 "Photo: Lennie Mahler")
Thirty-three years is a long time to consistently do something and suddenly quit cold turkey. For Greg Marsden, this year will be the first time in his 33 years of coaching the Red Rocks that he will embark on the season without a captain.
But it only took one bad year for Marsden to re-evaluate the captain situation.
The Red Rocks performed well in 2007 and managed to gel as a team late in the season to end as runners-up at nationals. However, leadership was mercilessly pushed onto then-senior and captain Nicolle Ford.
"Everybody abdicated their responsibilities to provide some leadership to her," Marsden said. "(Ford) was overwhelmed because everybody else walked away from (leadership)."
Normally the team elects a captain before the season begins. Marsden has had as many as three captains on a team at one time. This year, he decided to wait a while to elect a captain to see if a natural leader emerged.
Eventually, the team decided that a captain-by-committee system was the best solution.
Marsden said that the gymnasts began stepping up in different situations when leadership was needed. After a while, the feeling caught on.
"I had totally forgot that we didn't have a captain because everyone has done such a good job," Utah junior Kristina Baskett said.
The 2007 team struggled with chemistry, but the new leadership model has fostered growth. Leadership is expected of every Utah teammate.
"We have 13 captains this year," Marsden said. "So many people have matured and are doing a much better job accepting responsibility."
While preparing for the 2008 campaign, senior Ashley Postell readied herself to become captain if necessary. It is usually commonplace for seniors to dominate the captain position in most sports, and Utah gymnastics is no exception.
In 2006, Kristen Riffanacht guided the team as a senior with Ford helping as a junior. Riffanacht co-captained in 2005 as a junior with senior Annabeth Eberle. Melissa Vituj provided leadership as a senior captain in 2004 with Eberle helping her.
Nevertheless, Postell has no regrets with the captain-less system.
"It takes the pressure off of everyone," Postell said. "The team's doing really good without (a captain)."
Captain or no, Marsden is ecstatic about the health of his team heading into the first regular season meet.
"This is as healthy as I can remember being in recent years going into the season," he said.
Marsden said a couple early injuries have put a gymnast or two behind schedule, but everyone is capable of competing.
Notes: The Red Rocks have opened their season with UCLA for the past five years and planned to again this season. Marsden said that he had the meet scheduled for Jan. 6, but due to a miscommunication, UCLA had the meet penciled in for Jan. 13. By the time the mistake was discovered, Utah had a Jan. 11 date set with Georgia.
j.gilbert@chronicle.utah.edu
