College coaches are brilliant recruiters and look for three key components when evaluating prospects. First, they look for strong students who meet and exceed eligibility and admissions standards. Second, they are looking for direct impact athletes who thrive at their events and will drive the team to higher levels. Finally, they want self-aware young men and women who bring a strong character component to the table.
We're a full month into the season and we're going to take a break from our regular weekly recap to take a look at how judges score routines. But rather than explaining the basics, we are offering a course in "Scoring 201": an intermediate look at some of the deductions beyond the obvious and clear deductions taken by the judges. We are hoping to shed light on where the judges in more strictly judged meets are taking their deductions, for fans that may be unfamiliar with the more subtle points of scoring. We're not experts, but this will hopefully serve…
Another weekend has passed, and we've see more questions open up about the season as the rankings have shuffled once again. Team that started strong have since wobbled a bit, while others with some early stumbles have steadily climbed. And we've seen some others that have been steady and consistent in the meets thus far, and have solid Top 25 positions to show for it. As 197 becomes the new 196, let's see how the week has gone....
The second full week is in the bag (the third weekend overall) and we are already seeing the fan excitement, enthusiasm and in some cases, speculation and angst, build. It's a been a wild weekend full of standout performances and rising stars. And, unfortunately, we're seeing injury and scoring variation dominate the conversation. Here's our weekly recap...
Well the first weekend of NCAA competition is in the bag and it's time to recap some key impressions from the competition thus far.  There were highs, there were lows, and a lot of questions yet to be answered.
We're about to start the 2015 season, and we're once again waiting until the last moment to release our ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes.  This edition, 2014-2015, is one where we are seeing the full impact of early recruiting.  In some cases, the gymnasts who originally committed at age 16 or younger did not end up matriculating at their original college choice.  And, with scholarships opening up due to transfers or retirement, we're seeing a rash of late recruiting, early entries (early graduation), and mid-year starts.  In fact, our choice for number one had an early grad further strengthen…
Auburn has the strongest schedule when compared to the other Top 12 teams in 2015, according to the annual analysis from CollegeGymFans.com.   Each year, we've calculated the relative strength of the schedule (relative schedule difficulty) for the Top 12 Teams, as determined by the Preseason Coaches' Poll.  Read on to find out how the rest of the teams fared. 
For those of you who wanted changes to the NCAA code, you'll have to wait another year.  As fully expected, the NCAA has left in place the same code for 2014-2015 as was used in 2013-2014.  There are a few possible changes, however, due to enforcement education efforts and small modifications to the USA Gymnastics rules on execution.
I was talking with one of my clients about her decision to go to a Division III gymnastics team and this is what made her decision easy.
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