Andreé Pickens tries to take different avenue to Olympics

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Former Alabama gymnast tries to take different avenue to Olympics
BY TIM GAYLE • JULY 3, 2008
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When Andree Pickens decided to walk away from her job as assistant gymnastics coach at Southeast Missouri State three years ago to pursue her dream of becoming an Olympian, she didn't tell her parents.



"When I made the decision to leave Southeast Missouri, it was really hard," said the former All-American gymnast at the University of Alabama. "It's always hard in gymnastics. Everyone's close and you get so attached to what you're doing. I didn't talk to my parents for two days because I didn't want them to talk me out of it."

Pickens and her parents will be in Eugene, Ore., tonight for the U.S. Olympic team trials in women's pole vault. It's a definite change of pace for the former Houston native who grew up dreaming of being an Olympic gymnast.

She was invited to the trials as an aspiring 16-year-old, but didn't make the team that went on to compete in the 1996 Games in Atlanta. She entered Alabama in the fall of 1998 and emerged as one of the most decorated gymnasts in college history. She was the NCAA champion on the balance beam as a freshman in 1999 and on the uneven bars as a senior in 2002. She was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman Gymnast of the Year in 1999 and was the first freshman in NCAA history to earn five All-American honors.

She earned four All-American honors as a sophomore in 2000 and five more as a senior, missing an opportunity to become the most decorated gym nast in NCAA history when she suffered a season-ending injury a week before the NCAA championships as a junior.

She was the SEC Gymnast of the Year in 2000, 2001 and 2002, becoming the only gymnast in conference history to win the league's top honor all four years. As a senior, she won the Honda-Broderick Award for gymnastics, awarded to the top national performer, and gave the keynote address on behalf of all the top female athletes in NCAA competition that year.

In addition, she was named the SEC's top female athlete in 2002 and was the runner-up as homecoming queen at Alabama, a testimony to her immense popularity.

She raised a few eyebrows when she elected to try her hand in women's track and field in the pole vault event for the Crimson Tide, but surprised no one when she promptly went out and set school records for the event both in indoor and outdoor competition.

When she got into coaching women's gymnastics, first as a graduate assistant at Alabama and then at Southeast Missouri State as a paid assistant, she seemed to be a natural. SEMO coach Tom Farden credited Pickens with bringing in one of the top recruiting classes in school history.

Then she walked away to pursue a dream of being in the Olympics.

"Back then, I didn't see it that way," she said. "My mom talked about it that way but when you see it up close and you're passionate about it, that's all you see."

She moved to Jonesboro, Ark., home of Earl Bell, a three-time Olympian in the pole vault who won the bronze medal in the 1984 Games and is now considered one of the foremost experts in coaching. Pickens scraped together donations through her Web site, www.andreepickens.com, the support of her parents and a pair of part-time jobs, including one where she coaches at a small gym in town.

"I've never had an athlete that worked harder than Andree," Alabama gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson said. "When someone with that much talent, drive and determination works that hard, wonderful things can happen."

When she arrived in Eugene on Saturday, one of the first people she met was former Alabama teammate Kristen Sterner. The two former Crimson Tide gymnasts engaged in conversation about everything except the upcoming Olympic trials, which may have helped Pickens' nerves as the 28-year-old contemplates what's at stake.

"I think it's similar (to gymnastics) in a way," she said. "The only difference is you don't have a team of 10 to 12 girls standing behind you shouting encouragement. But I have a lot of friends and family here.

"As far as the nerves, you get on the apparatus and you have one shot to do it. It's similar. You have three attempts (on the pole vault), but you want to get it done on the first one."

The two preliminary rounds include 26 competitors who will be pared down to the top 12 (perhaps more in the event of ties) for the finals on Sunday. The top three will represent the United States in the Olympics.

"It's stiff competition," Pickens said, comparing it to NCAA gymnastics competition where the first goal was to qualify for the finals before ever thinking about winning the event. "If I get to the finals, I give myself a chance."

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http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/2 ... _at_trials

Ex-Tide Gymnast competes at trials
Combined reports
Published: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at 11:23 p.m.
Tuscaloosa News Archive Photo
TUSCALOOSA | Andree' Pickens, a two-time individual NCAA Champion and the captain of Alabama's last NCAA Gymnastics Championship squad is preparing for her biggest meet since she won team and individual national titles as a senior in April of 2002.

This week Pickens will once again be attempting to land the perfect vault, though this one will take her soaring far higher than her days in Coleman Coliseum. These days Pickens, who competed for a year on the Crimson Tide's track and field team after her gymnastics eligibility was done, is trying for Olympic glory in the pole vault.

The Houston, Texas native is at the United States Olympic Trials, being held in Eugene, Ore., where she is seeded eighth. The top three finishers at these trials make the U.S. team that will compete in Beijing.

Pickens turned in her leotard for track shoes and one runway for the other at the suggestion of Alabama gymnastics coach David Patterson who thought she had a chance to excel in the event. She took to the event quickly, shattering the UA school record and qualifying for the NCAA regional championships as a fifth-year senior.

She continued to train after graduation while working on a graduate degree and later while coaching gymnastics first in Missouri and then in Arkansas.

Now she stands on the threshold at arguably the most pressure packed meet there is, looking for a chance to wear an Olympic uniform. Pickens, who was a member of the U.S. national team during her gymnastics career will compete in the preliminaries of the pole vault on Thursday, when she will strive to be among the top 12 that will advance to the finals on Sunday.

There are more than two-dozen women who have qualified to compete in the pole vault at these trials including American record holder and top-seed Jennifer Stuczynski and 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist and two-time World champion Stacy Dragila.

Facing that kind of lineup, there is no doubt that Pickens has her work cut out for her at these trials, but no one who knew her during her days at Alabama counts her out.

'I've never had an athlete that worked harder than Andree',' Alabama head gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson said. 'When someone with that much talent, drive and determination works that hard, wonderful things can happen.'