If you have any questions about a gymnastics move…There are links on my site to guides to certain apparatuses (bars, beam, etc.)
OR
I will post pictures as well of any leaps/jumps in my story.
"Stag jump," said a white haired man wearing a red, white, and blue jumpsuit. "Make sure you point your toes. At the Olympics, they'll be looking for every little mistake."
The pink haired young lady on the beam hesitated only a moment before executing said move, making sure to point her toes, arch her back, and tilt her head. As she landed, the man yelled, "Perfect, Sakura! Alright, I think we're done with the beam for today. Go work on the new dance elements in your floor routine."
Sakura jumped off the balance beam to stand in front of her coach, "Alright, but I might need you to check out my vault. I think I might raise the difficulty on it, since I'm not exactly sure my Yurchenko 1 ½ will clench my spot on the Olympic team if vault ends up being my last shot."
"Good idea. I'll be working with Hinata on her beam, but just call my attention if you need it." Kakashi said to the small girl before he called another violet haired girl from across the gym, "Hinata! Let's work on your Balance Beam routine!"
Hinata jogged to the beam and gave Sakura a wink, before climbing onto the beam where Sakura had previously been. Hinata was 4'9 and only 90 pounds. She was known for her graceful and beautifully executed routines on the floor. She always focuses more on the dance elements of her routine, unlike most gymnasts who focus on their tumbling passes. She had aristocratic features that fit perfectly into her pale, soft face. Her eyes were the color of lavender and waist-length violet hair that was always braided to her head in an elegant crown braid. She wore a long-sleeved teal leotard with white and silver decorations at the neckline.
Sakura stuck her tongue out and gave her thumbs up, before she turned and walked away. As she made her way over to the floor area, she was stopped by her best friend, Ino Yamanaka. "Hey, have you noticed how uptight Kakashi is being about our weak apparatuses? I mean, while you were doing your ring leap on the balance beam, he was practically screaming about how your toes weren't pointed! The ring leap is practically yours, because of how you've perfected it. I can't even do it like you can, but when I do it, he never yells."
Ino was a sexy girl, with an equally as sexy attitude, which always showed when she strutted across the beam during her routine. She was just brushing the height of 5'1, and only weighed 99 pounds. Ino had blond hair that she wore in a ponytail with 2 complex French braids while in the gym. Ino's eyes were a deep, ocean blue that made you feel that if you looked long enough you could get lost in them. Today, she wore a purple and pink long sleeved leotard with sparkles framing the neckline. As always, she looked like she had just stepped off the runway, instead of off the uneven bars.
Sakura, on the other hand, was the total opposite of Ino in personality. Sakura was a very strong willed person. She was 4'9 and weighed 94 pounds. Her hair was an unusual shade of light pink. She kept the mid-shoulder length locks in a ponytail with a French braid to hold her bangs. Her eyes were the most gorgeous shade of green and she was currently wearing an emerald green leotard with black sleeves to compliment them.
"Ino, he's probably a bit harder on me about my beam routine, because he knows that you could easily clench your spot on the Olympic team with your beam routine, but for me, it's the total opposite. Everything needs to be perfect on my beam, including moves that I've already pretty much perfected." Sakura explained.
"I guess you're right. I'm waiting to work on bars, so I can help you with your floor routine. You know just throw out some pointers here and there." Ino said.
"That would be really helpful, considering my mother added new dance elements in last night." Sakura said with a sigh.
"Does Tsunade ever give you a break? I mean, you're at the gym 9 hours a day, but she decides to bring you back 3 nights out of the week!" Ino exclaimed.
"She just wants me to be the best gymnast I can be." Sakura said with a smile, "I appreciate that she wants to be by my side the whole ride to the Olympics."
"I kind of wish my dad didn't think gymnastics was a waste of time, so he could do what your mom does for you. But, I'll prove him wrong when I bring home the gold on balance beam." Ino said with determination in her eyes.
Sakura smiled at her best friend, until a flash of red and black caught her eye.
Tenten was the national champion for the USA and easily one of the best gymnasts in the world. At the moment, she was running at full speed towards the vault. Tenten was the tallest of the 4 best friends. She was 5'2 and 114 pounds. She had long brown hair that you rarely saw in anything but the 2 distinct buns she kept on the top of her head. Her eyes were a deep, chocolate brown. Tenten was currently wearing a red and black leotard with a gold swirl that curled at the neckline.
