June 14, 2003

Coaches' View: AL and Armine Fong

By Inside Gymnastics

Al Fong and his wife Armine Barutyan-Fong, who competed for the former Soviet Union, have created a haven for gymnastics greats in their Great American Gymnastics Express—better known by the acronym GAGE—gym in Missouri.

The couple have combined their skills—Al focuses on teaching skills, while Armine is in charge of choreography, dance and polishing routines—to create some of the most stunning gymnasts in recent US history.

Leading their current crop is 2002 World team member Terin Humphrey. Sarah Shire and junior stand-out Courtney McCool round out their current trio of stars.

INSIDE GYMNASTICS: How is Terin doing right now?

AL FONG: She’s doing well. We’re following our game plan that we set up about a year ago. We’re right on course with her gymnastics, with her consistency, with her fine tuning and with her mental preparation. We like where we’re at right now.

INSIDE GYM: What are your goals for her at USAs?

FONG: Top three.

INSIDE GYM: Do you think she has the potential to win it all, especially in light of the injuries some of the top athletes are suffering from?

FONG: I used to think about [things like that], but not anymore. As you know, there are about six people who could trade places at any given meet, and Terin is one of them. Even if everyone was healthy I think Terin could still be top three—anywhere in the top three.

INSIDE GYM: What do you think she brings to the US team? What are her strengths?

FONG: Her style. Her look. She’s got a style that no one else has. Her floor routine, her beam routine, they’re so unique. Just her clarity of movement and the style with which she performs. People love it. They’re just drawn to it.

She’s also a pretty girl. She loves to get all the makeup on, show off and dance. She’s just a great overall package.

ARMINE FONG (pictured right at the 2002 Worlds march-in): I think her strength is her difficulty. She’s very good in the all-around, on every event. She doesn’t have a weak event.

INSIDE GYM: What kind of gymnast is she to coach?

FONG: She’s high maintenance (laughs), just like any of your top athletes, in any sport. You know, that’s just what it takes.

INSIDE GYM: Define ‘high maintenance.’

FONG: You always have to be constantly working with her, one-on-one; with every facet of her gymnastics, from the skills, to the planning and so forth. It takes that because, you know, to be the best you have to fine tune everything every single day. It’s very difficult in the world of gymnastics to try and be ‘on’ every single day.

INSIDE GYM: What’s more difficult for her: the physical or mental aspect of gymnastics?

FONG: You know, I used to think it was the mental part of it, but as she has gone on to compete at major competitions internationally, and has done well and been recognized for it, there is always a great deal of confidence that comes from that. So, if you look at her career from 2000 on, you see what has been taking place over the course of three years and you can see her confidence building, and the mental aspect of her gymnastics getting stronger.

In this day and age, with the top athletes, not only do you need to have all the skills and the physical ability to handle the necessary regimen, but the mental aspect of it is actually what’s going to pull you up on top.

INSIDE GYM: What do you think she learned from her World Championships experience last year?

FONG: It’s something that, as a coach, there is no way you can tell your athlete about an experience like that. It’s impossible to give her a book or a videotape and say, ‘Here’s what to expect. Here’s what you need to do.’ The only way to learn that is to go through it.

She was the best athlete at the time of the selection of the 2002 World Championship team. She was the only one that was strong on all four events. The other gymnasts were strong on two events. At that time, she was the best prepared and we did that by design, not by accident.

I knew that those World Championships were a critical step in getting her on the team in 2004. We wanted that assignment. We knew whether she did well or whether she did sub-par that she was going to get a great deal of experience and a great deal of exposure. There’s no doubt she’s known now.

INSIDE GYM: Were you happy with how everything went in Hungary?

FONG: Yes. We were very pleased. We would have loved to have won a medal, but there are probably 500 athletes that can say the same thing (laughs).

INSIDE GYM: What are you expecting from the US squad at the upcoming World Championships?

FONG: We certainly have the momentum with us. We have the home court advantage. I think we clearly showed in the last two World Championships that it doesn’t matter what country we participate in. I think that we showed that, as a country, we can command.

Assuming that the game plan that [National Team Coordinator] Martha (Karolyi) has laid out for the national team--which the personal coaches have embraced wholeheartedly--assuming that that continues to bear fruit, we should be at a tremendous peak at World Championships time. Then, let the chips fall where they may, but I think we all know where that’s going to be.

INSIDE GYM: You’ve also got two other gymnasts in the Championships: Sarah Shire (pictured left with Armine) and Courtney McCool. Sarah will make her senior debut this year, but Courtney, who is age-eligible to compete as a senior, is remaining in the junior ranks. Why did you make that choice?

FONG: Courtney’s last year had a an injury about three months prior to the Championships. It involved the calf and it was just this side of a pull. We had to really cut back on the amount of tumbling and vaulting she could do. Not making it to the national team, by just a mere hundredths of a point, or whatever it was, we felt that … Well, sometimes you’re ready physically for an accomplishment but mentally you may not be. I use the analogy of going from sixth grade to a freshman in high school. That’s a jump, maybe more mental than physical. In our training plan we decided that Courtney needed to take that step by being a junior again. And, this time, not just make the team but commandingly make the team. Our goal is still to have her go to the training camp and make the Pan Am team.

INSIDE GYM: What are your goals for Courtney and Sarah? Do you think they have the same kind of potential that Terin does?

FONG: Well, Terin is standing right here (next to us in the interview) and she’s shaking her head an emphatic yes. I’m telling you that they’re all on the same platform.

For a coach, that’s the best time, when you have a team that they’re all good friends, but they’re all competitors and they all want to make the same team. That’s the work ethic we have in our own gym and it can be very stimulating at times.

INSIDE GYM: Are Sarah and Courtney also shooting for 2004, or are you focusing more on 2008 for them?

ARMINE FONG: We’re absolutely looking at 2004.

FONG: Yeah, we’d love to have a sweep next year.

ARMINE FONG: (laughing) Yeah, that would be the goal.