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In gymnastics, a tenth of a point can make or break a team or individual score. That is what teams from Manchester, Warsaw and Wawasee are keeping in mind as they prepare for Saturday's sectional at Wawasee High School.
For the Warriors, the balance beam will be the key.
"We are really concentrating on the beam and trying to create meet situations in practice right now," said Wawasee coach Nika Prather. "The beam has been our weak spot all season. We are trying to develop some consistency and get the falls our of our routines.
"Nerves cause a problem on the beam. Where you can be a little shaky on the vault or the bars, it can be tragic on the beam.
"If one person falls on the beam, it plays a mind game with everyone else. It puts that little seed in the brain, 'I hope I don't fall...' And then if the next person falls, it makes the others even more nervous. If the first couple girls can get on the beam, stay on and have nice routines, it gives the other girls a 'no-fall' mentality.
"I think it will come down to the beam. It is the event that can really make or break you."
But the beam is not the only thing the Warriors are conentrating on.
"We are also concentrating on technique and form on skills and sticking our landings," said Prather. "We are working on the little things to help reduce the the tenths of points we lose. Those are especially important in gymnastics when meets can be decided as little as a tenth of a point."
The Manchester Squires are also working to eliminate mistakes from their performances.
"We have been working a lot on our routines," said Manchester coach Don Osborne. "Some people try to put new tricks in they've learned over the season, but we are going to focus on keeping our routines clean instead of adding a lot to them.
"We have a couple new vaults, but that's about it."
While the Warsaw Tigers are working on perfecting their routines, they also face an unexpected challenge: an injury to their top gymnast, Jillian Letsch.
"We are working on perfecting our routines at this point," said Warsaw coach Amanda Campbell. "Jillian Letsch injured her ankle last Friday in practice, so she has not been able to practice as much as she would have liked.
"She will be good for the bars and the beam, but we won't decide about the floor and the vault until after Friday's practice."
Although each team has focused on specific area for improvement, the coaches all have similar goals. Sending gymnasts on to the next level.
"I think our girls can finish in the top half," said Osborne. "We only have four girls on our team, but I think we have a chance for a couple to move on to the regional competition."
"The floor exercise has been our strongest event in the past," said Prather. "I think we have a good shot at sending all three seniors in that event, but I would like to advance girls in every event. I want to get people out of the sectional and regional. Hopefully we can send someone on to state.
"Every year we have a great shot at winning the sectional. The last two years we have had gymnasts injured either the day before or the day of the meet. I hope that does not happen this year. We have had a successful season to this point, and the girls are looking good.
"This should be a close meet between Warsaw, Plymouth and us. It will all depend on who does the best that day. Any of our three seniors can win any event or place in the top six."
"Plymouth, Wawasee and Warsaw, those should be the top three," said Campbell. "I couldn't predict in what order, but I think they will all do well. It just depends on who is really on Saturday."
2000 LOCAL GYMNASTICS SECTIONAL PREVIEWS
WARSAW TIGERS
Record: 10-4
Coach: Amanda Campbell
Gymnasts to watch: Jillian Letsch, Dana Wentzel, Kim Love
Campbell: "Plymouth, Wawasee and Warsaw, those whould be the top three. I couldn't predict in what order, but I think they will all do well. It just depends on who is really on."
WAWASEE WARRIORS
Record: 9-5
Coach: Nika Prather
Gymnasts to watch: Angie Beer, Katie Brown, Lisa Ummel
Prather: "This should be a close meet among Warsaw, Plymouth and us. It will all depend on who does the best that day. Any of our three seniors can win any event or place in the top six."
MANCHESTER SQUIRES
Record: 2-8
Coach: Don Osborne
Gymnasts to watch: Megan Goshert, Marie Weller
Osborne: "I think our girls can finish in the top half. We only have four girls on our team, but I think we have a chance for a couple to move on to the regional competition."
