qa.html

<HTML>
<HEAD>
   <TITLE></TITLE>
   </HEAD>
<BODY >

<table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=450><td>
<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><font color="#3333FF">Q & A</FONT> </H1>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>Jeff Thompson:<br>Gymnastics Coach</I></FONT></H3>


<!--
<TABLE ALIGN=RIGHT CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH=152>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="schweiger01.jpg" ALT="Jack Schweiger" BORDER=2 ALIGN=RIGHT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><B><FONT SIZE=2></FONT></B>
<HR>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
-->


<TABLE width=25% cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 align=right><TR><TD>
<img src=Thomps.jpg alt="Jeff Thompson" width=144 height=186 align=right>
<tr><td valign="top">
<B><FONT SIZE=2><P ALIGN="CENTER">Jeff Thompson</B></FONT></p>
</td>
</tr></td></tr>
</TABLE>

<P>
<B>What are your main goals for the season?</B>
<BR><I>Our number one goal is to put a team together on every event, except the vault, that starts from a 10 value, which I don't think they have had in the past.  On vault we would like to get as many 9.9 and 10.0 starts as we can. We want to be competitive in the conference, because if we can be competitive in the conference we are going to be one of the top six teams in the country. Next I would like to be as consistent as possible throughout the year, and do routines that the gymnasts can actually make consistently.</I>

<P><B>What are the strengths of this team?</B>
<BR><I>We are going to be strong on the floor and the beam and we will be competitive on the bars. Right now our vault is our weakest event, but if the freshmen can come in and compete strong, our vault might be our strongest event midway through the season. Our kids are also strong academically, which is a great attribute to possess.
</I>

<P><B>Talk about your schedule:</B>
<BR><I>I think we have a great schedule this year. Our first three weekends are on the road. We travel to a very good Minnesota team, which is traditionally a very strong starter, and they almost beat Alabama last year. Then we travel to Tuscaloosa the following week and then to Kentucky. It's going to give us an opportunity to work out some bugs and some jitters before we open at home. We open at home on a Sunday afternoon against Alabama and if we can make our first meet against Alabama close and more interesting than in the past then I think it will make for a very exciting atmosphere for our first home meet. </I>

<P><B>Who do you look for to lead this team?</B>
<BR><I>We will look for senior Sarah Wentworth to give us leadership and to take this team to places where it hasn't been in a long time. Sarah was the top all-around gymnast we had last year, and we would like for her to lead by that example. She is a strong competitor on every event and she has worked very hard this summer learning some new skills. For someone who was the top all-arounder last year she worked hard during the summer to learn new harder skills. This will hopefully catch fire with the rest of the team, and they will see her enthusiasm and hopefully grow from that.</I>

<P><B>Talk about competing in the Southeastern Conference:</B>
<BR><I>You can't be in a better conference. What I was hired to do is to take this program back to the top, where they were in 1993. With the new staff we bring in a new enthusiasm and a new commitment to Auburn Gymnastics. If you want to be able to win a national championship you have to be able to win the SEC, so every team we compete against in our own conference will be a great measuring stick against the rest of the country. The SEC is so strong because of tradition, teams that are strong tend to remain strong or get stronger. Everybody wants to be a part of a winner, and the SEC is a winning conference.</I>

<P><B>Discuss your coaching staff that you have to assist you:</B>
<BR><I>I am really fired up about our staff. You couldn't find two nicer people than Steve Craig and Erin Gannon. That is where I wanted to start building this program from. I wanted to surround myself with people who are like me - good people who enjoy what they are doing. People who love the sport for the sport, and are willing to give every hour of every day to put this program back on top. In working with them over the summer and fall, I am realizing that they are much better coaches than I originally thought they were. They are both excellent young coaches. My wife is going to be a volunteer coach. She is a nationally recognized choreographer and one of the best beam coaches that I have been around. That gives us an advantage of having a coach on each event every day, so an athlete will never take a turn without someone making a correction or comment about what they have done. I don't think you will find too many NCAA programs with a coaching staff so deep. I think it is a great recruiting tool and it is a great coaching environment.</I>


<P><B>If you could coach any other sport what would it be? </B>
<BR><I>"Rugby, because I played that in college."
</I>
<P><B>What is the best meal that YOU can cook? </B>
<BR><I>"Chicken, rice and gravy, and the whole family eats it."</I>

<P><B>If you could be an animal for a day what would it be? </B>
<BR><I>"A Peregrine Falcon, because it is the fastest animal on the planet."</I>

<P><B>Who is your greatest influence? </B>
<BR><I>"Leah Little, Kentucky's gymnastics coach. She gave me my first chance to coach and now I have a head-coaching job."</I>
<P>
<CENTER><P><A HREF="main.html" target="_top">TABLE OF CONTENTS</A> | <A HREF="../main_afi.html" target="_top">PROGRAM
INDEX</A> | <A HREF="http://www.aunetwork.com" target="_top">HOME</A></P></CENTER>


<P ALIGN=CENTER><I>&copy; 1999 Auburn Network, Inc.</I></P>

</td></table>
</BODY>
</HTML>
	<HTML>
	<HEAD>
	<TITLE></TITLE>
	</HEAD>
	<BODY >

	<table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=450><td>
	<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><font color="#3333FF">Q & A</FONT> </H1>

