Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Carly Dockendorf on the Red Rocks, NCAA Regionals on Friday, Postseason mindset, Living up to the winning standard + more

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Carly Dockendorf on the Red Rocks, NCAA Regionals on Friday, Postseason mindset, Living up to the winning standard + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

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  Speaker 1: Who you are about this.
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  Speaker 2: It's the Sean O'Connell Show. You were home of the
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  Speaker 2: best inside of your utes. Let's get back to oc
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  Speaker 2: from a Murdoch Chevrolet studio of ESPN seven hundred and
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  Speaker 2: ninety two to one A f am.
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  Speaker 3: All right, welcome back to the Sean O'Connell Show. Let's
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  Speaker 3: talk a little. Utah Gymnastics Number twelve Utah headed up
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  Speaker 3: to Corvallis, Oregon for the regional It'll be Alabama, Denver,
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  Speaker 3: Oregon State in the first session of the Corvallis Regional
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  Speaker 3: Semifinals coming up this Friday at two pm Mountain time.
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  Speaker 3: We're lucky enough to be joined by the head coach
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  Speaker 3: of the Red Rocks, Carly Dachndorf, here on The Sean
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  Speaker 3: O'Connell Show. Coach, how are things good?
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for having me on pump to be here.
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  Speaker 3: Appreciate you giving us some time. I know it's a
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  Speaker 3: busy time of year for you. Let's talk about back
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  Speaker 3: to back Big twelve championships. First, a really dominant meat
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  Speaker 3: for you and your team. Did you have the feeling
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  Speaker 3: heading into it that everyone was dialed in and where
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  Speaker 3: they needed to be?
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  Speaker 1: You know, we get pretty pretty amped out for the
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  Speaker 1: conference championship. It's a big deal. We never take it
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  Speaker 1: for granted. And I knew this team was going to
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  Speaker 1: be excited going in there, and so awesome for us
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  Speaker 1: to have it at the Maverick Center, which is, you know,
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  Speaker 1: kind of a home way from home for us and
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  Speaker 1: have all our fans there, and yeah, it was. It
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  Speaker 1: was such a great meet for us and a really
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  Speaker 1: good building opportunity for us going into postseason.
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  Speaker 3: So as you're building for this postseason in the regional
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  Speaker 3: and hopefully beyond, you're getting all these accolades coming in.
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  Speaker 3: All American nods are out Big twelve Gymnasts of the
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  Speaker 3: Year for back to back years. This time it's Avery
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  Speaker 3: and ne F. You're getting you know, individual Big twelve championships.
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  Speaker 3: And I know that these women are very accustomed to
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  Speaker 3: high level success, But is there any level of compartmentalization
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  Speaker 3: where you have to be like, Okay, this is great,
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  Speaker 3: let's enjoy this for now, Congratulations on this, and we'll
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  Speaker 3: ignore it as soon as it's time to put in
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  Speaker 3: the work for retails. How do you handle it?
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  Speaker 1: Well, I think we just use all of those accolades
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  Speaker 1: and you know, some of the big results you've had
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  Speaker 1: this year is confidence going into postseason knowing that we're
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  Speaker 1: so stacked on our roster with so many accomplished gymnasts
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  Speaker 1: and even ones that you know haven't competed this year,
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  Speaker 1: they have pushed the ones that have been and have
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  Speaker 1: made them better. So I really think we use it
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  Speaker 1: as just, you know, a little confidence booster going in
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  Speaker 1: and we're returning so many to postseason, which is huge
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  Speaker 1: for us. But yeah, lots of big things to be
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  Speaker 1: proud of this year, and we really feel like the
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  Speaker 1: best is yet to come still for this team.
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  Speaker 3: I was I was talking with Sammy Moore at Utah
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  Speaker 3: football practice yesterday and I said, oh, you know, coaches
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  Speaker 3: coming on, if you're in conducting the what do you
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  Speaker 3: want me to hear or what do you want to
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  Speaker 3: hear me ask? And she said, well, she said, you know,
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  Speaker 3: this is a team that's maybe not as heavily favored
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  Speaker 3: as past years, and I wonder how that's affecting them.
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  Speaker 3: Do you have any sense of whether or not it's
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  Speaker 3: weighing on your girls?
