Feb. 5, 2002
Leaving a Legacy
GW Gymnastics Team Aims to Win Fifth-Consecutive Conference
Title
By Greg Licamele
Theyre thinking about their legacy.
In the weeks before the first competition, GWs
gymnasts envisioned the end of the season. Head Coach Margie Cunningham
and her squad of 12 women held a mock end-of-the-year banquet. All of
the gymnasts stood at the podium and talked about pride, legacy, and
winning, allowing the emotion to wash over them.
Everyone, innately, has this need to leave something
behind, which is your legacy, says Cunningham, who enters her
16th year as coach, leading the last four teams to Atlantic 10 championships,
the most successful run in GW gymnastics history. Cunningham challenged
her athletes at the banquet to think about their goals for this season
and how they want to leave GW. Many of the gymnasts talked about one
of the few goals that has eluded Cunninghams squads: qualifying
for the NCAA national championships.
Its been the goal, Cunningham says.
We finished 17th nationally last year the highest end of
the year finish weve ever had. The greatest feeling was that we
knew everyone on the team could do more, so the athletes didnt
feel like thats all we have in us. We regrouped very quickly and
began training over the summer. We have four seniors who want it as
much as the freshmen.
The Colonials landed on the right foot for the road
to nationals by winning the 2002 GW Invitational three weeks ago. In
what seems like a tradition now, the Colonials were sparked by a perennial
star, senior Devin McCalla.She won the all-around competition at the
invitational for the second consecutive year, posting a score of 38.900
and winning the beam and floor exercises. For her results, she was named
A-10 Performer of the Week. McCalla, who is already a member of her
high schools athletic hall of fame, finished last season as the
15th-ranked gymnast in the country. She was crowned A-10 champion on
the beam and the floor, and was named Performer of the Week, a conference-record,
five times last year.
Shes a star, Cunningham simply states.
She just doesnt do something sort of. She puts
her heart all out there. In turn, shes a tremendous leader. Shes
not afraid of failure, but she doesnt want to fail.
Joining McCalla as team leaders are classmates Jessica
Mantak, Kelley Banks, and Jamie McNally. Of these four, Cunningham knows
they want to leave a legacy of success, which requires leadership.
We have these four that no matter what day it
is, well have leadership, she says. There are very
few holes with that group.
But for Cunningham and her student athletes, GW gymnastics
does not just revolve around the stars or the seniors. Its a team,
highlighted by seven Cs the gymnasts decided would
build a championship squad: common goal, commitment, complementary roles,
clear communication, constructive conflict, cohesion, and confidence.
Though they are all equally important, Cunningham says complementary
roles for all the gymnasts will help chart the character of the team.
We have people on the team that obviously play
a huge role, Cunninghman says. People call me about them
tell me about Devin, tell me about Jessica. That is a heavy load.
But what does that make up? 60 percent? We need 100 percent for us as
a team to go where we want to go.
Cunningham is known for her extensive team building
and communication exercises. Of the 19 hours spent practicing each week,
the team devotes three hours to talking, writing, thinking, and building
team chemistry. Cunninghams thick, white binder bursts with a
rainbow of colored paper on which mission statements, athlete reflections,
and communications exercises are inscribed. Theres a 60-word mission
statement on purple paper. Six team goals shine off red paper. One exercise
Cunningham conducted this year highlighted the complementary roles she
and her team expect.
We all sat on the mat and I said, OK,
youre on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Weve got a big
hole in this ship. Start bailing water, Cunningham says.
Everybody has a different sized bucket. If that person
with the little bucket says this is hopeless, Im not going to
bail, then in the long run, we are not getting to shore unless we all
bail.
This support philosophy that Cunningham instills in
her team is what she has experienced in her 15 years as coach. Though
she competes at such a high level, she does not have all of the resources
other schools take for granted, such as 12 scholarships. GW offers 10
awards.
The fact is that this is what weve got
and we work with what we have, Cunningham says. I still
dont feel like theres a ceiling at GW. I feel like GW is
an institution that appreciates excellence. Being at GW has allowed
me to truly develop student-athletes because thats what they are
about. Its not just about athletics.
For the gymnasts, especially the quartet of seniors,
Cunningham says they want to win and meet their goals, but building
leadership and academic skills are crucial to success in life. Excelling
in the classroom, as well as individuals, is just as important as performing
well on the vault or the beam.
In more ways than one, these women are thinking about
their legacy.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu