I was watching these girls during the qualifiers and they just seem like a group of “mean girls” to me. At one point, they were walking along in a line and, when encountering another country’s team walking next to them but going in the opposite direction, Team USA all turned and glared over their shoulders at them. Me-OW! I Googled it and, sure enough, found articles about infighting and general Queen Bee meowyness among the team members.
So, they may be technically elite but these aren’t the cute Mary Lou Retton or Shawn Johnson types we’ve always admired. As a little girl, I remember looking up to Nadia Comaneci and Dorothy Hamill. I’m glad we had them rather than a bunch like this.
I didn’t find this as amusing as the author did. It was funny that they were moving their bodies along with their daughter. My kids are divers and sometimes I do this even when I absolutely am trying not to. It’s just an unconscious reaction — you’re trying to give them that extra height, or push, or flip or whatever. On the other hand, the completely stern expression on mom’s face as she barks out her commands here make me wonder how many hours Aly Reisman has had to listen to this. Mom is not the coach. Mom cannot and could not ever do any of these things nor is she an expert. I can tell you that in diving, if you’re yelling out things to your kids, even unconsciously, a coach is going to come over and tell you to shut up or move far away. (Admittedly Aly could not actually hear her mom, but I’ll bet you plenty of times she could.)
I was watching these girls during the qualifiers and they just seem like a group of “mean girls” to me. At one point, they were walking along in a line and, when encountering another country’s team walking next to them but going in the opposite direction, Team USA all turned and glared over their shoulders at them. Me-OW! I Googled it and, sure enough, found articles about infighting and general Queen Bee meowyness among the team members.
So, they may be technically elite but these aren’t the cute Mary Lou Retton or Shawn Johnson types we’ve always admired. As a little girl, I remember looking up to Nadia Comaneci and Dorothy Hamill. I’m glad we had them rather than a bunch like this.
I didn’t find this as amusing as the author did. It was funny that they were moving their bodies along with their daughter. My kids are divers and sometimes I do this even when I absolutely am trying not to. It’s just an unconscious reaction — you’re trying to give them that extra height, or push, or flip or whatever. On the other hand, the completely stern expression on mom’s face as she barks out her commands here make me wonder how many hours Aly Reisman has had to listen to this. Mom is not the coach. Mom cannot and could not ever do any of these things nor is she an expert. I can tell you that in diving, if you’re yelling out things to your kids, even unconsciously, a coach is going to come over and tell you to shut up or move far away. (Admittedly Aly could not actually hear her mom, but I’ll bet you plenty of times she could.)