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  Speaker 1: You know, we actually did a bit of a deep
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  Speaker 1: dive into some of the data around our ranking, because yeah,
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  Speaker 1: on paper, were ranked twelve, and UCLA and Alabama are
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  Speaker 1: four or five. But when you kind of look at
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  Speaker 1: the data closely, it's a new scoring system this year,
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  Speaker 1: and we had a rough couple weeks in January which
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  Speaker 1: really hurt our ranking. And with the new scoring system,
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  Speaker 1: you don't get to erase the start of season. And
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  Speaker 1: so when you look closely and you look at the
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  Speaker 1: numbers of what we've been doing for the last you know,
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  Speaker 1: seven weeks, it is better than some of those teams.
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  Speaker 1: And so that to us is what's important because it's
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  Speaker 1: not necessarily what your team looks like in January. It
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  Speaker 1: really is what your team looks like going into post season.
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  Speaker 1: And sure, easy to say we're number twelve or the underdogs,
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  Speaker 1: but we really don't feel like that because where we're
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  Speaker 1: at physically and mentally, and you know, with our routines,
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  Speaker 1: we feel like we're as ready as we ever are
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  Speaker 1: going into regionals.
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  Speaker 3: So I'm going to do this is the most sports
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  Speaker 3: talk radio thing that everyone talking. We all lean on
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  Speaker 3: this like, oh, it's postseason basketball, and that's just different. Hey,
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  Speaker 3: football in the postseason, it's different. And then if anyone
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  Speaker 3: presses us and it's like, Okay, how's it different, though,
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  Speaker 3: it's harder to answer that question, right, So postseason gymnastics
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  Speaker 3: versus regular season gymnastics, we know it's harder, we know
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  Speaker 3: it's harder to win against elite competition, But can you
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  Speaker 3: characterize for me how the regular season and this regional
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  Speaker 3: or even the Big twelve tournament in this regional are different.
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  Speaker 1: There's just there's so many good teams out there now
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  Speaker 1: and so many good gymnasts in the NCAA that postseason
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  Speaker 1: doesn't allow for major errors and everything is on the
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  Speaker 1: line and every routine does count. In regular season, you know,
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  Speaker 1: if you don't have a good meet like you can
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  Speaker 1: still have the chance to you know, win your conference
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  Speaker 1: and qualify regionals. But when you get to postseason, one
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  Speaker 1: mistake no can cost you moving forward. So that's also
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  Speaker 1: what to me personally makes it so exciting because everything
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  Speaker 1: is on the line. You know, every routine counts, and
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  Speaker 1: that's how you get to the national championships and just
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  Speaker 1: by being excellent everywhere.
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  Speaker 3: The physical abilities in gymnastics fascinate me because you know,
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  Speaker 3: even if you're a great athlete, you still can't do
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  Speaker 3: what elite gymnasts can do. So the physical side of
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  Speaker 3: it is incredibly fascinating, but for me even more so
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  Speaker 3: the mental side, especially as it pertains to mistakes when
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  Speaker 3: they happen, like I mean, I couldn't even walk up
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  Speaker 3: and down a beam without falling off. I can't imagine
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  Speaker 3: a rehearse routine and then a mistake during that routine
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  Speaker 3: and having to pick it up right where you left
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  Speaker 3: off and having to compartmentalize and get rid of that
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  Speaker 3: mistake and execute the rest of the routine or the
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  Speaker 3: rest of my other more my floor exercise whatever. After
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  Speaker 3: screwing up on a beam, is that something that you
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  Speaker 3: coach that you have to coach the I guess handling
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  Speaker 3: of adversity and just like forgetting of adversity.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. And you know, unfortunately but fortunately for us,
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  Speaker 1: we experienced all that firsthand in that month of January,
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  Speaker 1: and some of those lessons like the only way you
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  Speaker 1: can learn it is by doing it. That's by falling
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  Speaker 1: a few times on an event and learning how to
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  Speaker 1: pick yourself back up and carry on. And it definitely
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  Speaker 1: is because it's easy to carry with you to the
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  Speaker 1: next event the disappointment, but there's really no time for that.
