New Zealand Tour, 2011

Auckland Manukau Championships, Auckland New Zealand

 

After a 4am Wake-up, 3 and a half hour flight, illness, 18 subway subs consumed and navigating our way through South Auckland we finally arrived at our wonderful accommodation for the next week, New Haven Waldorf Apartments.  Well to be honest it wasn’t luxury, but it was certainly comfortable and homely for all of us.

After settling into our individual apartments, getting to know the local area a little bit, and our wonderful Chaperones doing quite possibly the largest food shop South Auckland has seen, the kids got on their sloppy Joe’s, track pants and sneakers and set out with me for their first training session in New Zealand, a great cardio session.   I got the impression very quickly that not all of them had a wonderful experience with the cardio program, but all did it without complaint, and all did it without collapsing in a heap.  Soon after we were treated to our first dinner from our amazing caterers, flying solo catering.  We had an opportunity to experience a bit of good old “kiwi” cuisine and everyone seemed to enjoy the feast, as there was not a thing left on most plates.  At our team meeting that night we had the opportunity to announce our team captain, and that honour went to senior Amy Smit.  It was then off for an early night as everyone needed to wake up at 6am for morning training.

The next two days consisted of a focus on training, hitting quality over quantity, so we could get into the gym do what we needed to do then get out so we could maximise recovery time ahead of the competition coming up.  We were fortunate enough to train at two premiere gymnastics training facilities, North Harbour Gymnastics Centre and Counties Manukau Gymnastics Centre.  Both centres are state of the art training facilities and have produced Commonwealth, World and Olympic gymnasts.  It was a training environment that I think intimidated many of the student athletes when we first arrived and started, but I think was eased when they were treated to some very warm and welcoming kiwi coaches and gymnasts.  They had an opportunity to meet my old personal coach, Sasha Koudinov, and I think many realised exactly where my coaching philosophies come from.  Sasha has mellowed tremendously over the last few years, and welcomed the student athletes with his think Russian accent upon arrival.  We also had an opportunity to train alongside James Henin and Jordan Rae, who will be competing at the World Championships in Tokyo in October, and gave the student athletes a perspective of real international gymnastics.

Before we knew it competition day was here.  The junior boys were first up, and were up against some tremendous talent, some that would rival many of the top programs here in Australia.  The quality in their work and the time spent on the details of their training is a testament to their training program and their coaches.  The highlight was to see Alec Traina top the stands against the (unbeaten) Dom from North Harbour.  Thomas Polat and Jacob Seeto also showed some stylish gymnastics finishing 4th and 7th respectively.  Angus Laurie was up in the level 4 competition, and had his work cut out for him against some serious talent.  He fought hard, and finished in 3rd position.  This was a perfect start to the weekend ahead.

First out in our seniors were the level 7 MAG and level 10 WAG.  Rasmus Petersen competing in his first level 7 meet ever showed what hard work he has been putting in, and finished in a tremendous 6th position.  Joel O’Neill showed consistency in his competition with the style that saw him finish in the top 8 at the National Championships, and found himself on the podium in 3rd position.  The level 10 girls went out and showed mature performances with hit routine after hit routine.  Beam was a weak rotation for us, we a glimpse of lacking confidence on this event, but coping with the new requirements tremendously, and found themselves in 1, 2 and 3 on the podium, lead by Amy, then Sophie and Sarah coming in third.

In the last session saw our level 8 MAG and Level 8 and 9 WAG.  The girls had some issues adapting routines to the NZ requirements, but dealt with the dilemma with true champion style.  After beam they got into their swing of competition and managed to show some stylish gymnastics that made me very proud to be representing them as their coach on the floor.  Sophie, Matilde, Kata and Newbie finished in 1st place in the team event, and were raring to go for the apparatus finals.  Riley Cross had a solid outing, enjoying her competition and had some standout moments.  She found herself on the podium as well in 3rd position.  Jordan Papandrea had a flawless competition until vault where he got a little ahead of himself on the landing and suffered a fall, but otherwise what a day for him, finishing in 1st position in the level 8 competition.

Day two was NBG’s day.  The atmosphere was awesome, and the team spirit was one that made me very proud of this young crop of student athletes.  They got behind each other on every performance, and that helped with the medal haul of 20 gold, 10 silver and 21 bronze medals we collected, with every athlete placing on the top three in apparatus standings.  We got some tremendous compliments from the NZ staff about our quality, and work ethic, and the ability, especially for the WAG of being able to adapt to new requirements at very short notice.

With the competition done and dusted, it was time to have a bit of fun with the kids.  A highlight for me was a little “game” that will re-mane nameless for future teams, but one that saw the group come together and bond with a great sense of humour and an immense amount of respect from one another.  We then got to experience a bit of shopping in New Zealand and the sky tower and the theme park Rainbowsend.  We had our official team dinner at a cute pizza bar in the trendy district of Ponsonby, and it was a great opportunity for the kids to share their appreciation to our chaperones, Geraldine Traina and Cameron Laurie.  These two worked like a machine, and so well as a team.  They did everything that was asked of them and more, and the tour would not have been what it was without them.  It also gave me a chance to see a lot of the student athletes in a different light, being able to joke with them a bit, and find out who they are outside of gymnastics.  Before we knew it, it was time to be at the airport for our flight home.

A couple of special thankyou’s need to be said.  A big thankyou to North Harbour Gymnastics and Counties Manukau Gymnastics for allowing us training privileges whilst in New Zealand.  Also to Waldorf Apartments for accommodating our group so well.  To the parents of the gymnasts for their support and efforts to get their child on the tour, and finally to the student athletes.  All 15 of them were a pleasure to take away, and this being my last tour with NBG, it was one that I won’t quickly forget.  I am very proud of all of these young teenagers and adults, and look forward to seeing them prosper in gymnastics and in their endeavours outside of the gym.

 

Tour Head Coach,

Yusuf Topari