Kyla Ross, coaches taking things one year at a time

When 12-year-old Kyla Ross fell from the uneven bars during the 2009 U.S. Junior Championship final, her coaches were understanding, not critical.

"We do not expect you have to be number one, number two, number three," says Jian Hua (Jenny) Zhang, one of Ross's coaches at Gym Max in southern California. To them, August's U.S. Championships were only another form of preparation for the years ahead.

Zhang, along with her husband Hao Quan (Howie) Liang, has coached Ross for the past four and a half years. Ross, a seventh grader who attends half days of school to make time for training, says she likes "the challenge and excitement" of gymnastics.

Her coaches say Ross, who started gymnastics at age three, is not afraid to work hard. "She has something very special," Zhang says. "She's also very smart...we coach for safety. We want to protect her. We want her to enjoy [gymnastics]."

Kyla Ross, 2009 U.S. Junior Championships Finals, Beam:

Part of that protection comes from knowing when to push, and Zhang feels the years for that are still ahead. Ross, born Oct. 26, 1996, will not be eligible for senior competition until 2012, which gives her plenty of time to work on some of her weaknesses.

"More grace, more presentation," Zhang says immediately when asked what Ross needs to work on. "Lower level compulsories, she's not good."

Ross wasn't the only Gym Max gymnast to turn heads at this national championship. Her 13-year-old teammate McKayla Maroney became the third U.S. gymnast ever to land an Amanar vault (Yurchenko 2.5 twist), which she did on the second day of competition. Shawn Johnson, who performed the vault successfully in 2008, and Jordyn Wieber, who did it at the American Cup earlier this year, are the only other Americans who have ever even tried Amanars in competition.

McKayla Maroney, 2009 U.S. Junior Championships Finals, Vault:

Although she made at least once during warmups, Maroney sat down her Amanar on the first day. Even so, Liang and Zhang decided against having her do an easier double twisting Yurchenko on day two. "Just go for it," they told her. "We say, trust yourself. Confidence is important." Her reward was the highest of the entire women's competition.

Maroney's youth has spurred questions about whether she might become the first gymnast to land a true triple-twisting Amanar. Zhang makes no promises -- "[we're trying to] keep the 2.5 consistent first," she says -- but adds that Maroney is also very good at flipping, hinting that she could possibly work a Yurchenko double back in the future.

But for now, Ross and Maroney will work to perfect the skills they've got. "We're not pushing them," Zhang says. "You just think, I'm going here, and enjoying [it]."

Notes: Ross and Maroney aren't the first Gym Max gymansts to make a splash on the national scene. Ivana Hong trained at Gym Max before moving to Missouri to work with husband and wife team Al and Armine Fong in 2004, and 2006 Pacific Alliance and Gymnix gold medalist Shantessa Pama trained at Gym Max as an elite.

In 2007, Pama sustained a leg injury that forced her to miss more than two months of training. "Just overuse," Zhang said of the leg injury. "She was a great gymnast, so talented, so beautiful."

When Pama returned to the gym, it was to do the club's Junior Olympic (level 10) program. She graduated from high school in 2008 and has not announced any plans to do NCAA gymnastics. Although Pama told About.com Gymnastics in 2008 that she hoped to be a collegiate gymnast, Zhang does not think Pama plans to pursue the sport at the collegiate level.