The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com ports Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 9A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 9A WOMENS TR LD - Wade's renewed faith fuels her track success Ultimate Frisbee club team hopes to travel to Nationals Sprinter's interest in nondenominational church helps her put sports in perspective By AMY SCARANO Daily Sports Writer A yellow wristband on her left wrist reads "confident," and a navy blue band on her right wrist reads "heart." Michigan women's track and field captain Bettie Wade wears the "heart" band because she gives it her all every time she competes, her whole heart is in the sport. And she stresses the need to be confi- dent in order to perform her best, a lesson she has learned after years of competition. For the senior, confidence and heart are just two of the key ingre- dients necessary to always compete ather best. But those she can find in herself. It took a few falls before she looked to God, but she hasn't looked back since. As a high school senior, she was the one of the top high jumpers in the stat qualify f she had was dev Shec states in she had tier. Anc the Nike the even m4 str "It k 'Wow, I my life,' myself u what, G never it you som or asked It wa ated the life. e of Michigan but didn't Growing up in a Baptist family, or the state championships Wade went to church as a child, been slated to win. Wade but the eiperience didn't resonate astated. with her. did, however, qualify for It was not until she and twin the long jump, an event brother Marcellus visited their learned just a month ear- sister Patrice, who was studying d later that year, she won college ministry at Grand Valley e outdoor championship in State while Wade was still in high t. school, that they decided to give church another try. "In high school, we always grew up in the church but we didn'thave (Track) has a relationship with Christ," Wade said. "But when my sister went to ade my faith college and got involved and we went up to visit her, we were like, onger,"W ade 'Oh, church can be kind of cool."' sad Fade withdrew fom the Baptist said. church and joined a nondenomina- tional one in college. Four years later, she wears a cross around her neck and relies on ind of made me be like her faith in God more than ever. can't control everything in "(Track) has made my faith " Wade sasid. "So I picked stronger,"Wade said. "With my ups p and was like, 'You know and downs and trials and struggles, od has a plan for me.' I it has helped me to lean on God magined God would give more. I'm just on fire for God right ething you never imagined now, where before it was just likeI for." was lukewarm. s then that Wade re-evalu- "But now I am hot just because role faith could play in her all he has blessed me with in track and field and just in life." After finishing undefeated in fall, 'Flywheel' beats cold by practicing indoors By JACK FERNBACHER Daily Sports Writer In the bitter cold of winter, fris- bees have disappeared from the Diag, but they are still flying around Ann Arbor. The women's Ultimate Frisbee club team, Flywheel, prac- tices during the entire academic year. The Wolverines started strong this year with a 16-0 record in the fall and won the Michigan Indoor Tournament in January. The players practice indoors dur- ing the cold months in The Sports Coliseum and at Oosterbaan Field- house to work on conditioning and improve their game. And it's that year-round dedication that led Fly- wheeltoafifth-placefinishatNation- als in Boulder, Colo., last year. "We definitely deserved to make it to Nationals last year," senior cap- tain Nell Turley said. "We worked really hard and earned our spot. The team came together and played really well at the end." Martha Carlson, who has coached Flywheel for nine years, is a doc- toral student at the University and traveled to Nationals in 2003, 2006, and 2008. "I came to Michigan for gradu- ate school," Carlson said. "Flywheel was looking for a new coach, and since I had experience playing in college, they asked if I would help coach and now I am still here nine years later." There is a club A and a club B team, with three volunteer coaches heading the A team and two with the B team. Keely Dinse and Janet Jin also coach Flywheel. "We have a lot of enthusiastic coaches this year, which makes a huge difference," senior captain Emily Baecher said. "The team is much more dedicated this year because of the time put in by the coaches. They put in more time then they ever should." Ultimate Frisbee is becoming more popular around the country,. and Michigan is no exception. Fly- wheel has a combined 32 