June 4, 2005

Ready for their shot
Trio from GAGE ready to make Olympic run

By Bill Althaus
The Examiner

The next couple weeks will mean a lot to a trio of local gymnasts.

Lee's Summit's Courtney McCool, Bates City's Terin Humphrey and Sweet Springs' Sarah Shire ­ who all train at Great American Gymnastics Express in Blue Springs ­ are competing this week in the U.S. National Gymnastics Championships in Nashville, Tenn., beginning a trek that could possibly lead them to the 2004 Olympic team that will compete in Athens in September.

Humphrey, a member of the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team that won gold at last year's World Gymnastics Championships in Anaheim, Calif., said the group is ready for the big show.

"We're confident and prepared," said Humphrey, who will attend the University of Alabama in the fall. "I know I'm a little nervous because I have prepared my whole life for this. I have dreamed about the Olympics and now, it's all so close. It's a very exciting time."

Shire, a sophomore at Sweet Springs High School, simply finds it hard to believe that three girls from the same gymnasium could compete for a spot on the Olympic team.

"Isn't that just incredible?" she asked, grinning from ear to ear. "I don't know about Terin and Courtney, but my adrenaline is really pumping. We're all close to making our dream come true. And we'll find out if that happens in the next few weeks. I think we're ready, but we know we still have to work hard."

McCool, a sophomore at Lee's Summit North, made an admission before leaving for Nashville.

"I'll admit that I'm nervous, and that's something I have to work on," said McCool, one of the rising stars on the national scene. "We're all trying to make the Olympics, and that's like trying to make your dream come true.

"The next few weeks are going to be so important in our lives. The practice and competition we had with all the kids and families there was a great way to start preparing for the really big meets."

Their coach, Al Fong stands in the middle of the mat at the GAGE, intently watching a trio of young ladies who could bring international fame and glory to their gym and their country over the next few weeks.

"I like a lot of what I see," the veteran coach said, with a twinkle in his eyes. "But you know there are always areas in which you can improve. We have to be the best we can be the next few weeks. The girls know that ­ believe me, they know that."

Fong is part parent, part coach and all-around supporter of the trio of Olympic hopefuls, who compete this week in Nashville before the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials in Anaheim, Calif., in two weeks.

"Right now, we are fine-tuning everything, every aspect of the girls' routines," said Fong, the owner of GAGE.

At a recent invitation-only exhibition competition, the girls were decked out in their Olympic best and performed before an Olympic judge and many of the young girls and boys who attend GAGE.

"We were hoping for the atmosphere of a big meet," Fong said, "and we got it. We'd have loved to have seen each girl turn in four perfect performances, but that didn't happen.

"All that means is that we know what we have to work on."

Armine Barutyan Fong, Fong's wife and the girls' coach, has confidence in her trio of standouts.

"We have to know where we are today," Barutyan Fong said, "and how far we have to go over the next few weeks.

"Right now, I am like the girls. Very excited ­ and we all want to know what will happen the next few weeks."