Training/Rehab Update
Some quick updates about my training and recovery process. I had a feeling that by all the talks about coaching and judging, people were starting to think that I wasn’t working out.
Definitely not true. In fact, I’ve been continuing with my physical therapy 3x/week and have been training regularly. With being in physical therapy for 2 hours a day, and then going to practice all in the same day, my body is taking a beating. Still, I’m thankful that I’m in such a great environment, and I’m looking forward to coming back strong in time summer.
In terms of clearance to do everything, I haven’t gotten the green light just yet. I’ll be seeing the doc again in about 3-4 weeks. I believe at that point, the doctor will size me up for a brace and will clear me to do everything under the condition that i will wear the brace when doing anything risky.
Just heard that Ivana Hong (member of the US women’s team and World Medalist in 2009) just recently tore her ACL. I totally feel for her and wish for a speedy recovery. If only gymnastics didn’t involve injuries…but what is sports without injuries and coming back stronger, right? It’s definitely all part of the process.
Team Japan Goes Off To Oak-Town.
After training with us for three days, the Japanese team left to go to the competition arena in Oakland today. I believe they trained at the arena today and will be at training at nearby Cal Berkeley tomorrow before competing on Saturday.
While it was only for a short while, having the opportunity to train with them was great. Even though they’re only the U-21 team, I was impressed with some of the stuff they unveiled and it really showed the depth of the Japanese team as a whole. Some of those guys will definitely climb up the rankings during the next couple of years.
Since yesterday was a lighter training day, I took them out for a quick tour of the Stanford campus before they headed out to the outlets in Gilroy (about an hour south of Stanford). For those of you that don’t know, there’s a custom of buying gifts in Japan, hence their itinerary involves a lot of shopping so that they could buy things for their friends and families back in the homeland.
As an “ambassador” to the Japanese team, It’s been another busy week. I’m glad that I’ve been able to help out though. After all they did a lot for me while I was in Japan. Anyway, I’m hoping that they’re accustomed to the US by now so that they could compete full force this weekend!
Here from Japan!
After a 9 hour plane ride from Tokyo, the Japanese team got to the Bay Area yesterday morning. From what they told me, they used most of yesterday to go shopping and stayed busy in order to curb their desire to want to sleep. There’s a huge time difference between Japan and the US, and I know from going back and forth that it’s really hard to stay up when you’re coming to the US. I usually “take a nap” in the middle of the day and wake up, only to realize that it’s past midnight.
Anyway, they came to the gym today and we had the opportunity to train with them. Since it was their first day in the gym, they used much of the training time to get acclimated to the environment and to the equipment. Again, I know from experience that American equipment is very different from the ones they use in Japan so it usually takes a while to get used to. Regardless, they looked good and should put up a strong team for the competition this weekend.
Aside from training, it was great to catch up with old friends and coaches. In fact, I trained with two of the gymnasts while I was at Juntendo. It seems like forever since I saw them but in reality it has only been less than a month. Either way, it was fun to be able to hear about their lives and about all of my friends back at the university. It was also great seeing the coaches. In fact, two of them have Stanford ties. Mutsumi (Harada) helped coach the collegiate team from 2005-2006, while the other coach, Koichi (Mizushima), coached me at Stanford back in 1999-2000. In a way, it felt like homecoming.
They’ll be here for a couple more days before they head to Oakland. This time I’ll get to show them around as they did for me back in Japan!
Stanford Men's Gym 2010
So the NCAA season is pretty much in full swing right now. While I’m glad that I’m not competing every weekend (it gets pretty tough on the body), I do miss traveling to different places and being able to compete for your teammates.
Good news is, I’m not completely removed from Stanford gymnastics. This year, I’m a volunteer assistant coach for the team. Hopefully they’ll do well this year so that I could get another championship ring, but this time as a coach!
At this point, it’s really hard to predict who’s the best because it’s still early in the season. Plus a lot of teams have not put out their full line-ups yet and are adjusting to peak in April for the NCAA Championships.
Anyway, below is the promo video for the Stanford team. Check it out!