	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>Jeff Thompson:<br>Gymnastics Coach</I></FONT></H3>



	<!--
	<TABLE ALIGN=RIGHT CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH=152>
	<TR>
	<TD><IMG SRC="schweiger01.jpg" ALT="Jack Schweiger" BORDER=2 ALIGN=RIGHT>
	</TD>
	</TR>
	<TR>
	<TD><B><FONT SIZE=2></FONT></B>
	<HR>
	</TD>
	</TR>
	</TABLE>
	-->


	<TABLE width=25% cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 align=right><TR><TD>
	<img src=Thomps.jpg alt="Jeff Thompson" width=144 height=186 align=right>
	<tr><td valign="top">
	<B><FONT SIZE=2><P ALIGN="CENTER">Jeff Thompson</B></FONT></p>
	</td>
	</tr></td></tr>
	</TABLE>

	<P>
	<B>What are your main goals for the season?</B>
	<BR><I>Our number one goal is to put a team together on every event, except the vault, that starts from a 10 value, which I don't think they have had in the past. On vault we would like to get as many 9.9 and 10.0 starts as we can. We want to be competitive in the conference, because if we can be competitive in the conference we are going to be one of the top six teams in the country. Next I would like to be as consistent as possible throughout the year, and do routines that the gymnasts can actually make consistently.</I>

	<P><B>What are the strengths of this team?</B>
	<BR><I>We are going to be strong on the floor and the beam and we will be competitive on the bars. Right now our vault is our weakest event, but if the freshmen can come in and compete strong, our vault might be our strongest event midway through the season. Our kids are also strong academically, which is a great attribute to possess.
	</I>

	<P><B>Talk about your schedule:</B>
	<BR><I>I think we have a great schedule this year. Our first three weekends are on the road. We travel to a very good Minnesota team, which is traditionally a very strong starter, and they almost beat Alabama last year. Then we travel to Tuscaloosa the following week and then to Kentucky. It's going to give us an opportunity to work out some bugs and some jitters before we open at home. We open at home on a Sunday afternoon against Alabama and if we can make our first meet against Alabama close and more interesting than in the past then I think it will make for a very exciting atmosphere for our first home meet. </I>

	<P><B>Who do you look for to lead this team?</B>
	<BR><I>We will look for senior Sarah Wentworth to give us leadership and to take this team to places where it hasn't been in a long time. Sarah was the top all-around gymnast we had last year, and we would like for her to lead by that example. She is a strong competitor on every event and she has worked very hard this summer learning some new skills. For someone who was the top all-arounder last year she worked hard during the summer to learn new harder skills. This will hopefully catch fire with the rest of the team, and they will see her enthusiasm and hopefully grow from that.</I>

	<P><B>Talk about competing in the Southeastern Conference:</B>
	<BR><I>You can't be in a better conference. What I was hired to do is to take this program back to the top, where they were in 1993. With the new staff we bring in a new enthusiasm and a new commitment to Auburn Gymnastics. If you want to be able to win a national championship you have to be able to win the SEC, so every team we compete against in our own conference will be a great measuring stick against the rest of the country. The SEC is so strong because of tradition, teams that are strong tend to remain strong or get stronger. Everybody wants to be a part of a winner, and the SEC is a winning conference.</I>

	<P><B>Discuss your coaching staff that you have to assist you:</B>
	<BR><I>I am really fired up about our staff. You couldn't find two nicer people than Steve Craig and Erin Gannon. That is where I wanted to start building this program from. I wanted to surround myself with people who are like me - good people who enjoy what they are doing. People who love the sport for the sport, and are willing to give every hour of every day to put this program back on top. In working with them over the summer and fall, I am realizing that they are much better coaches than I originally thought they were. They are both excellent young coaches. My wife is going to be a volunteer coach. She is a nationally recognized choreographer and one of the best beam coaches that I have been around. That gives us an advantage of having a coach on each event every day, so an athlete will never take a turn without someone making a correction or comment about what they have done. I don't think you will find too many NCAA programs with a coaching staff so deep. I think it is a great recruiting tool and it is a great coaching environment.</I>


	<P><B>If you could coach any other sport what would it be? </B>
	<BR><I>"Rugby, because I played that in college."
	</I>
	<P><B>What is the best meal that YOU can cook? </B>
	<BR><I>"Chicken, rice and gravy, and the whole family eats it."</I>

	<P><B>If you could be an animal for a day what would it be? </B>
	<BR><I>"A Peregrine Falcon, because it is the fastest animal on the planet."</I>

	<P><B>Who is your greatest influence? </B>
	<BR><I>"Leah Little, Kentucky's gymnastics coach. She gave me my first chance to coach and now I have a head-coaching job."</I>
	<P>
	<CENTER><P><A HREF="main.html" target="_top">TABLE OF CONTENTS</A> \| <A HREF="../main_afi.html" target="_top">PROGRAM
	INDEX</A> \| <A HREF="http://www.aunetwork.com" target="_top">HOME</A></P></CENTER>


	<P ALIGN=CENTER><I>© 1999 Auburn Network, Inc.</I></P>

	</td></table>
	</BODY>
	</HTML>