“Gymnastics: Sassa's hard work produces big results” plus 3 more

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• Gymnastics: Sassa's hard work produces big results
• Sports briefs
• Diamond Bar Sports Shorts
• CrossFit training featured at Spartan Sports

Gymnastics: Sassa's hard work produces big results Posted: 15 Jul 2010 01:12 PM PDT View and purchase photos By Gretchen Andersen Student Intern Katie Sassa has more than 200 medals, 50 trophies and 40 leotards — she knows what hard work entails and gets the results she deserves. As opposed to other sports when there might be an offseason, gymnastics is familiar to no such trend. Sassa, 16, of Harleysville, is a second-year Level 10 gymnast at Silvia's Gymnastics in Zieglerville. Since age 6, there has been no other sport Sassa loves more than gymnastics. Sassa recently competed in the Junior Olympic National Invitational Tournament in Dallas, Texas. Also known as the JO-NIT, the tournament is very exclusive. According to its website, only "448 athletes out of the almost 1,500 Level 10s competing at the State Championships level have the opportunity to qualify to the Jr. Olympic National Championships." Just how difficult is it to qualify? "If you have a bad day at Regionals, the next three after get to compete," Sassa said. The JO-NIT, though, is not the only notable competition in which Sassa has competed. She has traveled to South Carolina, Texas, Maryland, Virginia and more for competitions. In order to prepare for these events, there is extensive training. During the school year she practices Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., Friday from 3:30 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 1 to 5:30 p.m. The summer is even more grueling with four hours of practice a day, Monday through Saturday. Sassa says practice often begins with stretching, followed by warm-up and then 45 minute rotations and practice of routines. On those special off-days, Sassa said she enjoys hanging out with her friends, shopping or swimming. From May to October, she doesn't compete. Instead, she and other gymnasts learn new skills by practicing vehemently. Yet, when November rolls around and fall colors become more apparent, so too does Sassa's unwavering drive to win. At that time, she competes in meets almost every other weekend. Sassa's mom, dad, sisters, aunt and uncle often come to her meets. For all the traveling, helping and cheering, Sassa has her family to thank for their undying support, whether at practice or competitions. "They're always here for me and have given up a lot of stuff to travel. I like to see them there for me," she said. Sassa's favorite event is beam, of which she describes as "most challenging, and requires a lot of skill." Last year, Sassa was the 2009 Level 10 State Champion for balance beam. "I was really surprised, it was unexpected," she said of winning the event. However, coach Maia Mitova would probably disagree about the "surprise," due to Sassa's never-wavering effort. "Katie is an amazing kid," Mitova said. "Katie is a very, very respectful kid, very disciplined, she works very hard. Whatever she gets, it's based on hard work — very, very hard work. (Qualifying for the JO-NIT) was amazing for her. We were hoping she was going to make it. At her age, it's very hard. She's at the age where everyone is so, so good, it's very hard to qualify. We were very proud of Katie going down there." When she is not performing a tumbling run, powering off the vault or trying to stick a landing, Sassa is finishing homework for her high school classes at Souderton Area High School. Sassa is persevering in gymnastics and school for a college scholarship. Where does she wish to go? "Penn State," Sassa said, smiling. She has visited the school to watch a gymnastics meet and enjoyed the college. "Sometimes it's hard with homework," said Sassa. "When I have a big test the next day I have to go home early and study." But the next day she'll be right back on the mat. The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of MontgomeryNews.com. We encourage your feedback and dialog. All comments are moderated by the editors. We ask you to follow a few simple guidelines when commenting on stories on MontgomeryNews.com. 1) Please post responsibly. 2) Be polite. 3) Don't hate. 4) If you object to someone's post, use the "Report Abuse" button and we'll review it. 5) Users who don't play by the rules will be blocked and won't be allowed to participate. 6) Self-promotion of businesses or advertisements of anything for sale are not permitted. Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Sports briefs Posted: 15 Jul 2010 02:58 PM PDT July 15, 2010 Sports briefs LOCAL RiverHawks to host reunion golf tournament Northeastern State football will host its second annual "Northeastern State Football Golf Tournament and Reunion" on Saturday. The tournament, a four-person scramble with a 1 p.m. shotgun start, will be held at Cherry Springs Golf Club. The cost is $100, which will provide golf, food and beverage of your choice. Those not wanting to play golf can pay $75 for food and beverage. For more information, contact Kenny Evans at 444-3913, Tom Eckert at 456-5450, Charles Cooper at 458-4776 or Matt Hodgson at 444-3908. Cheer It Up! to celebrate NGD   National Gymnastics Days is Aug. 7 and Cheer It Up! is celebrating by having a "Cartwheel-a-thon" on the courthouse square from 10 a.m. to noon. Cheer It Up! will hold tumbling demonstrations and students will be performing as many cartwheels in a row for fundraising efforts for the upcoming competition season. TCGC to hold junior golf clinics Tahlequah City Golf Course will begin holding junior golf clinics on Tuesday. During the clinic, golf lessons will be free of charge if players buy a bucket of range balls. The clinic will be broken into two groups: Tuesday's will be for six- to 13-year olds while Thursday's will be for 14 years and up. Tahlequah City Golf Course plans on running the clinics until school starts on Aug. 11. If the clinic has early success, it could be continued after school starts with different starting times to be determined. NATION Warriors sold for $450 million OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – A person with knowledge of the agreement says the Golden State Warriors have been sold for a record $450 million. The person told The Associated Press on Thursday that Boston Celtics minority partner Joe Lacob and Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Guber won the bidding. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been formally announced. CNBC first reported the deal. Lacob and Guber beat out Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who had been considered the favorite to buy the team from Chris Cohan. The sale price breaks the record of $401 million set when Robert Sarver bought the Phoenix Suns in 2004. Lacob is also the managing director and partner at private equity firm Kleiner Perkins. Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Diamond Bar Sports Shorts Posted: 15 Jul 2010 09:21 AM PDT Beginning gymnastics The city of Diamond Bar offers beginning gymnastics class. The class is for children ages 6 to 10. Class will be held on Tuesdays from 3 to 3:30 p.m. from Aug. 3 to 31. The fee is $50 per five week session. Class will be conducted in the Oak Room of the Diamond Bar Center, located at 1600 Grand Ave. in Diamond Bar. For information, please call 909-839-7070. Kajukenbo karate The city of Diamond Bar offers a class teaching the self-defense techniques of Kajukenbo. The next session will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from Aug. 17 to Sept. 19. Class time is 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The class is open to children ages 8 to 12. The fee is $40 for the five-week session. Class will be conducted in the Oak Room of the Diamond Bar Center, located at 1600 Grand Ave. in Diamond Bar. For information, please call 909-839-7070. Adult basketball The Diamond Bar adult basketball program offers participants an opportunity to compete and have fun. Games are held on Sundays at Diamond Bar High School or South Pointe Middle School. They are played between the hours of 1 to 10 p.m. League fees of $360 include a minimum of 10 games, scorekeepers, and championship awards. There is a $20 per game officials' fee. Registration is taken on a first come, first served basis. For more information, call 909-839-7070. Adult volleyball Diamond Bar's recreational volleyball program is designed for those who want to get on the court and have a good time. Beginning players and experts are all welcome. A $40 fee includes 10 weeks of games. Games are played from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays at South Pointe Middle School. For information, call 909-839-7070. Women's golf The L.A. Royal Vista Women's Golf Club invites local women to join them for golf at 7:15 a.m. Tuesdays at the club, 20055 E. Colima Road, Walnut. For more information, call 626-963-3650. - Tyler Drohan Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

