By Craig Morgan, TheSunDevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Culture is a common buzzword when new coaches take over a program. They want student-athletes to behave within those cultural confines. They want student-athletes to train within those cultural confines. They want student-athletes to compete within those cultural confines.
Sun Devils gymnastics coaches Jay and Jess Santos have preached culture since they arrived in May 2016, but the returns have come more quickly than anyone could have anticipated.
"I'm not going to say we have completely accomplished it," said Jay Santos, the Sun Devils head coach. "There are still little dips, but we had a pretty clear vision of what we wanted to do and how we wanted to go about it; the values we wanted to instill and the attitude of the team that we wanted."
A comparison of the Santos' first two seasons in Tempe illustrates their success in implementing that approach.
The team entered the 2017 Pac-12 Championships with slim hopes of advancing to the NCAA Championships. They needed to post one of their best performances, which they did, while other schools struggled (they didn't).
With a sixth-place finish at this year's Championships (best since 2012) and an NCAA regional berth to their credit, the picture has changed dramatically. ASU enters the event ranked No. 17 in the nation, having secured its first regional appearance since 2014.
Arizona State has been ranked in the top 20 for 12 consecutive weeks, and has jumped 24 spots from its final 2017 ranking. The Devils have defeated four ranked opponents this season — No. 14 Auburn, No. 20 Iowa, No. 14 West Virginia, and No. 20 Stanford — marking the first time since 2006 that the team has accomplished that feat.
ASU is also ranked in the top 25 nationally in three events: 23rd on beam; 24th on vault; and 24th on bars.
The Gym Devils garnered a pair of conference recognitions, as Gym Devil freshman standout Cairo Leonard-Baker along with coach Jay Santos earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors. The first gymnast in program history to earn the honor, Leonard-Baker became just the second Gym Devil in Arizona State's illustrious history to earn yearly honors, joining Katie Freeland who netted Gymnast of the Year recognition in 1996. Santos became the 89th head coach in Sun Devil Athletics history to garner Pac-12 coach of the year honors, joining Arizona State legend and four-time honoree John Spini.
Leonard-Baker was also named a regular season second-team All-American in the all-around this past week.
With team totals of 196.475 at No. 16 West Virginia on Jan. 14, 196.250 at No. 20 Stanford on Jan. 20, and 196.800 vs. California on Jan. 28, the Devils topped the 196 mark in three consecutive meets for the first time since 2006. With a 196.575 vs. No. 10 Washington on Feb. 17, a 196.725 vs. Arizona on Feb. 24 and a 196.525 at Minnesota on March 3, ASU has recorded six 196-plus marks in a season for the first time since 2006.
"We came really far really fast, with high scoring, putting meets together, beating ranked opponents and being ranked in the top 20 all season. It's a huge accomplishment," Sun Devils associate head coach Jess Santos said. "Last year going into Pac-12, we were in last place and expecting to finish in last place. Going into postseason this year, we're in a different position. There are higher expectations."
Senior Nichelle Christopherson said one of the biggest keys to this rapid rise is this: her coaches have walked the talk.
"Not only did our coaches lead by example, they had a high expectation and that takes a lot of work," said Christopherson, who returned from an ankle injury and competed at the Pac-12 Championships. "We know when they leave here they're still working their butts off so we know we have to do the same.
"There are no exceptions for anyone on this team. They're able to hold everybody accountable and that is so necessary for the success of the program. You can't have one person doing something and getting away with it while another person doesn't."
Improved depth has helped the Sun Devils weather injuries, but the performances have also improved across the board thanks to a full offseason of implementing the Santos' philosophies and plan.
"I do think that started in the preseason and even in the summer because everyone was so invested in it and wanted to make it a priority," junior Kaitlyn Szafranski said. "We wanted to do everything together and it was more of a natural thing rather than being forced.
"We started doing a lot of numbers so when the season started you knew you were going to hit and everyone had the confidence. We set some goals and we have already exceed some of them."
To get everyone on board, the coaches held seven one-hour meetings after the 2017 season ended to discuss how they would take the next step.
"When you finish a season much earlier than you want to -- like we did last year -- the tendency is to get to work, get back into conditioning," Jess Santos said. "We wanted to do some of that, but for us it was more important to talk about the concepts and the culture we wanted.
"You have to coach to your generation and this is a generation that needs that little extra assurance and knows that you do value them. They're more than just athletes; more than just a bar routine or floor routine. You have to invest a little more time but that's fun for us because we get to know them."
Along the way, Jay and Jess kept prodding and pushing.
"They impacted the team in a very positive way," junior Anne Kuhm. "They teach us to give our best every time, even when we are tired or sore. They always tell us to do something more than we did yesterday -- keep making progress."
ASU won't enter this week's regional as a favorite. The will Maroon and Gold will face off with No. 5 Florida, No. 8 Washington, West Virginia, Penn State, and New Hampshire. With successive recruiting classes expected to raise the talent level, however, Jay Santos is convinced the Sun Devils are on the right track.
"Coaches at meets tell me, 'however it shakes out this season, you guys have made a statement about what ASU gymnastics is going to be about in the future.'" he said. "It's on the rise. We're going to be able to do bigger things, but that's not really what I want them thinking about this weekend.
