to cooperate with the apparatus and perform your skills the right way to reduce the risk of hurting yourself. It's very rare that a "stack" was caused by faulty equipment. Ninety-nine percent of the time it's the result of you performing with wrong technique.
I want to dedicate this to my teammate Leslie Mak. She has survived some pretty nasty falls in the past few weeks. She had a nasty "stack" on the uneven bars this week. If you were there and you witnessed it, you would have needed a change of underwear!
Amazingly, Leslie always manages to get back up again. She pushes hard for this team, and I am one of many who appreciate her persistence.
Olivia Vivian, OSU gymnastics
sports@dailybarometer.com
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