NEWS

12.19.08

Boys’ Team Represents USA and Wins Silver Medal at International Gymnastics Competition held in Puerto Rico

      Our Boys’ Gymnastics Team recently represented the United States at the Pan-American Clubs Championship meet which was hosted by Puerto Rico on December 12th and 14th. The meet in was held in their federation’s National Training Center just outside the city of San Juan in the town of Carolina, PR. Representing the US from Hocking Valley were Matthew Chelberg (3rd HB, 7th AA), Preston Gall (3rd PH & PB, 6th AA), Trevor Howard (3rd FX & V, 3rd AA), Drew Moling (8th AA), Steven Lippoli, and Justin Houlton. The head of delegation and head coach for the boys’ team was Michael Serra, owner and head coach of Hocking Valley Gymnastics Center. The boys arrived December 9th, had two day of podium training, then competed in the preliminary round on the 12th and Team finals on Sunday, the 14th. For the boys, there were 8 countries represented in prelims, 4 of which advanced to the team finals.
     The purpose of the meet was to determine the best club teams in the Pan-American Gymnastics Union. Countries from across North, Central and South America selected up to 2 teams from within their national federations to represent them at the meet. The main stipulations on team selection is that the athletes must be 18 or under and all train together as a team on a regular basis. In other words, countries cannot send an all-star team from across their country. Hocking Valley Gymnastics Center was selected to represent USA Gymnastics based on it’s performance at the 2008 Junior Olympic National Championships held last May. At that meet, Hocking Valley Gymnastics Center had the most individuals finish in the top 6 in the country.
      For all of the HVGC athletes, this was their first experience at representing the U.S. in a major international competition. “This was a fantastic opportunity for these guys.” Said coach Mike Serra. “It really is way different to compete outside the States where they speak a different language and do things differently. Making this meet more challenging for the Americans is the fact that this meet comes at the end of the South American season, while in the US, we usually don’t have our first major meet until mid-January. Add to this, the pressure of representing the USA, and you have a real pressure cooker of a situation. But I couldn’t be more proud of how our boys handled themselves.”
     The boys from Hocking Valley Gymnastics Center qualified into team finals second as a team, with 4 gymnasts in the top 8 in the individual all-around competition. In the team finals, the US finished second behind the Columbians, beating Puerto Rico and Brazil to earn the silver medal for the USA. “Not bad at all! All things considered.” Says coach Serra. “The Columbians were very good and much more experienced in international competition. Also, considering that this was like transporting a pre-season football team directly to the BCS Championship game where they would have to play against teams that had a entire season to work out the kinks, I think finishing second is quite impressive.”
     In between training sessions and competition days, the boys toured Old San Juan, played on the beach, and visited the rain forest up in the mountainous region of the island nation. “All in all, it was a great trip. One the boys will not soon forget. Not only did they get the silver medal, but a world of experience for the future as well. Learning to negotiate how to share equipment in training when none of the other athletes speak English was great for them. Also, outside the gym, they got to experience how people in other parts of the world live. These are the sorts of experience that will impact how they see the world for the rest of their lives. I feel so blessed that they were able to represent the United States and add this to their lifetime experiences.”


Figure 1: Drew Moling, Trevor Howard, Steven Lippoli, Preston Gall, Justin Houlton, Matt Chelberg


11.10.08

Future Stars Gymnasts Make Junior Developmental Team

     Three gymnasts from the Hocking Valley Gymnastics Center traveled out to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for the Future Stars National Championships held on November 7th. Mike Burns of Baltimore competed in the 11 year-old division and Cory McFann of Lancaster and Trevor North of Johnstown competed in the 10 year-old division.
     All three gymnasts finished high enough in the standings to be placed on the Junior Developmental Team (top 18). For Michael, this was his 2nd time to make the team, while it was Cory and Trevor’s first time in the meet. Cory finished 3rd and Trevor finished 8th, which qualified each of them to return to the Olympic Training Center this summer for a camp. Mike just missed the camp by 0.15, finishing 11th.
     “I am very proud of the boys.” Says coach Mike Serra. “They all did a great job! For Cory and Trevor to do so well on their first shot really makes their future look bright. Mike had some rough spots that he wouldn’t normally have, but still held it together very well.”


Figure 2: Trevor North, Cory McFann, Michael Burns, Mike Serra
 

Hocking Valley Gymnastics Center hosts the USA Gymnastics Region V Future Stars Championships.

8-12 year-old gymnasts from all Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio converged on Lancaster to see who would qualify to the National Championships in Colorado Springs on November 7th.

 HVGC had 4 gymnasts in the meet:
    · Matthew Martin: 9 yrs, but competing in the 10 yr division.
    · Trevor North: 10 yrs, finished 5th and qualified to the
       National Championships.
    · Cory McFann: 10 yrs, finished 1st and qualified to the
       National Championships.
    · Michael Burns: 11yrs, finished 1st and qualified to the
       National Championships.

The Future Stars program is part of USA Gymnastics’ early identification program. The National Championships are for the 10-12 year-old divisions and held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. From the results of the meet, the USAG Junior Developmental National Team is chosen. Michael Burns is currently a member of that team for his performance last year at which he placed 8th.

Following the competition, the weekend will be dedicated to a workshop at the OTC with our national coaching staff.

The HVGC gang at future stars

10.20.08

Session 2 begins. This session is a 9 week session to take us up to the Christmas break. Fees are adjusted accordingly. If you missed the start of the session, but would still like to get in, no problem. Just stop by or give us a call and we would be happy to get you set up and pro-rate the tuition.

9.21.08

Matthew Chelberg and coach Mike Serra are off to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for the Ricky Deci Memorial Camp. Matt qualified to this camp by virtue of his performance at last year’s Visa Championships of the USA in Houston. This year, Mike will be the camp director.

Matthew Chelberg at the Visa Championships

8.25.08

Session 1 kicks off!
Come see what we did this summer! The inside of the building has been remodeled to make a much better looking and more functional facility.

7.29.08

Michael Burns and coach Mike Serra are off to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for a week long training camp. Michael qualified to this camp by virtue of his 8th place finish at last years Future Stars National Championships. Coach Mike will not only be coaching his athlete at this camp, but will also be this year’s camp director.

Michael Burns