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  Speaker 1: So we did get a lot of practice so learning
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  Speaker 1: how to handle some of that diversity early season, and
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  Speaker 1: you know, we're just talking about yesterday, and I really
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  Speaker 1: feel like we're actually more equipped going into this regional
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  Speaker 1: than we ever have because we have had to figure
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  Speaker 1: out how to just move on. You know, that routine happened,
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  Speaker 1: and now I still know I can do my gymnastics
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  Speaker 1: and I go and in past years we haven't had
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  Speaker 1: to practice that as much. And then we go to
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  Speaker 1: regionals and often we will make a mistake, you know,
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  Speaker 1: and so then you do see our team tents up,
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  Speaker 1: and maybe you see some other small, little uncharacteristic mistakes.
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  Speaker 1: But I really feel like we have You've gotten a
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  Speaker 1: lot of practice at that early season, so we feel
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  Speaker 1: pretty good about knowing how to handle those situations.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I hope you'll forgive me for belaboring the point,
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  Speaker 3: But is it is it something that you have that
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  Speaker 3: you'd like spend time on in practice where I don't know,
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  Speaker 3: if there's like mental exercises, I don't know, if you're
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  Speaker 3: playing like self help books through the speakers, like the
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  Speaker 3: mental side. I mean, I'm fascinated with this with golf.
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  Speaker 3: I'm fascinated with this with baseball because these are such
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  Speaker 3: mental exercises in addition to the physicality required. But you know,
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  Speaker 3: everyone's watching and these routines. It's not like in football
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  Speaker 3: where if you're on defense, you got seventy five plays
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  Speaker 3: and if you screw up one, yeah it can be costly,
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  Speaker 3: but you got seventy four more that you can make
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  Speaker 3: up for that issue. That's not the case in gymnastics.
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  Speaker 3: That's not the case in golfer in baseball. So is
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  Speaker 3: there a method to that maybe you lean on more
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  Speaker 3: than something else in order to get over those humes.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, it really is. And you know, to
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  Speaker 1: be honest, when we've been in the final four at
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  Speaker 1: national championships, we haven't lost because physically we weren't prepared,
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  Speaker 1: you know, or like our routines weren't good enough. It
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  Speaker 1: was how we handle ourselves mentally and our focus maybe
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  Speaker 1: wasn't in the right spot. And it is. It is
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  Speaker 1: definitely something we spend a lot of time on, and
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  Speaker 1: especially at the University of Utah where you have expectations
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  Speaker 1: of making every single national championship, and you know, we
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  Speaker 1: talk a lot about pressure as a privilege, and that
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  Speaker 1: is such an honor to be at a program where
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  Speaker 1: that is the level of excellence that's expected of you.
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  Speaker 1: But what comes with that is, you know, so much
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  Speaker 1: pressure and how do you deal with that? And that's
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  Speaker 1: where we really you know, rely on our upperclassmen to
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  Speaker 1: help our underclassmen settle in with those expectations and our
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  Speaker 1: staff and we do a lot of rehearsing, a lot
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  Speaker 1: of practice meets and talk about simulating, you know, putting
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  Speaker 1: yourself mentally and the competition mindset of what's it going
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  Speaker 1: to feel like, what's it going to look like? All right,
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  Speaker 1: here you go, someone just fell it before you, and
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  Speaker 1: now it's you have to hit or we don't move on,
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  Speaker 1: And so we do everything we can. At the end
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  Speaker 1: of the day, I really think it just comes down
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  Speaker 1: to how much you care about your teammates and this
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  Speaker 1: program and what you're willing to fight for.
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  Speaker 3: Don't worry, coach, Your team, as you're well aware, has
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  Speaker 3: only made nationals for long consecutively, longer than you've been alive.
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  Speaker 3: So no pressure and then no pressure with that, how
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  Speaker 3: do you as the as the coach handle it? Because again,
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  Speaker 3: gymnastics differs from some of these other sports that we
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  Speaker 3: spend so much time covering. It's like you kind of
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  Speaker 3: have to just turn them loose. At least that's my
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  Speaker 3: perception of it. The work has the hayes got to
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  Speaker 3: be in the barn in gymnastics, because it's not like
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  Speaker 3: you're going to go out there and be like, hey,
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  Speaker 3: let's let's add another twist and try to earn some
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  Speaker 3: more points on this routine because we're reacting to something.
