Under guidance of local coach, Champions' Nakamori eyes 2012 Olympics
Nov 29, 2011
By Scott
J. Adams -
Sports Editor
MORGAN HILL
As Sho Nakamori sat at the edge of the Champions Academy
gymnasium floor, the walls blank except for the club
mottos and a sizable area dedicated to Nakamori's
success, he glanced up at the high bar looming to his
right and did not flinch.
That was, after all, the final event in which he nearly
ended his career two years ago at the Japan Cup in
Chiba, his mother's hometown. Nakamori tore an anterior
cruciate ligament in his knee during a dismount but
still managed to stick the landing, lest he cost the
U.S. Junior National Team points.
"I can't really describe how I did it," he said.
"Everyone was kind of surprised I stayed up."
Nakamori wanted to compete in the remaining upper-body
events but was held out by the team trainer.
He didn't flinch then. He does not flinch now.
Nakamori, 26, then shifted focus to the pommel horse. He
was reminded of when broke his left femur on this device
during warm-ups at the 2003 Pan American Games, a meet
he would wait four years to compete in again.
No hard feelings.
Then there was the torn bicep, the bulging disc ...
"I've obviously been through a lot in terms of injury,"
Nakamori said, breaking into a smile. "They were all
disheartening for a few seconds. But at the same time I
said, 'You know what? I've got to rebound. This is what
I want to do.'"
Nakamori's resolve to represent Champions and the U.S.
at the 2012 Olympics in London is as steely as the
titanium rod holding together his left leg. Life has not
been easy for the 26-year-old from Albany, but it has
helped shape him into who he is today: a member of the
U.S. National Team and an unbreakable, yet humble
competitor. One who vigilantly keeps his fans informed
of his journey through his
personal website and Twitter
account.
To say Nakamori, the spry 5-foot-6 son of former
gymnasts, Kazuki and Tamae, was born for his trade, with
all of its adversity and demand for precision, seems
insufficient, rather: "It runs in my blood," he said.
Under the tutelage of his father, Kazuki, who coached
the club programs at Stanford University and UC
Berkeley, Nakamori made the U.S. Junior National Team by
age 12 and was training for the Summer Games in Athens
by 16. He was slowed by his injury at the Pan Am Games
and failed to make the cut for the senior U.S. team at
the ensuing nationals. He had contemplated retiring from
gymnastics months earlier, though, after Kazuki died
suddenly at age 44 from an onset of a strep infection
related to scarlet fever.
"He was a huge inspiration for me," Nakamori said.
"Getting back into it mentally after he died was
probably the hardest part."
Nakamori has stuck to chasing his dream through the
guidance of Champions owner and coach Jinjing Zhang, who
knew Kazuki through the Bay Area gymnastics community.
Zhang told Tamae that if her son came to him he would
train Nakamori to do his best, just like Kazuki.
"There is some kind of connection, some kind of honor
between athletes," said Zhang, who won a silver medal
for China at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. "I never really
got to know his father well, but I really respected
him."
Nakamori began training with Zhang in 2009, following a
decorated career at Stanford that culminated with
Nakamori captaining the Cardinal men to their first NCAA
team title in 14 years. Nakamori had missed the cut for
the Beijing Olympics in 2008 despite making the U.S.
National Team earlier that year. That, coupled with his
ACL tear that put him out of action for a year, made for
another discouraging setback. But Zhang's coaching kept
Nakamori's competitive flame burning at the chance to
answer London's calling.
"It was a long road back. Every day was pretty painful
with rehab," Nakamori said. "You kind of forget how to
compete after being out so long. It was definitely
something I had to dig deep for.
"Jinjing really helped. He's a been-there-done-that kind
of guy," Nakamori added, his easy-going demeanor
providing a humorous contrast to his all-business
Chinese coach. "So it really helps to hear his stories
about his own athletic career -- the awesome experiences
of competing in the Georgia Dome and winning an Olympic
medal. It definitely is a dream of mine."
Zhang, 36, knew Nakamori possessed the athletic capacity
to turn that dream into a reality.
"It's more about mental training," Zhang said. "How to
deal with the pressure of big competitions.
"One thing to understand is, mentally you have to work.
You have to believe in yourself more than anything else,
even if the body won't allow you."
Under Zhang, Nakamori has trained diligently --
balancing time between gymnastics and his job as a
content manager at a start-up web company -- but also
very carefully. Liken his body to a fine-tuned sports
car that just passed a hundred thousand miles; another
breakdown would be devastating, considering Nakamori's
age. This is his last chance to be an Olympian.
"He'll be about 27 (for London). When I competed in
Atlanta, I was 18," Zhang said. "That's a huge
difference. It's just really hard to keep up."
But Nakamori has done it. In August he made the U.S.
Team for a third time at nationals in St. Paul, Minn.,
finishing 15th all around with strong performances in
parallel bars, floor, pommel horse and high bar.
"I told him, 'Good job. We did it,'" Zhang said.
Nakamori followed that by contributing to the Americans'
bronze-medal finish in the Oct. 25 Pan Am Games in
Guadalajara, Mexico. He was neither gun shy because of
his past injuries nor jittery for his first competition
with the U.S. in years.
"Sho thinks about everything he says and does
beforehand, making his actions that much more powerful,"
Alex Buscaglia, a Stanford teammate who competed for the
U.S. last year, said in an email. "He isn't the type to
just go through the motions. ... With that quality, each
day seems to be a growing experience for him."
At this point Zhang feels Nakamori has a "big" chance to
fulfill his life's work next year at the June
28-July 1 Olympic Trials in
his own backyard: HP Pavilion. Nakamori's routines are
challenging and crisp, his mind sharper than ever --
prepared for whatever fate awaits him.
He considered failure for a second. He does not flinch.
"That's why I train so hard every day; I don't want to
look back and regret it," he said. "With gymnastics,
it's not really up to you. If things fall into place,
that's great. But I just want to be able to look back
and say I worked as hard as I could."
 Scott
J. Adams
Scott J. Adams is sports editor of the Morgan Hill Times
and covers sports for South Valley Newspapers. Send him
an email. Call
him at (408) 779-4106,
extension 203. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Sho
Nakamori,
26,
preps
for
training
Tuesday
at
Champions
Academy
in
Morgan
Hill.
Nakamori
made the
U.S.
Men's
National
Gymnastics
Team in
August
and will
compete
in the
2012
Olympic
trials
in San
Jose
next
year,
hoping
to
qualify
for the
2012
Summer
Games in
London. |
|
|
|
|
|
Photo
by: Lora
Schraft |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Coached
by
Champions
Academy
owner
Jinjing
Zhang,
35, far
right,
who won
a silver
medal
for
China at
the 1996
Summer
Games in
Atlanta,
Nakamori
is
building
up to
fulfill
his goal
of
becoming
an
Olympian. |
|
|
|
|
|
Photo
by: Lora
Schraft |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Nakamori
practices
his
routine
on
pommel
horse
Tuesday
at
Champions
Academy
in
Morgan
Hill.
Nakamori
recently
helped
the U.S.
Men's
National
Gymnastics
Team to
a
bronze-medal
finish
at the
Pan
American
Games in
Guadalajara,
Mexico. |
|
|
|
|
|
Photo
by: Lora
Schraft |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Nakamori
on high
bar. |
|
|
|
|
|
Photo
by: Lora
Schraft |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Sho
Nakamori,
third
from
left, of
Champions
Academy
poses
with
members
of the
U.S.
Men's
National
Gymnastics
Team
during
the
medal
ceremony
at the
Pan
American
Games
held at
Guadalajara,
Mexico,
in
October.
The
Americans
won
bronze.
GRACE
CHIU,
USA
GYMNASTICS |
|
|
|
|
|
Photo
by: Special
to The
Times |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Locals combine for
seven titles at
Level 6 NorCal
Gymnastics finals
 Special to the Times
English (above), Coleman deliver state titles for Champions Academy of Morgan Hill
Natalia English of Champions Academy won a Child A beam title at the Nov. 5-6 Level 6 Championships in Oroville.
Posted: Wednesday,
November
16,
2011
1:41
pm | Updated:
4:00
pm,
Fri
Dec
9,
2011.
Morgan
Hill
Times
sports
staff
OROVILLE
Natalia English and Annika Coleman won state titles for Champions Academy of Morgan Hill at the Nov. 5-6 NorCal Level 6 finals in Oroville.
English scored the highest (9.475) in beam as part of a fifth-place all-around finish (36.875) in the Child A division. English was fifth in floor, sixth in vault and seventh in bars.
Coleman won the Child B bars title at 9.25 and was fourth all around (36.325), placing fifth in beam, eighth in floor and 13th in vault.
Tiffany Zheng also represented Champions well, scoring the sixth highest (35.675) all around in Child C. Zheng placed fourth in her division in beam, fifth in floor, ninth in bars and 12th in vault.
Morgan Hill's Kiara Lyle of Airborne Gymnastics dominated the Senior A division, capturing the all-around title (36.975) and winning gold in bars (9.2) and beam (9.4).
Kiara's younger sister, Kaitlyn, also of airborne, shared the Child B vault title at 9.375 with two others and placed second all around (37.025).
Teammate Lindsey Hillesland, another Morgan Hill gymnast, won an all-around state title in Child E.
|
|
GYMNASTICS: Local boys team captures Level 7
NorCal crown
 Special to The Times
Posted: Tuesday,
March 29, 2011 12:00 am | Updated:
12:19 pm, Wed Dec 28, 2011.
Morgan Hill Sports Staff
LEMOORE
The Champions
Academy Level 7
boys gymnastics
team placed
first in the
March 18-20
Northern
California
Championships in
Lemoore, with
Bryan Miner
winning the
all-around
title.
Coached by
Jinjing Zhang
and Tony
McDonald, the
Morgan
Hill-based club
dominated Level
7, producing
four individual
winners and
three All-Stars
in Maasai Jones,
Aaron Baer and
Miner, who will
represent
Northern
California at
the April 8-11
Regional
Championships in
Oakland.
Garrett Perez
scored 14.6 to
win the high bar
title, Jones and
Baer were
co-champions on
floor at 14.85,
and Miner was
first on pommel
horse (14.5) and
parallel bars
(14.9). Teammate
Dante Gallardo
joined them in
the top five
overall, tying
Baer for fourth.
KyVon Hughes
added a steady
performance for
the Level 7
Champions team,
which worked
hard to build
off a
third-place
effort in the
Level 6 NorCal
finals. Hughes
was 12th
all-around
(72.05) with a
seventh-place
score on pommel
(11.75) and an
eighth-place
mark on floor
(13.3).
The Level 6 team
from Champions
was fourth and
will send four
boys to
regionals,
including
Everett Glynn
(seventh
all-around,
87.45), Giovanni
Fedalizo (ninth,
86.75), Evan
Williams (12th,
85.9) and Kyle
Miner (15th,
83.75).
Glynn, who
placed second in
Level 6 on floor
(14.9) and
parallel bars
(15.15), was
selected to the
NorCal All-Star
team.
Champions' Max
Glynn, Domenic
Zanotto and
Joshua Romero
qualified for
regionals at
Level 9, with
Glynn and
Zanotto
following in
10th place
all-around, and
Romero in 21st.
|
|