players on the A and B teams this year. "There are only some people that have done it before they come to col- lege," Turley said. "Ultimate Frisbee is great because it is something that anyone can pick up and succeed in." Flywheel hastryoutseveryyear in the fallto findnewtalent.Tryoutsfor Ultimate Frisbee are different from other sports, because many people trying outhave never played. "Tryouts are really exciting," Carlson said. "We look for raw ath- leticism, and the people that make the team are easy to teach because they are excited about sports. At tryouts, there is a ratio of one per- son who has played Ultimate to six people who have never played." The Wolverines will be playing on the road for the rest of the sea- son. The next tournament for Fly- wheel is the Queen City Tune Up in Charlotte, N.C. on Feb. 14. Flywheel will play in four tournaments before sectionals, the first tournament of the postseason. Flywheel lost two of its captains from last year, including the third- ranked player in the nation. Even with the losses, the Flywheel cap- tains believe the team will again be a top contender at Nationals. "We played above our expecta- tions last year," Baecher said. "Now we know that we can play with the best teams in the country and want to be a top contender at Nationals." * From China to Ann Arbor, Xiao fosters champion gymnasts By COLT ROSENSWEIG Daily Sports Writer Over a decade ago in China, Xiao Yuan was a coach for the Chinese National men's gymnastics team. Li Xiaoshuang, one of China's most famous gymnasts, introduced the coach to a quiet, young boy as pro- spective student. No one, not even Li, thought the boy would amount to much. He had bad body lines and many bad habits, both of which boded poorly for his future in international competition. But Xiao, now an assistant coach at Michigan, gave him a shot. And this past summer, Xiao's former pupil, Yang Wei, won the all- around gold medal at the Olympics. Another ofhis former gymnasts, Oklahoma's Jonathan Horton, led the U.S. gymnasts to a surprise bronze medal in the team compe- tition while winning an individual silver on the high bar. So how did Xiao end up with the Wolverines? A COACH FROM THE BEGINNING Xiao got his start in gymnas- tics at 10 years old, and just a few years later, his instructors were already speculating on his future as a coach. "My coach said, 'We know, Xiao, maybe you're not a good gymnast, but you're a good coach,"' Xiao said. "They (knew) I was training more with my brain than my body." Xiao wasn't abad gymnast,by any means. In fact, he won his regional high bar championship. But com- peting against the likes of Li Ning, the gymnast who lit the Olympic torch for the 2008 Beijing Games, and Tong Fei, who invented the pommel horse skill that now bears his name, Xiao knew his future wasn't in competing for the Chinese National Team. When he retired from competi- tion in his mid-twenties, a coaching opportunity quickly lured Xiao to stay in gymnastics. Both the men's and women's teams from his prov- ince competed for his services, and Xiao took ajob with the men's team. Then, in 1994, a coaching posi- tion opened up with the Chinese National Team. Until 1999, he coached some of the top gymnasts in the world, developing stars like Yang Wei and Xing Aowei. In 1997, he even earned a Lifetime Achieve- ment award. Xiao met current United States head coach Kevin Mazeika at a high-level junior meet in Japan, and the two quickly developed a rap- port. And when Mazeika eventu- ally offered Xiao a job, Xiao, already thinking about leaving China, jumped t the chance. "I just wanted to find a different life," Xiao said. "The U.S. was my first choice." In 1999, Xiao moved with his fam- ily to Houston to coach for Mazeika at the Houston Gymnastics Acad- emy. But Xiao, who calls himself an "education guy," wanted to coach at the college level, which he believed would be similar to coaching the Chinese National Team. And within less than a year, Okla- homa came calling. STRENGTHENING THE SOONERS In 2000, Oklahoma coach Mark Williams was searching for a replacement for his first assistant coach. Williams had just taken over the program, and started to revamp, a year before. Convincing Xiao to come to Nor- man wasn't hard. But there was one major obstacle - Xiao struggled with speaking English. So Williams set up English classes for him and arranged for an interpreter to come to the gym a few times asweek to make sure they were on the same page. Xiao, along with Williams, played a crucial role in changing the atti- tude that pervaded the Oklahoma gymnastics program. "At times, I think the previous head coach had allowed