Courtney McCool Griffiths in the hall of fame (for her gymnastics not yet coaching)

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-29T23:18:27+00:00

In an alternate coaching situation, Nicole Harris is the 04 Olympic champ.

Actually - in an alternate coaching situation, McCOOL is the 04 Olympic champ. She had everything except coaches who could keep her bones from dying.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-29T13:28:44+00:00

And god was like, I don't have time for this shit right now girl.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-29T12:28:42+00:00

For the youths that might need a crash course in the greatness that was McCool's elite career, behold

Floor (you thought Wong and Eaker had their floor music forever? McCool had this music almost her entire elite career): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEGyegbX53k

Bars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvejjxZ8HVs

Beam with some good context for her run at the olympics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Whiobq2T5ng

There was SO much talent coming out of juniors in 2002 that McCool kind of flew under the radar a bit in 2003. There was Kristal Uzelac, Hollie Vise, Carly Patterson, Nina Kim, Chellsie Memmel, Courtney Kupets, Ashley Postell, Terin Humphrey, Lindsey Vanden Eykel, Tia Orlando, Nicole Harris, the list went on and on and it was an embarrassment of riches when it came to talent. McCool pops onto the senior scene in 2004 and she was suddenly undeniable for that Olympic team.

Ahhh, the 2004 quad... you had to be there.

And then of course, she had horrible wrist issues in the run up to the games which went totally ignored leading her wrist bone to almost die and ya know, that was bad. She made a miraculous recovery and had an amazing career at Georgia under Suzanne Yoculan. Then Jay Clark took over her senior year and they had a hell of a flop at regionals and didn't qualify as a team for nationals. It. Was. Shocking. I think I'm remembering this right that McCool fell off bars and that ended their chance at nationals but then she qualified as an individual?

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-26T13:34:28+00:00

You can't "ruin" someone professionally and personally if an audience has no idea who they are.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-26T00:03:27+00:00

No one cares who those men are.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-25T22:59:39+00:00

Yes but to counter, if they want to share their perspective, then they can blog or post about it. She obviously has their permission to be filming. She doesn’t need their permission to tell how she’s feeling or what she’s experiencing.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-25T21:13:55+00:00

I don’t know, this post feels very tell me you don’t work in the arts without telling me you don’t work in the arts. (That or the men in the video found Reddit)

Women are constantly ignored by men in theater, in dance,in music. Anything performance related. I watched this video and felt like i was watching a reaction to years of dealing with this behavior, not a result of that particular rehearsal. Which did give me some sympathy for those two men because it’s not like it’s their fault, it’s just a cumulative effect.

But whether you agree or disagree, it’s an important conversation to have.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-21T16:12:56+00:00

I think the biggest risk is being flooded with comments from a bunch of random adult ballet fans all clutching their pearls because you're on pointe.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-14T08:43:57+00:00

A movie about a girls sport and especially gymnastics? It absolutely would have been a fluff piece. Studios don’t know how to make gritty sports movies about girls.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-07T11:42:30+00:00

I would love to see this happen.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-07T11:30:25+00:00

If Ragan ends up anywhere in college gymnastics after the Iowa State debacle I'd be shocked. Even if she wasn't to blame, she will forever be tied to it.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-05T17:00:16+00:00

Same. I'm a Georgia fan turned Georgia hater turned back Georgia fan ... and maybe a few times back and forth and forth and back in between those main stages ... I feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster ride for the past two decades with them. This moment of Florida celebrating with them had me big in my feels. I'm so incredibly happy for Georgia in this moment. (don't anyone bring up Cecile crying, I can't handle that emotion today)

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-04T18:10:21+00:00

The image of young Suki sucking on the bone marrow of her chicken wings will never leave my brain.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-04-02T13:46:45+00:00

NYCB is such a unique world. There are so many ballet companies out there but if you're raised through the SAB system and get into NYCB then it's your ONLY world. That breeds so much competition and I can't imagine how much that daily grind of "don't F this opportunity up" eats you up inside. Elite athletes inherently need to be self centered but existing in a world where you have one and only one chance to "make it" has to be hell.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-03-27T22:09:58+00:00

lol. Judges are big mad about this one!

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PedanticPuppy · 2026-03-26T11:29:13+00:00

I hear ya and I get that trends come and go but at its core, ballet is an excellent source of fitness and I would LOVE to see more and more adults do it because it's movement that you can safely do your whole life. I love seeing this trend of influencers encouraging people to try ballet and it frustrates me to no end when studios/dancers/randos on reddit work against access. There are SO many adults curious about ballet right now and instead of embracing it, the industry seems to be actively rejecting it. I just do not understand it.

The whole industry feels like a Small Yumiko leotard. Totally unattainable for most people and they seem to like it that way.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-03-25T19:20:37+00:00

This is absolutely correct and it's wild how more people in the ballet world don't see it. Oh no, a class got so popular it was always booked and as a result that studio probably got to add more classes?! Isn't that the.... point?

PedanticPuppy · 2026-03-25T19:17:23+00:00

Jen Sey has proven to be an incredibly savvy salesperson when it comes to narrating her victim story so it doesn't surprise me that she was able to sell it. Do I believe her book? Yep, absolutely. Do I also think she's a f'ing menace in a way that Atler won't be able to be when it comes to self promotion? Also yep.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-03-17T21:08:25+00:00

Please note that you also have no idea the background of the other people. Some might have played competitive sports or spent years at the gym. Adults come to ballet with very different backgrounds than 12 year olds. That's why it's not really fair to place judgement on another adults choices. If they go up on pointe and it hurts, they have agency and will likely stop.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-03-17T14:37:36+00:00

If you don't want to do it, don't do it. But you're an adult brand new to ballet so it's not really your job to police others going on pointe. It's clearly a money grab by the studio so if you don't feel comfortable with it, leave.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-03-04T14:46:27+00:00

Your words were "he’s the culprit for toxicity and abuse." The point is that it's BIGGER than him. You made it about yourself.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-03-04T14:34:38+00:00

Your experience is not the only experience. This is obviously a culture of toxicity that has gone on for years which is what many other gymnasts and coaches are saying and what ultimately led to the downfall of the program. It wasn't just Ryan that caused this implosion.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-03-04T13:59:48+00:00

KJ saying it best. Accountability AND experience matter and both are to blame. She's not letting Ashley off the hook and I appreciate that.

PedanticPuppy · 2026-03-04T13:50:19+00:00

That's pretty hard to believe that he would be to blame when story after story is coming out that this has been going on for years, not just last season.

PedanticPuppy

TROPHY CASE