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  Speaker 3: Wait does that happen?
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  Speaker 1: I don't know.
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  Speaker 3: Maybe I'm talking out of school here, but it feels
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  Speaker 3: like you just kind of got to be like, Okay,
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  Speaker 3: we're here, we've done it, and go execute and make
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  Speaker 3: it perfect.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, buying on the work that you've done. We've
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  Speaker 1: talked a lot about that because facts are so important
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  Speaker 1: at this time of year. It's easy to lean into
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  Speaker 1: people's you know, own perception or you know or ideas
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  Speaker 1: of what your team might be. But the facts are
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  Speaker 1: the facts and the and the truth of it is
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  Speaker 1: this team put in so much work, Our staff put
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  Speaker 1: in so much work this year, intentional work, and we
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  Speaker 1: know the work is there, and you're right now, it's
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  Speaker 1: just time, just time to go compete. Just do what
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  Speaker 1: we've been practicing all year. No one's thrown any new
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  Speaker 1: moves at our regional championships, you know, same skills that
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  Speaker 1: we've been practicing since last summer and and go enjoy
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  Speaker 1: the moment that's just so important.
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  Speaker 3: What's the number that it's going to take to advance
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  Speaker 3: past this regional?
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  Speaker 1: I think it's going to take a high one ninety seven.
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  Speaker 1: I think there's you know, there's definitely some really good
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  Speaker 1: teams in this regional and won't be room for you
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  Speaker 1: know air, Everyone's going to bring their best and a
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  Speaker 1: big number is what it's going to take to get
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  Speaker 1: out of this regional.
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  Speaker 3: From a big picture standpoint, we have been discussing for
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  Speaker 3: several years now the shifting landscape in college sports and
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  Speaker 3: things like transfer and things like nil and how it's
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  Speaker 3: so different now. And uniquely at the University of Utah,
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  Speaker 3: we've got a men's basketball program that's trying to figure
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  Speaker 3: things out. We've got a women's basketball program that's had
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  Speaker 3: some success recently and is trying to recapture that. You
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  Speaker 3: got a football team that I mean, you know what
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  Speaker 3: the expectations are like there, and a new era has
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  Speaker 3: begun with Morgan Scalley at the helm. Are the Red
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  Speaker 3: Rocks being taken care of the way that they need to.
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  Speaker 3: Are you getting the resources, the commitment, the fans support
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  Speaker 3: that you need in order to maintain the excellence that
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  Speaker 3: we all expect.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, I feel like this community in Salt Lake City
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  Speaker 1: has continued to invest in this program and these women,
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  Speaker 1: and you know, we're not in the SEC, so we
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  Speaker 1: have to offer something a little bit different than what
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  Speaker 1: you get from going to the SEC. And I really
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  Speaker 1: feel like it's the commitment from this community here to
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  Speaker 1: keep us at the top and to provide us the resources,
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  Speaker 1: the nil opportunities to keep the best gymnasts here at
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  Speaker 1: Utah and you know, continue to make them a priority
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  Speaker 1: because that isn't the case in SEC programs. You know,
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  Speaker 1: gymnastics often is one of many programs that are you know,
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  Speaker 1: national contenders every single year and the Red Rocks, you know,
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  Speaker 1: it's it really is a legacy program and man, it
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  Speaker 1: feels so blessed to be a part of it.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I appreciate you giving us some time today. Good
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  Speaker 3: luck in Corvallis, and then let's have you on again
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  Speaker 3: after you advance past the regional let's have you on
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  Speaker 3: again before nationals.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, love it, Thank you so much.
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  Speaker 3: That's Carly Dokendorf, head coach of your Red Rocks Utah
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  Speaker 3: Women's you have Nasty in the regional on Friday, starting
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  Speaker 3: at two Mountain time, Alabama number five in the country,
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  Speaker 3: Utah twelve, Alabama number five, Denver number twenty three, Oregon
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  Speaker 3: number or excuse me, Oregon state number twenty five in
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  Speaker 3: that first session of the Corballis Regional semifinals coming up
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  Speaker 3: on Friday, Big thanks to Carly Dockendorf.