TOPs

The TOPS Program started in 1982 as a way to strengthen and add flexibility to young gymnasts and record that strength and flexibility and recognize and support those promising athletes who qualified for pre Olympic training. In the TOPS scoring system, there is nothing left to the discretion of judges. Scoring is based on cold, hard, reality. How many press handstands can you finish in one minute? How long can you hold a handstand? How quickly can you run 20 meters?

As yet a limited number of Gymnastic Centers have trained their staff in the operation of a TOPS Training Program and purchased the extra equipment necessary to facilitate the training. We at GCH are extremely lucky to be at that cutting edge of gymnastic training and conditioning called TOPS. Spearheaded by Jessie DeShong, the series of TOPS exercises and drills are an astounding, complex program designed to strengthen the upper body, and especially the abdominal - or “core” body area.

It was tiring just watching the myriad contortions and exhaustive repetitions that the level six and seven athletes were doing that day – doing their “core” conditioning – essential for events such events as beam and bars.

In talking to Jessie, the program has just been started and GCH is in the early stages of a Six Step Program. Here are the steps to the TOPS Program:

Commitment – The acceptance of management and coaching staff (and ultimately gymnast and parents as well) of the goals and rules of the TOPS Program.

Equipment – Exercise balls, timers, climbing ropes, floor mats, weights, etc. Some of the equipment was on hand, but a lot of it was purchased just for the program. As we grow and equipment wears out, replacements will have to be bought, and based on class size, additional equipment will probably have to be purchased.

Baseline Testing – You have to know just where each girl’s strengths and weaknesses are and how they compare to the TOPS National Averages. Recently Jessie has been testing each girl’s flexibility, speed and other factors against National comparisons.

Conditioning – Using the TOPS designed curriculum, the participants will have to be specifically trained in how to excel in each facet of TOPS Testing Program.

In House Testing and Competition. Similar to a gymnastic meet, with its floor, bars, vault, beam and all around, there are many more testing criteria of a TOPS Competition. Ten in Fact:

1	Shoulder Flexibility.
2	Right Leg Split.
3	Left leg Split.
4	Leg Lifts.
5	Vertical Jump.
6	Cast to a Handstand.
7	Press Handstand
8	Handstand Hold
9	20 Meter Sprint
10	Rope Climb.

State and National TOPS Competitions – Once in-house competitions have been conducted and high scorers identified, there are statewide and even national TOPS competitions that can be entered. The winners of the national TOPS competitions read like an Olympics Team press handout with so many TOPS winners going on to Olympics competitions.

“The state and national competitions are just plain brutal” said Jessie, GCH Coach and TOPS Conditioning and Testing Coordinator. There are girls at some gyms that almost forego meet competition and do constant TOPS training and testing. “They may not have the grace, coordination and timing for meet competition, but in the TOPS strength tests like Rope Climb and Press Handstand, they can be awesome competition-killers”. “At our early stage, it would be unfair to put our girls up against these experienced “TOPS-TESTERS” – it would be like lambs to the slaughter”. “Maybe next year, when we’ve got a year under our belts and have developed a few of our own “Hershey Hardbodies”, we will be able to compete and win a few events.” (I hope that’s what folks will call them….as strong and agile as they will be however, they may be called “JCLM – Jessie’s Cute Little Monster’s”).

2 ½ hr. program. At this point, I’m thinking that it will be offered at around $25 to $30. I still think that we would have a good number of gymnasts interested in the program. Time and space constraints make it just impossible to continue in the fall to incorporate TOPS with the regular meet training, so we’ll just have to see how many are interested under the new system”.

“However many enroll, I’m looking forward to TOPS becoming an integral part of GCH’s training program and taking a lead role in its integration and operation”.

(Hint – Nietzsche was the famous German philosopher who coined the phrase “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”) TOPS is that kind of program according to the girls I talked to.

“At first you want to do better than every body else here, then you want to beat your personal bests, then you look at the national numbers and just get sad, then mad and then more motivated”.