In April 2022, it was announced that Kent State’s Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, affectionately known as the MACC, would get a long-requested facelift. It has been almost two years since the announcement was made, but in reality this news was a long time coming: the upgrade was originally requested over a decade ago. Through significant fundraising, and strong support from Athletic Director Randale Richmond, plans began to take shape for the renovated gym in 2023.
The more often the topic of a renovated gym came up in athletic department meetings, the more those in decision-making positions recognized that, according to Associate Head Coach Craig Ballard, “if we’re going to do this we just have to do it once and do it right.” That included digging for an in-ground pit, deciding between potential layouts, as well as a fresh coat of white paint. Staying true to the saying “measure twice, cut once,” the detailed planning made the physical renovations much easier – the work was done, from start to finish, during the summer of 2023. Ballard added that, as summer training clinics crept closer and closer, the workers “probably got annoyed with us popping in every day and [asking] ‘hey, what’s going on today? Where are we at?’” With only two days to spare, every detail was put into place, right down to the music system.
Senior Kyndall Gilbert spent her summer in Kent, and worked at the first camp held after renovations were finished. Seeing how campers used the equipment was an educational experience for her. It allowed her to see how the new layout could be used efficiently before it was her turn to train on it. Fellow senior Kennedy Weinpert shared that the team received progress photos of the gym throughout the summer, and had a good idea of what it would ultimately look like. “As soon as you walk into a space like that instead of receiving photos over the phone, it’s breathtaking. It’s such a clean space, it’s so bright and welcoming. It’s fun to be in here,” she beamed.
For graduate student Karlie Franz, training in the renovated gym wasn’t even on her radar until recently. She had left Kent during the summer after receiving her psychology degree and waited to announce her return for a fifth year until August. She looked back on her first four years with the team and speculated what future renovations might hold. Her reaction to seeing it for the first time echoed the whole team’s thoughts: “dang, this is cool”. The team was finally able to share their excitement in early August, when they shared a video of Head Coach Brice Biggin throwing a front toss into the pit, earning himself a round of applause.
The pit was the first of two major stepping stones, the second being how the equipment would best fit around it. With planning-efficient training in mind, Ballard affirmed that having two vaults was the main priority of the new layout. Referencing one vault “that’s on[to] the resi and one into the foam,” his average vault plan takes less time to set up and work through in a training session than it did when the team had to work with one. Equipment for the leg events can be positioned so athletes can land in loose foam, including for newly hired Josie Angeny’s pet event: beam. Many of her assignments revolve around air awareness, working new beam dismounts for freshmen “where they can open up and see the ground.” Having the physical space to work upgrades has made all the difference, allowing for more pre-season depth heading into the winter and the year ahead.
Space had proven an obstacle with their earlier set up, especially on vault and floor. The old configuration had gymnasts starting on a resi, sprinting down the spring floor, then the vault strip, all before finally vaulting to a hard landing. Variables were introduced that wouldn’t be there in competition, forcing the athletes to adapt on the fly each weekend. On floor, tumbling onto the resi mid-routine would involve crossing the gym to tumble then running back to continue.
Currently, the two vaults each have their own proper runway. One is typically used for complete vaults, and the other lends itself to timers and non-twisting vaults. Across the gym, the new positioning of the floor going up to the resi saves precious time and energy for their historically deep lineup on the event. Training goes faster “even on big volume days,” according to the seniors, with Ballard adding that “it doesn’t take as long even if you do have a big big volume they won’t take as long because you can set up circuits and get through stuff pretty fast. As long as everybody’s moving efficiently”.
That sense of efficiency has helped the freshmen with their transition into college gymnastics. For upperclassmen Franz and Weinpert, the new gym brings a comforting atmosphere for learning and continued development during their remaining time representing the Golden Flashes. It also raises the bar for what the incoming athletes can do. Franz put it simply: “For freshmen, they’re comfortable in our pit space and they feel like they can learn new skills without holding back. It felt great to have those for them”.
The new configuration has lent itself to major upgrades for seniors as well, who have now been competing for Kent State through the entire renovation process. Vaults that once required driving off campus once a month to use local club’s pits can now be done easily, including a Yurchenko one and a half from Gilbert and a tucked Yurchenko one and a half from Weinpert. Gilbert credits the pits with helping load management on top of improving her air awareness, providing the opportunity to train higher numbers safely. “Today we did eight vaults on the hard regular surface, and I was able to go over to the pit and do a few more vaults without having to worry about the hard landings. If I had done eleven vaults with hard landings, I probably won’t be able to walk tomorrow”, she laughed.
The Golden Flashes will begin their season on the road, facing Pittsburgh on January 13th, 2024. They look forward to maintaining their floor dominance, and setting a new precedent as a team to watch on beam and vault. In preseason intrasquads, Ballard noted a total of 55 potential routines, with Angeny adding that 17 of those were on beam. All signs are pointing to a fresh team in the new year, alongside their freshly renovated home base.
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Article by Peri Goodman
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