Athletics
The MAC Open Brings some of the best young gymnasts from the country to Mac for three days of intense competition.
MAC Coaches and Programs Honored The MAC gymnastics program embarks on its 2015 season with a few extra awards in its trophy case, the results of a wildly successful run in 2014.
when you do it 100 times, then you perfect it when you do it 1,000 times, said Girls Optional Coach Ivan Alexov. “It takes a lot of hard work and determination in the gym,” said Alexov, who competed on the Bulgarian National Team in the 1990s before starting his coaching career in the Northwest. “What I find rewarding is to see these kids progressing. It’s like putting pieces of a puzzle together.” Boys Associate Head Coach Rob Saliski, part of the Penn State gymnastics team that won the 2000 Division I NCAA National Championship, helps his gymnasts fulfill their potential by having them set goals, then plan how they’ll reach them. “I just try to get them to understand that hard work pays off,” he says. The hard work yields more than medals and ribbons. Several parents of MAC gymnasts say the coaches have given their children life lessons along with advice on how to stick landings. “They are helping you raise your child,” said Janine Wirth, who’s had children in the MAC gymnastics program for more than a decade. “They teach the kids how to overcome adversity, setbacks, injuries or maybe a skill they cannot get. They help them work through their frustrations, setbacks.”
That’s no coincidence, said the club’s Gymnastics Manager Meg Doxtator, who competed on the University of California, Santa Barbara gymnastics team and also judges college meets. A good coach, Doxtator said, teaches problem-solving as well as technical skills. “You’re giving kids tools for problemsolving, whatever problems they happen to be,” she said. They’re also teaching the gymnasts that they can succeed without winning. “We are coming out of an age when we get a trophy for everything,” said Team Coach and Gymnastics Recreation Supervisor Rob Pettit, a former West Linn High School gymnast who owned a Milwaukie gym before coming to MAC. “But if people are actually striving for their personal best, they are successful. They are winners.” When spirits sag and even personal best seems hard to reach, Girls Xcel Coach Andrew Zeke, who competed for the Salem Gymnastics Center, has been known to give a good old-fashioned pep talk. “My coach says I can do stuff even if I don’t feel like it,” 17-year-old Xcel team member Elizabeth Evans said of Zeke. “My coach has helped me a lot with my confidence.” Confidence – also known as guts. WM
Gymanstics Manager and Girls Head Coach Meg Doxtator was named USA Gymnastics Regional Judge of the Year for 2014, and judged Junior Olympics Nationals, in Jackson, Miss., in May. Doxtator also was an auxiliary judge at the P&G National Championships in August. In addition, MAC Boys Coach Rob Saliski was named Region 2 Boys Coach of the Year and the MAC girls team was named the Oregon State Program of the Year for 2014 as well.
New Coach Works with boys Program New Boys Gymnastics Coach Sean Mercier brings a diverse sports background to the MAC program. The Boston native was a competitive swimmer in his younger years before transitioning to dance, and eventually into competitive gymnastics. Before moving to Portland, Mercier was in northern California, teaching at Flips for Kids Gymnastics. “This is my first time coaching a competitive program, and I’m excited and hungry for knowledge and to develop a team,” he says. In his spare time, Mercier still breakdances, continues his own gymnastics progression, and works on his race car.
february 2015
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