Hello Pioneer Fans!

It has been a busy week for Pioneer Gymnastics. The Sunday after the long Thanksgiving weekend is always fun. It is weird to not see a group of people for four days when you spend at least 20 hours per week with them, so it was great to see everyone and hear about their Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. The Sunday practice is good because we get back into the gym and remind our bodies how to do gymnastics again. Even with only a couple days off, our bodies some how forget what we need to do! Sunday proved to be productive and everyone looked ready to get back into the normal routine.

Eight months after the ninth national championship, the team from last season attended the TWU Basketball game on Tuesday where we were presented with our 2008 championship rings (see photo below with TWU Chancellor and President, Dr. Ann Stuart)! It was exciting to re-live the moment from April 18. I have had the privilege of being a member of the team for two national championships, but for most it was a first. It was also a great opportunity to let the freshmen see how exciting that moment was. My hope for them is that they get to experience a moment like that in 2009 and receive a ring for their efforts and contributions as well. 

The team also adopted four TWU families in need for Christmas. The large number of people on our team is a great opportunity for us to give during the holiday season. Each class was given one family to buy gifts for and it was exciting to see the team room fill with gifts (pictured below) that we would be giving to the TWU families during the holiday season. 

This year, the week after Thanksgiving was also the last week of classes and as professors demanded papers and squeezed in one more test, we were preparing for our intrasquad meet. Routines were looking strong throughout the week and I am so impressed and amazed at how far we have come as a team. As Coach pointed out, we had been preparing for the intrasquad many weeks in advance and it would be our third “meet.” We had already had two mini intrasquads in the gym before this week and all we needed to do this time was transfer our routines to Magee Arena.

The coaches put a lot of time into the Holiday Spectacular and it showed on Friday. The gym was decorated for the holidays, complete with a Santa Claus (pictured below)! There were many other prizes offered that brought the crowd in and made it feel like we had already made it to January and we were beginning the regular season. This year the coaches set a goal for us - 31 of the 41 competed routines had to be hit. We fell short of the goal, however we have never looked this good at this point in the season and I am glad to be a part of it. Now that we are able to do routines, we can use the long Christmas break to perfect and polish. 

As we head into finals week and Christmas break, the coaches have stressed the importance of maintaining a workout schedule at home and doing gymnastics while we celebrate the holidays with our families. We are lucky to have three weeks off during the Christmas break, as we know many programs do not allow their gymnasts to go home till right before Christmas. J We return to campus January 2 nd to get ready for the ‘09 season and our home opener on January 17 th against Oklahoma!

On a personal note, I am very excited to announce that I am the future Mrs. Jonathan Mayfield! In front of the large crowd at the intrasquad meet, he walked onto the floor and proposed (pictured at left). Needless to say, I, along with everyone else on the team and in the stands, was shocked!

Happy Holidays!

Though our eyes, you can see our hearts!
Brista Michael
Senior