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Olympic Training Center

posted by calshady on January 12, 2010, 7:29pm

Hey everyone sorry it has been so long since my last update! My life has been pretty crazy the last few months. But anyway I just wanted to give an update on how my training is going and what I've been up to. Last week I actually moved to Colorado Springs, CO to live and train at the Olympic Training Center. It was a really tough decision to make but I think it was the right one for my gymnastics. I absolutely loved my life at Cal which made the decision that much harder. I already miss my girlfriend, friends, coaches, and teammates. Oh and I miss the weather too! But nevertheless I made the move and the transition is getting easier and easier. It would have been pretty tough to pass up an all expense paid life in an ideal training environment with an incredible medical staff!I really like my new teammates and I couldn't ask for a better training environment. My new coach, Vitaly Marinitch, is incredible and I think we'll make a great pair.

As far as my gymnastics goes it has been better to be perfectly honest. After World Chapionships I had to take some time off to let my body heal. I am back in the full swing of things but it has certainly been a bit of a struggle to build back up. I'm training for Winter Cup in Feb. and I should be all back to normal by then. My only problem now is endurance which will just come with time. I'm certainly being pushed hard here and have been spending tons of hours in the gym so I'm not worried about it. After Winter Cup I have been asked to compete in the Tyson American Cup in March. It was an honor to be asked and I can't wait to represent the US!!! I'll be better about updating my site...hopefully I'll have some videos to put up soon.

Read more | Comments (25) | Updated on January 12, 2010, 7:52pm

World Championships Summary and Thoughts

posted by calshady on October 23, 2009, 9:40pm

The last 2 weeks were the most incredible, emotional, nerve-wrecking, and eye opening weeks of my life! I really couldn't be happier with myself. I walked in to Visa Championships back in August just hoping to make the World Team. I never would have imagined I would be this successful at my first World Championships! I knew that if I had a good meet at prelims that I would advance to the All-Around Finals and with a little luck and the routine of my life I could advance to the Pommel Horse Final. And after the meet was said and done not only did I advance to both finals but I was in 3rd all-around! In the last 4 years I have probably only competed all-around a handful of times and there I was, in contention for an all-around medal at World Championships. It truly was and still is an incredible feeling!

In the All-Around Final I competed well and was very happy with my performance. By no means was I flawless but I didn’t have any major mistakes the whole meet. The judges took .6 away from my start value on Rings which really hurt my score. But really my only regret is I wish I had done a better Parallel Bars routine. I was a little nervous going into it and then I slipped on one of my first skills …after that it was pretty shaky the whole way through. But I’m glad I was able to put it behind me and still finish up the meet to the best of my abilities, doing my high bar routine pretty much as good as I could do it. I walked out placing 7^th in the world and I really couldn’t have been happier!

After the All-Around Finals I really didn’t feel any pressure. I had pommel horse finals left but I really just wanted to enjoy it and embrace the fact that I was even in the final. I didn’t even get the slightest bit nervous until about 3 minutes before I raised my hand for the routine. I was able to deal with the nerves though and hit a pretty good set. While of course a medal would have been nice, I was still absolutely thrilled with my 5^th place finish.

As I said earlier, Worlds was a huge eye opener for me. I guess competing among the best guys in the world will do that to you. For years I have looked up to a lot of those guys and not only was I able to hang with the best of the best, but I was beating some of them! I am certainly more confident than ever and I have come to realize that I am one of the best gymnasts in the world. I was in the biggest pressure situation I’ve ever been in and did 13 routines without a fall. I think I came out of this meet much better than I went into it…I think I finally learned how to compete better and more consistently. I can’t wait to get back on the international scene and be even more successful!

Read more | Comments (6) | Updated on October 23, 2009, 10:13pm

Arriving in London

posted by calshady on October 7, 2009, 3:46pm

Hey everyone welcome to my new website! I just arrived in London for World Championships. It is kinda cold and rainy but nevertheless I'm still real excited to be here! Somehow on the flight over from CA I managed to sleep the entire 10 hours it took to get here....so basically my body is completely confused as to what time it is. Its 9:45pm in London and 1:45pm back in Cali but if you told me it was 3:00am I'd probably believe you. Anyway the hotel is really nice and I'm rooming with Jon Horton which will be fun. Tomorrow will be a busy day filled with practices and meetings so I'm gonna unpack (which probably means emptying my suitcase on the floor) and get some sleep. Eventually I'll put up more pics and videos and write more blog entries. Thanks for visiting my site!

Read more | Comments (8) | Updated on October 7, 2009, 3:47pm