Team USA.. A New Generation

Today I wanted to talk about the future of USA Gymnastics. It seems that with the journey of this past quad, this sport assured us that ANYTHING can happen and nothing is ever guaranteed. I was a little hesitant to write this post because anything can change in the next four years, who knows if the contenders for Rio I'm listing today will even make it another year in the sport. But I decided to write this anyway because I thought looking back on this post four years from now or even two years from now might be pretty special.  





Katelyn Ohashi

I love Katelyn's gymnastics. She's got beautiful lines the judges love and everything in her form all the way to her toe point is perfect. As of right now I'd say she's the best. Yes, I know her recent competitions weren't her greatest but I know she's been struggling with an injury for quite some time. The only thing that scares me is the hot topic of Valeri "screwing her up." Now I'm just as concerned as the next person but I do believe that Martha or someone has probably talked to Valeri about this issue. We all saw what happened to Rebecca and it was tragic but at the same time remember he isn't a complete failure. 






Lexie Priessman

Another phenomenal gymnast. Lexie is powerful and explosive and is able to perform. Her floor routine is already so difficult that if she would have competed it at this years Olympics she probably would've gotten on the Podium in Floor Finals. But that is just it, she is already so good that I'm afraid of how long she can hold on for, she doesn't have much more to upgrade. The other thing is she just verbally committed to the University of Georgia. Now obviously I don't know all the details but Lexie graduates in 2015, a year before the Olympics, so lets hope shes not planning on attending College before the Games. Also this kind of goes simultaneous with the peaking too early subject but in 2016 she'll be 19.. In gymnastics, thats a grandma. 











Bailie Key

This girl is definitely not someone I'm worried about. Bailie is only 13 and certainly has so much talent. But along with her teammate Nica Hults, she is far from peaking. Bailie also has very pretty lines. She executes well, great performer all she has to do is slowly up her difficulty and not have any horrible injuries and I'd say she is my best bet for the team. If I see her bar routine right she not only has a gienger but it is also layed-out, which you don't see too often from U.S girls. I love Bailie and although her floor routine isn't breathtaking choreography, I can't get her music out of my head and I kind of like the music! I'm not in love with the routine but hey, there's a lot worse. 













Veronica Hults

I've been watching Nica on Youtube for a while now and I love her! She has the lines, she will have the execution score once she gets more consistent and she seems to have the ability to make it look like shes floating in the air, kind of like Kyla Ross. I think that with time she'll become so much more confident and so easy to watch. Keep in mind she went from a level 9 to Elite and made it to Nationals the same year. She may not have the difficulty now, but like her teammate Bailie, she will in four years and I think right now they have the best shot at making the team. 












Norah Flatley

I haven't seen much from her, being that she is only a level 10, but what I have seen is phenomenal. Norah is another one of Chow's gymnasts and I think she could have the potential to be his best so far. You may say Gabby is, and no doubt she is a great gymnast and still probably hasn't peaked yet, but I think that this girl could beat her out. Norah has nice flexibility and also great power, and being that she has been with Chow for most of her career I don't think that she will be the headcase that Gabby was. Yes I know she is still a level 10 and the elite world adds so much more pressure, but I think that given Chow's track record with Shawn and how Gabby came to him the mess she was (raw talent and all nerves), she should be just fine for elite competition. Also, she'll turn senior the year of the Olympics which isn't always good but I'm sure Martha will want to give her plenty of international assignments knowing how much she loves Chow.






Simone Biles

Simone is definitely on the rise and she's great, but the one thing she doesn't have on her side is her body shape. Most of you know that Elizabeth Price was an alternate on the Olympic Team this quad and thats amazing! But to be honest, she has more difficulty than Kyla, almost a whole point, other than she may not have been as consistent as Kyla, she would have made the team. That isn't why she didn't make the team, she didn't make the team simply because judges don't like her lines. Thats it. Silly right? Well if you think about it, Jordyn Wieber also doesn't have the prettiest body form either, but being how strong and successful she was in 2011 and 2012 she easily made the team. Once Jordyn got to the Olympics you didn't see her scores as high as they usually were did you? Maybe it had something to do with her stress fracture, but even without her injury the judges just didn't like her shape. Believe it or not, but gymnastics is so much more politics than we realize. And with Simone having 4 more years to grow and develop muscle, the only way she will be making that team in 2016 is if she is as successful as Jordyn was because there are many other girls out there who have those lines and shape the judges drool over. 


I know there are many other gymnasts out there who could be part of that Olympic team in 2016 and we probably haven't heard of some of them yet. As time goes on it will become more clear as to who will make that special team four years from now but for right now, these are some of the ones who stand out to me whether its good or unfortunate.