CrossFit training featured at Spartan Sports Posted: 15 Jul 2010 12:13 PM PDT Contributed Article Spartan Sports Performance in Thatcher features the CrossFit core strength and conditioning program, which is designed to elicit a broad adaptation response. Offering the program are Eric and Ashley Walker, owners of the business since June 1, when they purchased SimplyFit from Carl and Be Mitchell. CrossFit is not a specialized fitness program but an attempt to optimize physical competence in each of 10 recognized fitness areas: cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy. The CrossFit Program was developed to enhance competency at all physical tasks. Athletes are trained to perform successfully at multiple, diverse and randomized physical challenges. This fitness is demanded of military and police personnel, firefighters and many sports requiring total or complete physical prowess. The program is distinctive in its focus on maximizing neuro-endocrine response, developing power, cross-training with multiple training modalities, constant training and practice with functional movements and the development of diet strategies. Athletes bike, run, swim and row at short, middle and long distances, guaranteeing exposure and competency in each of the three main metabolic pathways. They are trained in gymnastics from rudimentary to advanced movements to control the body dynamically and statically while maximizing strength to weight ratio and flexibility. A heavy emphasis is also placed on Olympic weightlifting because of this sport's unique ability to develop an athlete's explosive power, control of external objects and mastery of critical motor recruitment patterns. CrossFit features compound movements and shorter high-intensity cardiovascular sessions. Lateral raises have been replaced with the push press, the curl with pull-ups and the leg extension with squats. For every long-distance effort athletes will do five or six at short distance because compound or functional movements and high intensity or anaerobic cardio are more effective at eliciting nearly any desired fitness result. The CrossFit approach is consistent with what is practiced in elite training programs associated with major university athletic teams and professional sports. CrossFit brings state-of-the-art coaching techniques to the general public and athletes who have no access to current technologies, research and coaching methods. Is this for me? Increased power, strength, cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, flexibility, stamina, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy are important to the world's best athletes and to our grandparents. The same methods that elicit optimal response in the Olympic or professional athlete will optimize the same response in the elderly. You can't load the elderly with the same squatting weight assigned an Olympic skier, but they both need to squat, which is essential to maintaining functional independence and improving fitness. Squatting is just one example of a movement that is universally valuable and essential, yet rarely taught to any but the most advanced athletes. Who has benefited from CrossFit? Many professional and elite athletes are participating in the CrossFit Program. Fighters, cyclists, surfers, skiers, tennis players, triathletes and others competing at the highest level are using the CrossFit approach to advance their core strength and conditioning. CrossFit has tested its methods on the sedentary, overweight, pathological and elderly and found they met the same success as athletes. If the program works for Olympic skiers and overweight, sedentary homemakers, then it will work for anyone. Visit Spartan Sports Performance, and trained professionals will provide a program that fits one's fitness needs. It's located at 2281 W. Highway 70, Thatcher, 928-651-6264 or 928-428-0044. Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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