North captains step up, Hirschs' to coach team
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Sharon Hirsch wasn't sure she was going to be coach of the Williamsville North varsity girls gymnastics team until the middle of July but that didn't stop the Lady Spartan captains - seniors Karen Hartman and Christine Wagner, and junior Sarah Mikulski - from performing their duties.

"These three have been absolutely incredible," said Hirsch, who is joined by Torey Hirsch. "We didn't have anyone to take over the head coaching position and these kids just kept going with fund-raisers and contacting the girls on team when the first practice or physical verifications were. I don't really know what we would have done without them."

Hartman competes in vault, balance beam and floor exercise, Wagner is on vault, bars and floor and Mikulski competes all-around. Hartman and Mikulski enter their third years on varsity; it's Wagner's second. Mikulski qualified for last year's Section VI Championships.

Other key gymnasts for North are all-around third-year competitors sophomore Sarah Carbrey and Torri Maccagnano and sophomore Megan Dressel, a four-year North gymnast who specializes in vault, bars, and floor.

The Hirsch's, who work at Greater Buffalo Gymnastics Center, have a lot of history with North gymnastics dating back to when they introduced the sport to the school in the early 1970s. Sharon was head girls' coach for 10 years and had a five-year stint with Williamsville East before returning to North five years ago as an assistant. Torey was boys gymnastics coach of Williamsville North, East, and South from the mid-1980's until the late 1990's.

They have a different approach then other girl gymnastics teams, focusing on giving gymnasts a chance to compete and building self-confidence and rapport with teammates.

"We give everybody a chance to compete," said Sharon Hirsch. "Our win-loss record is important but not our focus. We tend to compete kids even if we sometimes lose a meet because of it. For some of these kids, they won't have another sport that they can participate in at high school. We don't do any cuts. We take as many

kids as are willing to come out and learn. We want the girls to have an opportunity to try something that they may have not been able to try when they were younger."

A team goal is to score 150 points at a meet, which Sharon Hirsch said would be difficult this year because gymnastics scoring has changed. She said new scoring requirements are geared towards club gymnasts and many of her gymnasts only compete for the high school season.

Other team goals are to win as many meets as they can using all gymnasts on the team and qualify eight for sectionals.

"Torey and I are both glad to be back," she added. "We have a great bunch of girls. They're eager

to work. They stay later than required practice time. I think we're really lucky to have the group of girls that we do."

North 2006 Schedule 10-12 at Frontier w/Lancaster . 5 p.m. 10-18 at South ................... 5 p.m. 10-20 Orchard Park.......... 5 p.m. 10-21 Jamestown, Amherst 2 p.m. (non-league) 10-24 Hamburg/Sweet Home ... 5 p.m. (non-league) 10-26 at Lancaster w/Hamburg 5 p.m. 10-28 Halloween Invitational (Lancaster) ........................... TBA 11-4 Section VI Championships (Williamsville East) ............. TBA

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com