for the bet- ter athletes to sometimes do less because they were better and could talk him into it," Williams said. "I just felt like if it was going to be a team, the whole team would do the same things." With the addition of Xiao and an Olympic hopeful, Guard Young, to the coaching staff, changes began happening fast. Xiao provided technical exper- tise that neither of the other coaches possessed and helped devise a tough new training program based on his experiences. A rookie coach might not have gotten away with admin- istering the strenuous workouts, but Xiao's track record convinced the gymnasts to give ita try. The results spoke for them- selves. From 2001-2005, Okla- homa won three national titles. And under Xiao's tutelage, Guard Young realized his goal of making the 2004 Olympic team. "I helped Guard make his dream, be an Olympian like his father," Xiao said. "I've been a part of his life in that moment. I think that's a great thing (from) Oklahoma, the best moment." COMING TO ANN ARBOR AfterOklahomawontheNCAA Championship in 2005, Xiao was ready to move on. He'd become friendly with Michigan coach Kurt Golder through competitions, and often went out to dinner with him when the Wolverines came to Norman for a meet. Golder had an opening for the 2005-06 season, and at Michi- gan, Xiao would get to try to build a team up to the championship level again. "Sometimes it's more exciting to be building a program to that level than trying to maintain it," Williams said. "It just got to be a time where it seemed like it was good for both of our programs, both Michigan and Oklahoma, to have some changes." Xiao's credentials gave him immediate credibility at Michi- gan. "It gives you that extra confi- dence in your coach," said senior Jamie Thompson, one of eight gymnasts who were freshmen when Xiao arrived. "I trust him fully. Whatever he says, you usu- ally end up doing anyway, and it usually works. Might as well keep doing it. Xiao is always right." He quickly became a team favorite for his technical advice and the strong bonds he devel- oped through his one-on-one work with the gymnasts. Williams said Xiao was always at his best working individually with a gym- nast, and he has continued that trend at Michigan. Xiao devises unique drills to help improve the Wolverines' technique on different events. Senior Scott Bregman said he's convinced some of the drills are made up on the spot, but they're so intuitive and helpful it doesn't matter. One of Bregman's most vivid memories of Xiao, who the senior calls the best coach he's ever had, came early in his Wolverine career during a rough day at practice. "He told me, 'When you miss a set, that's my problem. I have to fig- ure out how to fix it. When you hit a set, that's yours. You get to keep that,' " Bregman said. "There's a sense that he's in it with you." THE LAUGHING WOLVERINE Xiao constantly cracks jokes to keep his gymnasts upbeat, even when they're having tough work- outs in the gym. His one-liners are legendary among the team. Last season, the gymnasts designed a team T-shirt with apicture of Xiao's face, reading, "I Lika Dat." It was received with universal amusement, (LEFT TO RIGHT) Michigan assistant coach Xiao Yuan, senioriJamie Thompson, junior David Chan and alumnus Dan Rais. especially on Xiao's part. "Xiao is a character," Thompson said."He's always making fun of peo- ple, whether they know he's making fun of them or not. ... He'll just have little remarks, and if you're paying attention, they're really funny.". And as a coach, Xiao is an attrac- tive force for recruits. Sophomore and U.S. Senior National Team member Chris Cameron said that Xiao's presence was a major factor in his decision to attend Michigan. WhenXiao chose to add Cameron to his coaching group, Cameron said "it felt like I had won the lottery." And senior Ralph Rosso credits Xiao with muchmore thanjusthelp- ing the gymnasts with their sport., "Without Xiao, most of us would not be the gymnasts that we are today," Rosso said. "But most impor- tantly we would not be who we are today without Xiao's guidance over the last four years. Personally, Xiao has been a father-like figure to me ... Our private chats are something that I will never forget, and I will take those wherever I go in life." Still far behind Oklahoma's level of success, with the Wolverines Xiao has high hopes for the coming months and years. "We've never had a team win," Xiao said. "I think this year, we need to grab that chance. Don't let it go sliding away. That'sthe picture we're looking for. So my best moment is not present, it's in the future." 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