WAG Riley out of Worlds

[GymMom4]

USAG posted that Riley McCusker has withdrawn from the Worlds selection camp due to injury.

 

[jennyj]

I was so sad for her when I heard about this. She is one of my favorites, I love her artistry, and really wanted her to make it after her rocky seasons with injuries.

 

[duyetanh]

Ugh!

 

[GymMom4]

I know!

I read a comment on a post somewhere suggesting that Riley be wrapped in bubble wrap. That's probably not a bad idea.

She is so amazingly talented. It's a shame she keeps getting hurt.

 

[notthatmom]

I saw that too. And I think some folks were almost expecting it (for lack of a better way to say that). With her injuries, and competing at nationals when she wasn't fully healed, it was almost a waiting game

Which is unfortunate because she's such a great gymnast.

 

[bookworm]

Hopefully Maggie Haney takes a look at how she's pacing this kid....training her into the ground isn't working so something had to give. Riley actually seems frail to begin with so rushing her back from injury certainly wasn't a help...

 

[cadybearsmommy]

I was so sad to hear this........I wonder if it's the old injury flaring back up or the new one? I wish they had let her have more time to heal and prepare her body with lots of physical therapy, etc. This is the first year of the quad, not the time to take chances. She could have sat out nationals and worlds this year and still had plenty of time to recover, train and get back to competition in time for nationals next year.

 

[gymcoach1]

Hopefully Maggie Haney takes a look at how she's pacing this kid....training her into the ground isn't working so something had to give. Riley actually seems frail to begin with so rushing her back from injury certainly wasn't a help...

I'm not sure if it was more Maggie or Valeri rushing her, he gave an interview saying how he really wanted her competing at championships. Or it could be both.

 

[l.c.o]

That's disappointing. Why do I not feel surprised? Poor kid.

 

[vagymmomma]

Who benefits most from this unfortunate occurrence (from a World Team perspective)? Will they go with another all arounder or a specialist?

 

[Seeker]

Who benefits most from this unfortunate occurrence (from a World Team perspective)? Will they go with another all arounder or a specialist?

They will likely pick the next best AA -- Thomas/Chiles/Hurd

 

[wandrewsjr]

All arounder without a doubt. No Riley solidifies Ashton's UB specialist spot, which in turn solidifies Jade's vt/fx spot. I think it's between Jordan and Trinity.

 

[GymMom4]

On Instagram Maggie Haney said that it was a stress fracture but didn't give more info about the injury.

She said that it was "nothing major" and that they need to call it a year and let her rest up.

 

[bookworm]

I'm not sure if it was more Maggie or Valeri rushing her, he gave an interview saying how he really wanted her competing at championships. Or it could be both.

Haney pushed Foberg to the point of not being relevant in the elite world so she fortunately had someone advise her to move on to college (not sure if that is actually a plus but at least she got there) ....So Valeri learned nothing from pushing Ohashi years back....and now he's the NTC, lovely...

 

[Flyaway]

It's unfortunate but sadly not a surprise. Haney definitely down played the decision on Instagram. I hope this year off is helpful for her as Riley's a beautiful gymnast when she's healthy and confident.

I'm crossing fingers for Jordan to slide into the World's spot. Region 2 doesn't get much exposure on the national scale so this would be huge for us.

 

[John]

It's unfortunate but sadly not a surprise. Haney definitely down played the decision on Instagram. I hope this year off is helpful for her as Riley's a beautiful gymnast when she's healthy and confident.

I'm crossing fingers for Jordan to slide into the World's spot. Region 2 doesn't get much exposure on the national scale so this would be huge for us.

Do you think she will actually take an entire year off? Out of the gym? If I took a year off from something I do not believe I would return. I read a study that indicated it takes anywhere from 2-8 months to form a habit. Taking a year off would be forming a habit of not doing gym. This time frame may explain why it takes gymnastics quite some time to come to terms with retiring from gymnastics.

 

[Flyaway]

Do you think she will actually take an entire year off? Out of the gym? If I took a year off from something I do not believe I would return. I read a study that indicated it takes anywhere from 2-8 months to form a habit. Taking a year off would be forming a habit of not doing gym. This time frame may explain why it takes gymnastics quite some time to come to terms with retiring from gymnastics.

Well, I really mean this competition season, and over generalized it by saying year. I don't know how long she'll take off. Maggie said on instagram that they needed to "call it a year and let her rest". So who knows?

 

[John]

Sorry didn't mean to imply you had all the knowledge. I gotcha. I was just wondering how long she would take off. This sport is so hard.

 

[ayyyrial]

Do you think she will actually take an entire year off? Out of the gym? If I took a year off from something I do not believe I would return. I read a study that indicated it takes anywhere from 2-8 months to form a habit. Taking a year off would be forming a habit of not doing gym. This time frame may explain why it takes gymnastics quite some time to come to terms with retiring from gymnastics.

As someone else mentioned, I don't know what the time frame here actually is, but there are plenty of gymnasts who have taken more than 8 months off of gym and returned successfully. E.g. Catalina Ponor competed internationally from 2003-2007, took several years off, and came back to training in 2011. I think Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman both took most of 2013 off from training. In JO, I know a couple of girls who quit for several years and came back stronger than ever.

 

[John]

Good to learn extended time off does not kill the love nor the skills need for gymnastics.