Since 1978, only two women have served as head coaches at the Alabama Gymnastics Championships. That changes when the Crimson Tide begins its season with Michigan State this Friday night, when the Ashley Johnston era officially kicks off at the Coleman Coliseum.
Johnston was a gymnast at the University of Alabama from 2009 to 2013, was on two national championship winning teams, and has also won two SEC championships. She fully understands the excellence and tradition of Alabama Gymnastics and the kind of pressures and expectations that come with it. That’s why the theme of this year’s team is to meet moment by moment. It came from trying to remove pressure and expectations.
“I think Alabama has a legacy of success at the highest level, and with that comes the expectation of winning and the results,” Johnston said. “And these are all things that this team wants to do, and these are our goals, but in the end, if we weren’t there, we didn’t focus on the process, we just accepted the process and spent a week doing it. I’m not going to do it.” Week by week, moment by moment, routine by routine, routine by thought.
“It really came out of thinking about the bigger goal, the bigger picture, but it actually puts the dial back on how you create it. It’s about investing in the process and staying in the moment. That’s it.”
In his first season as college head coach, Johnston has the right mix of talent and experience to get things started with a roster of six seniors or graduates, six freshmen, three sophomores and three juniors. I feel that I have
“I couldn’t ask for a better balance,” said Johnston. “And I think that comes with a certain level of proficiency experience, along with the enthusiasm and excitement from the freshman class. And I think it’s a great combination. And as long as they handle it well and I think they’ve done a really good job so far, this team will go really far.
The senior class included former SEC Gymnast of the Year Luisa Blanco, Macari Doggett, Ella Burgess and Matti Warrigola, as well as alumni Sania Micelle and Olympian Sharon Olsen, both in their fifth season. The most significant loss from last year’s roster is Lexi Glover.
Both Blanco and Doggett have dealt with some injuries last season, but have scored perfect 10s in the past with Alabama and, if healthy, could be perfectly competitive all-around. continues to represent Canada competing on the biggest stages around the world, returning to a high skill set and difficulty after five years in the Crimson Tide. After earning freshman honors, he’s ready for a big year ahead.
The freshman class was one of the largest and highest rated in the country with Carice German, Gaby Gradue, Zoe Gravier, Lillian Lewis, Lauren Little and Rachel Ribicki all on the team .
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the freshmen debuting themselves,” Warigora said before the first competition. “We have a very strong freshman class. We have a very strong freshman class. We have a team, we have a lot of strong lineups and I’m looking forward to them showing it off.”
Freshmen got a taste of what it’s like to perform at the Coleman Coliseum at the Crimson and White preview meeting in mid-December. Johnston has learned the depth of her team and readiness to roll her 10 deep on all fours.
The depth and talent of the roster is why coaches still ranked Alabama 7th in preseason polls, despite coaching changes.
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Johnston said there is no set number of gymnasts to compete in the all-around each week, but the coaching staff is focused on putting out the best six routines at each event each week. We are working to include 6 vaults with a starting value of 10.0 in the , and offseason NCAA rule changes require a minimum C-level dismount on the beam, increasing the difficulty of dismounting the beam. I’m here.
Despite being more difficult to land, Johnston said fans can expect a few round-off doubleback dismounts on the beam.
Sophomore Jordyn Paradise said:
The new head coach doesn’t expect perfection in the first game. She knows there will be mistakes, but she wants to see how her team responds to those mistakes. And if they respond in the right way, it could be a building block for the rest of the season.
“As a graduate of this program, I have many fond memories of the Coleman Coliseum,” said Johnston. “And the program has achieved some really great accolades, and I think we sometimes take for granted how difficult the process is. With a new coaching staff, six freshmen, and plenty of opportunities to turn the page and get excited about what’s to come.”
One of the words in Johnston’s mind ahead of his first meeting as head coach is ‘respect the past, create the future’. It’s been more than a decade since Alabama won six national gymnastics championships under legendary head coach Sarah Patterson. She will replace Dana Duckworth, who held that position from 2014 to 2022.
Johnston will create a new future inside the Coleman Coliseum starting this Friday when No. 7 Alabama hosts No. 12 Michigan at 6 p.m. on the SEC network.
“As a graduate of this program, I have many fond memories of the Coleman Coliseum,” said Johnston. “And the program has achieved some really great accolades. Sometimes we take for granted how difficult the process is. , there’s this excitement and energy in creating the future, with a new coaching staff, six freshmen, and plenty of opportunities to turn the page and get excited about what’s to come.”
See also
Ashley Johnston Steps into Dream Job at Alabama Gymnastics
Proving Again That The SEC Can Beat The Conference: All Things CW
