No. 7 Alabama had to face a huge upset on Friday night, against No. 14 Auburn gymnastics at the hallowed halls of the Neville Arena. Although Alabama had standout performances, the score of 197.725-197.050 caused them to retreat against Auburn in the Iron Bowl matchup. It was the second consecutive meet in which the Alabama gymnastics team had to put up with a loss, previously suffering its first loss against No. 3 Kentucky by a final of 197.6-196.975.

Unable to overcome their slow start this season, the formidable coach of Alabama reflects on the necessary awakenings for the Crimson Tide. And, it requires a change in habits and mental preparation besides the rigorous gymnastics training. It seems the coach is dropping tidbits on how Alabama can up their game going forward.

Johnston talks about adjusting mental preparation

After the Crimson Tide dropped a road meet to Auburn in the recent matchup, coach Ashley Johnston weighs in on it, talking about the training, adjustment, and performances. The YouTube channel, @BamaCentral took to release the full press conference, titled, “Alabama gymnastics coach Ashley Johnston after loss to Auburn.”

Posed with the question regarding the elemental changes Johnston intends to incorporate after a few rough weeks on the beam, she has a thoughtful reply to it. Talking about it, she adds, “I just believe our habits have to be great, that we can compete our average.” She further elaborates, “All six people who went up to compete for their average are at a really good place. But that tells me our mental preparation needs to be adjusted.” The gameplan, according to Johnston, is to dig into each athlete’s routine process to identify pointers to work upon and ultimately improve the average to 985-995.

Leading Alabama Gymnastics to revisit their X-factor

Johnston, who competed for the Crimson Tide during 2009-2013, had won national titles for the team, winning back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2011 and 2012. In May 2022, 10-time All-American, Johnston became Alabama’s head coach, starting to coach her first season in 2023. Not only this, she has also served as Auburn’s assistant coach for four years before becoming the Crimson Tide’s head coach.

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While ahead of the competition this season, Johnston was assured that Alabama would bridge the gap from good to great. But post-match, the  realization dawned that there still needs to be things to be worked upon. Johnston went on to add after the meet, “We always say we want to be so prepared we can walk into any arena know that it’s ours to defend as long as we just do our job. And tonight, we just gave away too many things.” Johnston adds that it is now time to find the click with the athletes for the upcoming competition.

As the Crimson Tide will be traveling for a quad meet to Denton, Texas this Feb. 19, they will be facing off against No. 13 Arkansas, besides No. 17 Arizona and TWU. And, is a high time for Alabama to rise up from its past mistakes and emerge a phoenix from its ashes.

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