The 2009 Junior Pan American men’s gymnastics competition concluded yesterday in Aracaju, Brazil.  The U.S. contingent performed admirably as they brought home a total of seven medals.  Gold Cup’s CJ Maestas won gold on rings and silver in the all-around, pommel horse and parallel bars.  SCATS’ Sam Mikulak took silver on floor and bronze on vault.  The team, consisting of Maestas, Mikulak, Orlando Metro’s Jake Martin and SCATS’ Jesse Glenn, won the silver medal in the team competition.  The Brazilian team captured the gold as they edged out the Americans by a score of 253.95 to 253.40.

There was some speculation that the Brazilian team was overscored, but we think it’s more important to understand that the U.S. probably could have fielded four or five different teams that could have done at least as well as the team we sent.  That’s how deep our junior program really is.  Our boys represented well, and they are now much better for the great international experience they were afforded.  Another thing to point out is that all of these gymnasts, including alternate Sean Melton, will eventually be awarded full-ride Division I scholarships, if they decide to go that route.  Their futures are very bright.

Unlike VISAs and the World Championships, real-time media coverage of the Pan Am Games was non-existent.  It was rather frustrating, but we certainly appreciated eventual updates provided by USAG, Blythe Lawrence and Int’l Gymnast.  We weren’t aware of any real-time Twitter updates, at least during the men’s competition.  As improved as the 2009 men’s coverage was, it can only get better next season and beyond.

The 2009 Future Stars National Championships will be taking place on Friday, November 13 at the USOTC in Colorado Springs.  Hope to be getting some good updates from there, because the competition should prove to be interesting.  There are a lot of promising young newcomers who will be competing in the 10-year-old age division.

Anne Phillips had a fascinating interview with Jason Hebert, the head coach at World Cup Gymnastics in Chappaqua, NY.  Hebert, of course, coaches teen phenom John Orozco.  It was interesting to get Hebert’s perspective on what’s going on with his prized pupil.  Orozco is busy preparing for the upcoming season and is working to add more bonuses to his routines, which should enable him to achieve his goal of making the Senior National Team.  Orozco’s start values are now at least 16.00 on every apparatus.

The 2009-10 men’s club season is only a month away.  Two of the more prominent early men’s meets are the Valeri Liukin Invitational and the World Cup Local.  Liukin’s meet will be held December 11-13 at WOGA in Frisco, TX.  That meet usually attracts several high-profile programs and gymnasts from around the country and has an international flavor as well.  This season is going to be very exciting as we’ll be seeing the final swan songs for many prominent club gymnasts and breakout campaigns for our young up and comers.

Let’s not forget about the college guys.  GymInfo recently published their pre-season Coaches Poll. Stanford was picked to repeat their 2009 NCAA title, followed by Cal, Oklahoma and Michigan.  It’s all a crap shoot at this stage.  Illinois has virtually the entire nucleus of their team coming back, and Penn State and Ohio State have promising freshman classes to bolster their chances.  Rumor has it that at least one of the above mentioned teams will have a recent Junior National Team member enrolling in January.  This is going to be an incredible season!

The DTB Cup will be taking place this weekend (November 13-15) in Stuttgart.  According to the FIG website, the following American gymnasts will be competing:  Cal’s Kyle Bunthuwong and Glen Ishino, Michigan’s Chris Cameron, Ohio State’s Brandon Wynn and Illinois grad Wes Haagensen.  Good luck, guys!