Miles Avery Voted 2008 USA Gymnastics Coach of the Year – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
COLUMBUS, Ohio Miles Avery, Ohio State men’s gymnastics head coach and personal coach for Paul and Morgan Hamm and Blaine Wilson, was awarded the 2008 USA Gymnastics Coach of the Year honor after a vote by his peers at the 2008 VISA Championships last weekend in Houston.
“It’s a real honor when your peers vote on an award like this,” Avery, a native of Philadelphia, said. “It is humbling to have them recognize the hard work I’ve put and shows that your guys are doing well.”
Aside from coaching the Buckeyes to their 22nd-consecutive Top 3 finish in the Big Ten in 2008, Avery spent the year working to get the Hamm twins back to world-class caliber after they took two and a half years off from the sport to finish their undergraduate degrees at Ohio State.
Since returning to national competition in February, Paul collected three-consecutive all-around titles at USA Gymnastics’ Winter Cup Challenge (Feb. 9), Tyson American Cup (March 1) and the Pacific Rim Championships (March 28). He was named Sportsman of the Year at the VISA championships last weekend.
Despite breaking the fourth metacarpal of his right hand during his parallel bars set last Thursday, the 2004 Olympic all-around champion held a large lead in the all-around competition at the end of the first day with a score of 93.45. Now Avery and Paul take on the challenge of getting healthy in time for the U.S. Olympic training camp.
Morgan, whose return in 2008 was delayed because of injury, proved his worth at the VISA championships, capturing his third-career floor national title with a score of 31.35 last Saturday. In addition to the win, he noted third-place finishes on vault (t-32.1) and high bar (30.1), advancing him to the U.S. Olympic Trials June 19-22 in Philadelphia.
Also working with Avery in Columbus this past year was three-time Olympian and former Buckeye Blaine Wilson. Wilson, who was a Buckeye from 1994-97 when Avery served as an assistant coach, paired with his collegiate coach once again, making the U.S. Senior National Team at the Winter Cup Challenge Feb. 9 with four Top 10 finishes.
Wilson had a strong showing at the national team’s dual vs. Canada, registering three Top 3 finishes at the international meet Feb. 22. The 33 year-old Columbus native’s run to a historic fourth Olympics was cut short at the championships last Thursday when he announced his retirement from the sport after two rotations.
A native of Philadelphia, Avery served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Team in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Those squads posted the U.S.’s highest finishes in a full, non-boycotted Olympics, including garnering a team silver medal in Athens in 2004. Three members of the 2004 Olympic Team, Paul and Morgan Hamm and Wilson, as well as team alternate and former Buckeye Raj Bhavsar (2000-03), trained with Avery in Columbus leading up to the Games. Paul went on to claim the all-around title, the first U.S. male in history to do so.
