Read Jimmy Wickham’s Online Chat with Fans – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Senior floor and vault specialist answered fans’ questions Thursday
COLUMBUS, Ohio Jimmy Wickham, a senior on the Ohio State men’s gymnastics team, held a live online chat Thursday to answer fans’ questions. Read a complete transcript of the chat below.
The Buckeyes host the Fighting Illini in their season home opener at 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at St. John Arena. The meet, a co-ed with the women’s team and N.C. State, will be OSU Student Night. All Ohio State students will receive free admission with a valid BuckID.
Wickham, a tri-captain of the 2008 team, earned his second All-America honor on vault last year, finishing third with a 9.25, only .05 shy of the title winning score. The native of Gulfport, Miss., joined Ohio State as a walk-on in 2005 and has since excelled on the competition floor. Wickham claimed the U.S. National title on vault in 2006 at USA Gymnastics’ Winter Cup Challenge and finished last season with the highest-NCAA average on vault (9.3).
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ohiostatebuckeyes.co:: |
Welcome to Jimmy’s chat. Please post your questions for him here. |
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ohiostatebuckeyes.co:: |
Jimmy is here so we will go ahead and begin. |
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Dan:Worthington: |
How can the casual fan spot the difference between a solid-collegiate floor gymnast and an Olympic-caliber performer? What should we look for that differentiates the two? |
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Jimmy:: |
You’d be surprised to see subtle differences between good collegiate competitors and Olympic-caliber competitors on floor. Men’s college gymnastics is judged by the same criteria as Olympic gymnastics. Look for clean body positions and more difficult combinations. Basically, Olympic-caliber athletes are going to look a lot more effortless during their floor routines. |
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Laura:Dayton, Ohio: |
What made you come to OhioState for college? Has it lived up to your expectations? |
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Jimmy:: |
OhioState has produced many U.S. National and Olympic team members in the past years. The quality of the coaches and the gymnastics made it an easy choice. There have been many great moments that have surpassed any expectations I ever had. |
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Emily:Cincinnati: |
Heard you took the GRE yesterday. How did it go? What do you want to do after graduation? |
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Jimmy:: |
The GRE went well. As of right now, I’m on track to graduate in the spring and I’m looking to find a graduate position where I can earn my master’s degree and coach as well. |
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Jared:Ohio: |
Is pommel horse as painful as it looks? |
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Jimmy:: |
Well, I haven’t done pommel horse since my freshman year but my teammates would say that it is a physically and mentally challenging event. |
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Tim:Powell, Ohio: |
With Illinois ranked higher than OhioState, does that affect the way your team enters Saturday? |
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Jimmy:: |
The Illinois-OhioState rivalry has been pretty intense the past few years. It’s early in the season so it’s hard to tell where both teams stand. We’ve only competed once so far this season; however, our team has a lot to prove this weekend and we would enjoy a win Saturday. We’ll approach this meet as we approach all of our meets and that is to hit as many sets as we can. |
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Erin:Cincinnati: |
Would you change anything about the way gymnastics is judged? Because in the movie ‘Stick It’ it seemed really subjective. |
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Jimmy:: |
Judging has always been subjective. The judges are as impartial as they can be. The best control we have over the judging is to not allow them to deduct points from us. Miles always tell us to be better than the system; the best we can do is hit our sets. |
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Laura:Cincinnati: |
How did you first learn to do a triple twist? Do you just have to face up to the fact that you may fall on your face a few times? |
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Jimmy:: |
It’s a progressive skill so there is a lot of training that goes into it before. We use pits and trampolines to help learn the skill. The first time you put it on to a hard surface it is stressful and falling on your face sometimes is part of learning the skill along with any other skill in gymnastics. |
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Cindy:Nevada: |
So, what was the best part of the team’s trip to Hawaii? |
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Jimmy:: |
The best part of the trip was getting to experience a new culture with my teammates. Plus, the volunteer work we did was rewarding. Getting to experience a pipeline competition was amazing. |
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Jeff:Cleveland, Ohio: |
If you could do anything in your life, what would you do? Own a baseball team, spend your life traveling the world, etc … |
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Jimmy:: |
I would love to attend various sporting events around the world, such as Wimbledon and the Olympic Games. |
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rufio:gulfport: |
Will you go to prom with me? |
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Jimmy:: |
Sorry, I’m saving myself for Maria Sharapova. |
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ohiostatebuckeyes.co:: |
That’s it for Jimmy. Thank you for sending in your questions. |
