re: Remove

To be perfectly honest, quite a few of these warning signs were here last year as well. The current performance of the team should not really be a surprise. It's just that last year's senior class was so dominant that they could compensate for many of the weaknesses. Between the 4 seniors from last year, it was a guaranteed 9.9 on at least 8 routines every week (even with Cannamela limited due to injury). Edney being healthy also contributed another four strong routines weekly. That meant that the other claseses had less pressure, and also didn't have to carry the team. With Edney more limited this year and also struggling a little more, plus losing the senior class, the scores are simply not there. Many of the juniors have hardly put up 9.9s before this, so it is unrealistic to expect them to be able to do so regularly all of a sudden. LSU really exceeded expectations with their final ranking last year, but looking at the trajectory of the other classes and the extent to which the stellar freshman class has been limited due to injury, I think we should have more moderate expectations.

TBH, I don't actually think we need to bring in other girls early. Next year's class is already extremely strong, with multiple-event contributors who have a good balance of difficulty and form. The more important thing is to keep the current girls and incoming freshmen healthy. That includes watering down difficulty where necessary. It increases the mental stress on the girls and also creates more pounding, especially with the tumbling. I wish there would be more creativity in constructing routines. I am also a bit cautious about bringing girls on early. It worked for Kiya, but she seems to be the rare exception. Rau would probably have benefitted from having a full pre-season to get into the hang of college life and polish up her routines. Same with Bailey. My concern is that bringing girls on early to 'get in the routines' may backfire if they come in really not ready. Then we just lose one year of their eligibility for routines which are not as great as they could be.

I don't mean to criticise the girls. They are doing their best in challenging circumstances and we should be really proud of that. Many of them are clearly doing their best even while limited or working through injury - Desiderio, Edney, Kiya. Others have really stepped up to contribute where they can - Durante on vault, Dean all round. It's just not realistic to have the expectations that we have had for the last 4 years where the team has been really strong.