Although the Terrapin gymnastics team has yet to break out of its shell, coach Bob Nelligan remains doggedly confident heading into the Terps’ meet Sunday at New Hampshire.
After some early season-struggles, the Terps have turned to Nelligan for guidance as they begin a five-meet span with significant postseason implications. Nelligan’s calm approach and unwavering confidence has helped energize the team and mentally prepare them for the stretch run.
Nelligan is in his 30th season with the program, and his understanding of collegiate gymnastics is not lost on his team. In talking with the gymnasts, the Terps’ reverence for their leader is evident.
“We look to [his confidence] as a sense of stability,” sophomore Brandi George said. “Knowing your coach trusts you gives you an added sense of confidence.”
Nelligan knows it will not do any good to put extra pressure on the team, and he has been doing his best to keep everyone loose throughout the week.
Even so, the veteran coach realizes the potential impact of a strong performance this weekend. The Terps have increased their level of intensity in the gym the past couple of weeks and are looking to reap the benefits of their labor.
“We’re trying to show the athletes that it’s not a panic situation,” Nelligan said. “I think [this meet] is real important to us at this point… We get a little bit stronger every week. I think now [the team] is saying, ‘Look, we know what we have to do; let’s do it.'”
All season, the Terps have preached a slow and steady approach, but now they are looking to put everything together. The Terps are still searching for the kind of top showing that has eluded them so far this year.
“We are progressively building, but if we just make a big jump and get a big score, it would really get us excited and boost our confidence for the season,” senior Gretchen Kittelberger said.
The Terps continue to add difficulty to their routines in the hopes of boosting scores, but they have focused this week on cleaning up their routines in an effort to limit the minor mistakes that have added up significant deductions this season.
“Even if we stick the landing, we’ve asked the coaches to say ‘That wasn’t good enough, work on this this.'” senior Lindsey Bonomo said.
For his part, Nelligan believes the girls have what it takes and he has made sure that his team is aware of his self-assuredness.
“I just say, ‘I put you in the lineup, I have confidence in you,'” Nelligan said. “I know we’re ready to go, now it’s a matter of transferring that confidence from ‘I did all that work’ to a point where it’s ‘This is really paying off.'”
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