Gymwomen adopt performance-based philosophy

In the world of sports, the "winning is everything" mentality has dominated for as long as there has been competition. In the end, there will always be a loser, in which case they will likely be viewed as inferior to their opponent.

Some sports, however, do not take this approach. They place more importance on performance rather than the final outcome. An example of this philosophy is collegiate women's gymnastics.

-- Steve Shephard, Penn State gymnastics coach

The only time winning or losing really matters in collegiate gymnastics is during tournament time. Penn State senior Carey Hoyt said most teams see regionals as being more important than conference tournaments.

"We have to win regionals, which is the bottom line to get to nationals," she said.

Penn State coach Steve Shephard recalled a moment during last year's NCAA Championships which highlighted how important it is to hit routines in competition. On its first event, No. 1 Georgia counted a couple falls which gave the team a low score for the rotation and ultimately dashed its hopes of winning the title.

Before last weekend's competition against Penn State, North Carolina State coach Mark Stevenson explained his team's philosophy.

"The most important thing is not how we won or lost the competition, it's being able to hit our routines," he said. "If you don't hit your routines, you lose the meet."

These same words came back to haunt Stevenson as the Wolfpack counted eight falls last weekend, which led to a loss of four points in the team score.

Although gymnastics has an obvious physical aspect to it, the mental part of the sport makes it even more challenging. In a competition, being able to continually hit every move, stay on bars or beam and nail the dismount may seem like a titanic task.

Penn State has a term called the "snowball effect" which refers to the positive momentum built by scores which get progressively higher during a rotation. Shephard explained that putting an experienced gymnast at the top of the rotation helps build the snowball.

"That's why we like to start off with someone we know can hit," he said. "If you're going to have a low score to start off with, then you're going to have to turn the momentum around."

An example of this effect was seen on Penn State's beam and floor routines last weekend. On beam, sophomore Ashley Wilson began the rotation with a 9.625 and the scoring continued to increase to a high of 9.825. On floor, junior Janae Whittaker started with a 9.65 followed by a 9.75 by sophomore Nikki Smith and a 9.825 by Wilson.

"Starting with a higher base score really is what helps us the most," junior Missy Leopoldus said following the meet. "That's what starts you off on a roll and that's what great teams do -- they start it with a high score and build on that."

Along with the "snowball effect," the Lady Lions have another concept that helps them focus on the task of hitting routines. It is called the "Blue-White rule." It has been a rule for Penn State for many years and its objective is to instruct gymnasts not to watch the opponent.

"We completely ignore the other team," Shephard said. "The only way you're going to hit is to be 100 percent focused on your routine."

Hoyt said the rule is explained early in the season and is used during meets. The coaching staff and teammates make sure the attention is solely on their team and if eyes start to wander, they yell, "Blue-White," which reminds them of their task, according to Hoyt.

In the end, what it comes down to is how the gymnast can perform in any given situation. Shephard said the saying he tells his team is "Process not outcome."

"You focus on the process and the outcome will take care of itself," he said. "If the process is good, you have to be happy about the outcome."