"Looks like Tenten is still trying to land that Front handspring, double front on the vault. If she actually perfects that move, the gold for vault is hers." Sakura said, watching Tenten fall forwards on the landing.
"I don't understand why she wants that move, her vault is already at an E difficulty level, but she just had to go for the hardest vault in history." Ino said with a shake of her head, then a smile broke out on her face, "But, I hope she ends up perfecting it, she needs to prove to all those foster parents that dumped her on the street that they made the biggest mistakes of their lives."
"Well, they'll never get her back. She lives with me and my mother now and I've never seen her happier. My mother helped Tenten with her floor last night too." Sakura said.
"Girls! Stop gossiping and get moving. Olympic trials are 2 weeks away and not one of you has a routine so perfect that you don't need to practice anymore!" Kakashi yelled from across the gym.
Ino and Sakura shared a look and then they ran to the floor area and got to work.
"So will you be able to make Olympic Trials?" Sakura asked her boyfriend of 3 years, Sasuke Uchiha. "I know you're always crazy busy, but it never hurts to ask."
"I'll try, but as you know, the company is working on a huge project. But, even if I don't make it, I'll be with you the whole time." Sasuke answered.
"I understand." Sakura said, trying to hide her disappointment. "Well, lunch break is almost over. I can't be late, Kakashi has been up our butts about everything lately and I don't want to give him another reason to yell at me, so I'll call you later." She explained as she stood up and threw her trash away before giving him a chaste kiss on his lips.
Sasuke left a tip on the table before turning to her, "Alright, look. Don't be down about this. If I can make it, I'll be right there in the stands cheering you on." He said trying to console her. "I'll see you later."
They both walked out of the restaurant at the same time, but they walked different ways.
"I still don't understand how you're so good at the bars," Ino complained as she rubbed the chalk in between her purple grips.
"Ino, me on bars is the same as you on beam. It just comes naturally," Sakura explained as she watched Hinata dance and leap across the floor. "Do you honestly want my help with your bar routine or do you just want to gossip because I seriously need to work on my vault."
"No! I'm serious about this. I probably won't medal on the bars but with your help…maybe I'll raise my chances at an all-around medal. So…What's a good mount that's not too hard but not too easy?" Ino said with determination in her blue eyes.
"Alright. Well, for you…I'm thinking a jump to clear support and a clear hip circle with a half turn. But, to execute this move correctly, you'll need a springboard, because we're doing this on the high bar," Sakura said in a tone that left no room for anything less than business. "Do you need me to do it first, so you can get an idea?"
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Is this a level D mount?" Ino said with a bit of uncertainty swimming through her blue orbs.
"Yep," Sakura said as she ran to get a spring board, "but don't worry about that."
Sakura placed the spring board in front of the high bar, jumped on it a couple times for good measure, and then walked a couple feet back to get a good running start. She took off at a sprint before jumping to grab the high bar, before swinging up to hit the bar with her hips. She pushed up and straightened her arms into a handstand, stayed there for a moment more, and then dropped back down to the floor.
"The key is to keep your elbows by your ears and to permanently point your toes," Sakura said as she clapped her hands together to shake the chalk off. Sakura was a gymnast who didn't use grips; she loved the feel of the bars on her hands.
"Here I go!" Ino said before she mimicked the mount exactly.
"Damn, even I couldn't do that move on the first try. Good job, pig!" Sakura said, not hiding how impressed she was with her best friend.
"Yeah, but that's just the beginning of the routine," Ino said with a sigh.
"Well, it's 4:52 and I'm not staying late today just for my mom to bring me back. So, let's go pack up, get a smoothie, and go home." Sakura said with a smile.
"I like that idea!" Ino replied, before turning to yell across the gym, "Hinata. Tenten. Either of you up for smoothies?"
Tenten who was already packed up and walking towards them gave a relieved sigh before replying, "You don't know how good that sounds right now."
"I do," Hinata shouted. She was sitting on the floor outside the storage room that they kept their stuff in putting her sweatpants and shoes on, before taking her hair down. "I've been working non-stop all day, and I need some SERIOUS kick-back time with my girls."
"Well, why are we sitting around talking about it? I'm starting to hear my strawberry smoothie call for me," Sakura said with a laugh.
Good idea?
Bad idea?
Needs work?
Comments? Questions? Heartaches? Heartbreaks?
Review, I need all the help I can get!