"I want to see them go in confident and strong and not worry so much about the result as the process that got us here and everything they did right to put us in this position. We're not really looking for a score, we're looking for our team to put together the best meet we can put together in a championship event."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Culture is a common buzzword when new coaches take over a program. They want student-athletes to behave within those cultural confines. They want student-athletes to train within those cultural confines. They want student-athletes to compete within those cultural confines.
Sun Devils gymnastics coaches Jay and Jess Santos have preached culture since they arrived in May 2016, but the returns have come more quickly than anyone could have anticipated.
"I'm not going to say we have completely accomplished it," said Jay Santos, the Sun Devils head coach. "There are still little dips, but we had a pretty clear vision of what we wanted to do and how we wanted to go about it; the values we wanted to instill and the attitude of the team that we wanted."
A comparison of the Santos' first two seasons in Tempe illustrates their success in implementing that approach.
The team entered the 2017 Pac-12 Championships with slim hopes of advancing to the NCAA Championships. They needed to post one of their best performances, which they did, while other schools struggled (they didn't).
With a sixth-place finish at this year's Championships (best since 2012) and an NCAA regional berth to their credit, the picture has changed dramatically. ASU enters the event ranked No. 17 in the nation, having secured its first regional appearance since 2014.
Arizona State has been ranked in the top 20 for 12 consecutive weeks, and has jumped 24 spots from its final 2017 ranking. The Devils have defeated four ranked opponents this season — No. 14 Auburn, No. 20 Iowa, No. 14 West Virginia, and No. 20 Stanford — marking the first time since 2006 that the team has accomplished that feat.
ASU is also ranked in the top 25 nationally in three events: 23rd on beam; 24th on vault; and 24th on bars.
The Gym Devils garnered a pair of conference recognitions, as Gym Devil freshman standout Cairo Leonard-Baker along with coach Jay Santos earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors. The first gymnast in program history to earn the honor, Leonard-Baker became just the second Gym Devil in Arizona State's illustrious history to earn yearly honors, joining Katie Freeland who netted Gymnast of the Year recognition in 1996. Santos became the 89th head coach in Sun Devil Athletics history to garner Pac-12 coach of the year honors, joining Arizona State legend and four-time honoree John Spini.
Leonard-Baker was also named a regular season second-team All-American in the all-around this past week.
With team totals of 196.475 at No. 16 West Virginia on Jan. 14, 196.250 at No. 20 Stanford on Jan. 20, and 196.800 vs. California on Jan. 28, the Devils topped the 196 mark in three consecutive meets for the first time since 2006. With a 196.575 vs. No. 10 Washington on Feb. 17, a 196.725 vs. Arizona on Feb. 24 and a 196.525 at Minnesota on March 3, ASU has recorded six 196-plus marks in a season for the first time since 2006.
"We came really far really fast, with high scoring, putting meets together, beating ranked opponents and being ranked in the top 20 all season. It's a huge accomplishment," Sun Devils associate head coach Jess Santos said. "Last year going into Pac-12, we were in last place and expecting to finish in last place. Going into postseason this year, we're in a different position. There are higher expectations."
Senior Nichelle Christopherson said one of the biggest keys to this rapid rise is this: her coaches have walked the talk.
"Not only did our coaches lead by example, they had a high expectation and that takes a lot of work," said Christopherson, who returned from an ankle injury and competed at the Pac-12 Championships. "We know when they leave here they're still working their butts off so we know we have to do the same.
"There are no exceptions for anyone on this team. They're able to hold everybody accountable and that is so necessary for the success of the program. You can't have one person doing something and getting away with it while another person doesn't."
Improved depth has helped the Sun Devils weather injuries, but the performances have also improved across the board thanks to a full offseason of implementing the Santos' philosophies and plan.
"I do think that started in the preseason and even in the summer because everyone was so invested in it and wanted to make it a priority," junior Kaitlyn Szafranski said. "We wanted to do everything together and it was more of a natural thing rather than being forced.
"We started doing a lot of numbers so when the season started you knew you were going to hit and everyone had the confidence. We set some goals and we have already exceed some of them."
To get everyone on board, the coaches held seven one-hour meetings after the 2017 season ended to discuss how they would take the next step.
"When you finish a season much earlier than you want to -- like we did last year -- the tendency is to get to work, get back into conditioning," Jess Santos said. "We wanted to do some of that, but for us it was more important to talk about the concepts and the culture we wanted.
"You have to coach to your generation and this is a generation that needs that little extra assurance and knows that you do value them. They're more than just athletes; more than just a bar routine or floor routine. You have to invest a little more time but that's fun for us because we get to know them."
Along the way, Jay and Jess kept prodding and pushing.
"They impacted the team in a very positive way," junior Anne Kuhm. "They teach us to give our best every time, even when we are tired or sore. They always tell us to do something more than we did yesterday -- keep making progress."
ASU won't enter this week's regional as a favorite. The will Maroon and Gold will face off with No. 5 Florida, No. 8 Washington, West Virginia, Penn State, and New Hampshire. With successive recruiting classes expected to raise the talent level, however, Jay Santos is convinced the Sun Devils are on the right track.
"Coaches at meets tell me, 'however it shakes out this season, you guys have made a statement about what ASU gymnastics is going to be about in the future.'" he said. "It's on the rise. We're going to be able to do bigger things, but that's not really what I want them thinking about this weekend.
"I want to see them go in confident and strong and not worry so much about the result as the process that got us here and everything they did right to put us in this position. We're not really looking for a score, we're looking for our team to put together the best meet we can put together in a championship event."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter