Torrey Pines. Rancho Bernardo. Mt. Carmel. The names in the gymnastics record book never seem to change, and longtime Mt. Carmel coach Monique Lamphiere-Tamayoshi says the explanation is as simple as the name on the coach's jacket.
“It has to do with consistent people doing it for a long time,” she said. “I think it will take (other programs) a long time to rebuild.”
Lamphiere-Tamayoshi arrived at Mt. Carmel in 1991 and immediately led the Sundevils to five straight CIF team titles. She now has eight championships to her credit.
In the 1970s and 1980s, coach Mary Daniels led Santana to 11 straight finishes in the section's top two. Similarly, Gail Scoggins helped Torrey Pines to four top-two finishes in six years during a lengthy run with the Falcons.
More recently, sixth-year Torrey Pines head coach Denise Sterger led her senior-heavy program to its first title since Scoggins' 1991 team, having groomed her stars since their freshman season.
Jessica Garrett sees no reason her teams can't be part of the list.
Garrett, a 2002 graduate of Vista High, is La Costa Canyon's first-year head coach, and her arrival could end a long string of staff turnover.
“They haven't had the same coach for more than a year for the last three or four years,” Garrett said. “The hardest part is keeping them motivated. Usually you reach your peak before high school, so it's tough to keep girls interested.”
For Mavericks senior Jessica Ardecky, that means a new face has led practice every year since her freshman season. That was also the last time LCC fielded a team large enough to compete for a CIF team title.
At the championships onFriday, the Mavericks will once again send out individual competitors but will watch from the sidelines when it comes to the team competition.
“Freshmen year we had a full team and qualified for CIF,” Ardecky said. “It motivates people to come out to practice. With the change in coaches, girls haven't been that motivated, because it's different every year.”
From a talent standpoint, Garrett believes there is no reason LCC can't compete with the best in San Diego. Scoggins led the Mavericks to CIF runner-up finishes in 1998 and 1999, and the program claimed a pair of CIF Gymnast of the Year awards – Bekah Skoor in 1999 and Lesley Ross in 2000.
LCC assistant coach Lindsey Newman, the 2004 CIF champion in compulsory all-around for Mt. Carmel, said the key is bringing talent into the program.
“It's about drawing them out,” said Newman, whose high school program was a self-sustaining behemoth when she competed. “I remember in high school, halfway through the year we'd be thinking about next year and who's in middle school that would be coming up and helping us.”
At the moment, the Mavericks can only dream of such a farm team.
“Most people don't even know we have gymnastics,” junior Kimi Kusunose said. “We need to advertise more, because people are out there.”
In the meantime, coaches and team veterans alike are enjoying what Garrett calls a “building year.”
Although Ardecky and Kusunose are longtime club gymnasts, they are the exception rather than the rule among this year's Mavericks. Loaded with youngsters, LCC's practice room might not be the site of the section's most polished gymnasts, but Newman says that with youth has come an appreciation for progress in the sport's more basic skills.
“They suck up everything,” she said. “When they get a new skill, they're really excited about it.”
It's that excitement that is forming a team atmosphere, even in the midst of a season when there will be no team competition for the Mavericks.
“We do everything based on team,” Lamphiere-Tamayoshi said. “They have to see it because it can be so individualistic. Just make sure they're pulling for each other all the time.”
For now, LCC is taking small steps, starting with one big announcement.
“They were shocked when we said something about coming back next year,” Garrett said. “I want them to think about long-term goals.”
It's the first time in a long time the Mavericks have had such a luxury.
