The Confidence of Preparation

hroughout the 2017 season, the question most asked of Oklahoma gymnasts has been, 'what do you have to do to win another championship?' Inevitably the answer has been to just do what they've been doing all year.

To the unfamiliar that may sound like arrogance. Just show up? That's all you have to do? Perhaps the glow of back-to-back national championships, three straight perfect regular seasons and six straight conference titles has gone to their heads.

The reality is much different.

"We did the work and now it's time for it to pay off.”
- Redshirt Senior Josh Yee

For the Sooners, the days begin at 5:30 when they pile into the practice gym for morning workouts. This is just the first session of the day, however. They'll be back in the afternoon for another training bout.

Every team trains, but twice a day, every day, Oklahoma is in the gym. All season long. Saturday morning when the Sooners took to Christl Arena at West Point for open practice, they were the only team there.

Oklahoma gymnastics: in the gym when others aren't.

Churning out reps when others aren't.

Winning when others aren't.

“We've put in more than enough work,” redshirt senior co-captain Josh Yee said. “We work hard every single day, even since summer last year. Now all we have to do is show up and keep putting in our everything. We did the work and now it's time for it to pay off.”

The attitude is one of confidence, not arrogance. The source is not past achievement, but recent exertion. What do they have to do to win? They've been doing it every day for months now.

Senior co-captain Allan Bower celebrates a stuck dismount on parallel bars in Friday night's NCAA Qualifier. Bower and the Sooners compete for a third straight national championship Saturday night at 5 p.m. CT.

“Right now we're pretty relaxed and pretty confident,” said senior Thao Hoang. “We know we already did the work in training all season and now it's just time go out there and have fun and win a national championship. We do a lot of work in the mornings and in the afternoons so we trust our gymnastics and we trust our coaches.”

Sure, a championship is different than practice, but Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams has that covered, too.

“A lot of it comes from mental toughness and the culture we've created,” said senior co-captain Colin Van Wicklen. “You have to have the ability to step up when the game is on the line and the lights are brightest and we have a lot of guys who really thrive under pressure. We've done horse routines where we have people screaming at you and then next guy goes and it's completely silent. We'll switch directions on high bar, we'll do vaults with the music off. We're always doing things to make us uncomfortable in the gym so that when you are uncomfortable in the meet you will be ready.”

Armed with the confidence of preparation, the Sooners can look forward to the sweeter points of championship night.

“I just can't wait to see everyone land their routines,” said senior co-captain Allan Bower. I know how hard these guys have worked so I love seeing these guys stick their routines and the expression on their faces when they run it back to the team. That's my favorite thing about the day of competition. And to stand on top of that podium—that's the dream right now.”

“It's just the Sooner Magic we feel at team finals,” Yee said. “Everyone has high energy and is putting in their everything. When that fire starts, it builds all throughout the meet and it's an amazing feeling.”

Senior co-captain Colin Van Wicklen brings energy back to the Sooner bench after sticking his high bar dismount in qualifying. Van Wicklen's 14.600 on Friday night was the highest score of the day.

For the 2017 senior class, perhaps the best in Sooner history, this will be the last collegiate meet of their careers. One last chance to enjoy the big stage together.

“This is the last time this group of people is together,” said Hoang. “We've had a long season. To finish with a three-peat would be awesome.”

“I remember being a freshman and the seniors telling us to take advantage of the time we have and now this is the last competition we'll have as NCAA athletes,” Bower said. “To go out with this senior class and this group of guys in unbelievable.”

Saturday night at 5 p.m. CT Oklahoma takes to the floor for the final time in the 2017 season. No team has won three straight titles since Nebraska famously won five straight from 1979 to 1983. In fact only three teams in NCAA history have ever won more than two consecutive titles since the NCAA began holding NCAA championships in 1938 (Penn State '59-'61, Illinois '39-'42).

Just one more time the Sooners have to do what they've done countless times in practice. One more time they must take those countless reps and turn them into flawless performance. If they can do that, they make history. But they likely won't be nervous Saturday night. A luxury they've earned with blood, sweat and tears

What does it take to win a championship? These guys have been doing it every day for months now.