New TJ Gymnastics Coach takes the team to new heights for the 2015-2016 season.
The gymnastics program at TJ has hired a new coach for the 2015 season: Molly Sifers. Sifers has made multiple changes to the program which she hopes will improve the gymnasts’ overall performance and season.
Sifers started coaching when she was 15 and still competing herself. She needed a job so her coach said she could come in early and work with him before practice. This job opportunity launched a future of coaching gymnastics for Sifers. “I did gymnastics rec classes off and on as a kid. I started competing when I was in middle school, and competed for six years. Then I started coaching at the gym I was competing at and afterwards found a gym in college…then I found DU and then came to TJ.”
Even though it is early on in the season, many can see that Sifers is making quite an improvement. Last year, the team was very different. The overall work ethic and effort given at each practice was relatively low and progression seemed slower. This year, Sifers hopes to change this by enforcing new rules and setting new standards for the gymnasts. “More structure, more conditioning, and required practices,” are only a few of the new changes Sifers explained would be in full force for the gymnasts this year. She strongly believes that school work and grades come before anything else; she enforces CHSSA’s rule that the gymnasts go to tutoring if they are failing a class, and they will be ineligible to compete until they can raise their grade. “It’s been a lot more organized, there are more rules and requirements, and she keeps everyone on track,” said sophomore gymnast, Cecelia Allen.
Sifers has also changed the lettering requirements for gymnastics. In order to receive an athletic letter, the gymnast must either compete in all-around (all four events) in at least five meets, qualify for the regional competition, or qualify for State. This makes the team more competitive and motivated to work in order to letter for the season. “Hopefully by the end of the season everyone will compete all-around at least once and we can send at least five girls to State this year,” Sifers described. With her expertise and enthusiasm, the team is confident that this goal will be reached. “My goals for this season are to improve on my skills and learn some new ones too,” said Allen. All of the girls are eager to compete in order to display the hard work they have been putting into their gymnastics this year.
Sifers’ love for coaching was obvious when she described her favorite part of coaching. “Helping people reach their goals and getting excited when they make new skills for the first time,” is one of the many things Sifers enjoys about coaching at TJ. Allen described Sifers by saying, “she has a lot of experience in the sport so she can give a lot of advice on how to improve. She’s also good at enforcing rules.” With hard work and dedication and Sifers at the helm, the TJ gymnastics team is a force to be reckoned with, this year and hopefully for many more to come.
