Oklahoma has hired Olympian and former BYU star Guard Young as an assistant. He has been most recently coached at Byers. Former OU assistant Rustam Sharipov is now the Head Coach at Ohio State.
Link: OU Release
Alaska Anchorage has confirmed the signing of Sariaye Jensen, as reported earlier.
Link: Alaska Anchorage Release
Mckenzey Martinez, L10 at Magic Valley Gymnastics in Idaho, has committed to Utah State. Martinez finished 1st AA (1st UB/BB) at her state meet this season, 2nd AA (1st UB) at regionals and 14th AA at JO Nationals.
Abby Griswold, a L10 at Daggett's, has committed to Towson for the 2012-2013 season. This past season, she tied for 37th AA at the L10 JO Nationals, Senior A. She also tied for 42nd AA at the 2010 L10 Nationals.
Link: Confirmation at the Club's Booster Club Page and YouTube.com Videos
Towson has hired Becky (nee Robertson) Schaller as an assistant. She was a standout at MSU in the 90s and has been volunteeing at Towson the past year. She has been a club coach at Harford.
Link: Towson Release
Air Force has announced that eight gymnasts have accepted appointments at the Academy for the coming school year. They are:
Skyler Awisus - Reno, Nev.
Gared Chapman - Winter Park, Fla.
Gregory Chaput - Worcester, Mass.
Nicholas Gaudlip - Colorado Springs, Colo.
Corbin Palmer - Frisco, Texas
Steven Ramos - Broken Arrow, Okla.
Niko Schwab - Arvada, Colo.
Jon Spiro - Laguna Niguel, Calif.
Says Head Coach Kip Simons, "This is, by far, the best recruiting class that has been assembled in the last decade.... (Air Force) will take another step forward in the national rankings."
Link: Air Force Release
Nebraska Head Coach Dan Kendig has announced that Heather Brink will join the program as an assistant coach. She has been coaching since 2006 at Nebraska SOG, and prior to that at the Arizona Sunrays. The 11-time All-American and former National AA champion replaces Danna Durante, who is now the Head Coach at Cal.
Link: NU Release
Many believe the summer is a time when college coaches switch to lower gears. The regular season is complete and the student-athletes have headed home for a well-deserved break. Nothing can be further from the truth! Opportunity is eminently knocking and if there is a prime season for recruiting, it is during the summer. Below are some auxiliary tips to consider as you move your college recruiting effort to a higher level.
Bama senor Kayla Hoffman won the prestigious Academic All-American of the Year Award. She was selected from nominees from the winter season, across all sports.
Link: Bama Release
Towson has signed three gymnasts for 2011-2012: Janis Konkle, Lauren Ross and Diona Straub. The commits of Ross and Straub were covered previously.
Konkle is a L10 who trains at All-Star in Massachusetts. A National qualifier the last three years, she placed 51st AA at this year's L10 JO Nationals.
Link: Towson Release and Konkle's YouTube.com Channel
Sam Morreale has been named Head Coach at NIU, replacing Mark Sontag. He has 22 years experience as a coach, including the last nine years at NIU.
Link: NIU Release
Morgan Smith, a senior international elite and US National Team member, has committed to Michigan, according to her club.
Link: Her Official Web Site
Lexi Lajeunesse is a L10 gymnast at Stars Gymnastics in Houston. She has committed to Central Michigan University for the 2012-13 season. In 2010 she was 6th at Regionals with 2nd place on floor and finished 6th AA to qualify to JO Nationals.
In 2011 she finished 8th AA with a 37.475 at Regionals and qualified to JO NIT where she placed 7th AA.
Three time NCAA AA champion Jenny Hansen (Kentucky) competed two events at the recent Elite Qualifier. She's 37 and works as a stunt double on "Make It or Break It". See her on UB and BB below.
New Ohio State head coach Rustam Sharipov has named Casimiro Suarez and Paul Hamm as assistant coaches. A member of the 1980 Cuban Olympic Team, Suarez has been coaching for 20 years, in a variety of club, college and National Team posts, and was most recently at Orlando Metro. Olympic Champion Hamm returns to his alma mater, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2007 (in accounting).
Link: Ohio State Release