FUHS receives gymnastics bars

On October 17 an off-season club consisting of several members of the Fallbrook High School gymnastics team practiced on a set of new bars which arrived that day.

The upgraded bars will allow the high school team to host all meets scheduled for Fallbrook.

Debbie Mericle, who coaches the high school team as well as the off-season Fallbrook Gym Girls, used her credit card to pay the $4,000 cost which will be reimbursed.

So far the gymnastics team has provided $3,300 of reimbursement, and Mericle expects the remaining $700 shortly. “I’m really hopeful. I don’t see it not coming back,” she said.

Mericle began coaching the Fallbrook High School team in 2006 and initiated the process of upgrading the school’s equipment. This year she formed an off-season club which is sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union.

“The whole reason for forming a club is so the girls can get conditioned without paying the high fees of a regular gym,” she said.

The Fallbrook Gym Girls coaching staff also includes Heather Hawthorne, who will be Mericle’s co-coach when the 2008 high school season commences.

“This is a good program,” Mericle said. “We have 17 girls enrolled in the club, which is really awesome for an off-season.”

A total of 41 girls signed up for the 2008 high school gymnastics program. “I think these girls are very dedicated,” Mericle said. “These are not mandatory practices.”

Mericle added that some of the gymnasts who did not join the Fallbrook Gym Girls are in the Fallbrook Gymnastics Club and also practice during the off-season. “I think we’re going to do really good,” she said.

The Fallbrook Gymnastics Club competes in USA Gymnastics sanctioned meets and includes both male and female gymnasts. Boys gymnastics is no longer a high school sport in San Diego County.

The equipment renovation is not complete. “We need mats. We’re working on getting the mats for under the bars,” Mericle said.

The two eight-inch-thick mats would replace the existing mats, which are torn and taped. Mericle expects to have the new mats by the start of the high school season. She also expects to replace the vault cover, which is starting to tear.

Mericle also plans to obtain two one-foot spotting blocks for the coaches to watch the gymnasts.

The Fallbrook Gym Girls club began its history with a parent meeting August 29. The deadline for sign-ups was October 3, which was also the date of the first practice.

The girls also had an October 10 practice prior to their first session with the new bars.