Posting more than a 49.000 on the vault is an excellent score for most gymnastics teams in the nation. For LSU, posting a 49.150 against No. 6 Auburn last weekend was disappointing.Only five teams in the nation average more than a 49.150, and despite the season-low last weekend, the No. 11 Tigers are No. 3 in the nation in vaulting team average with a 49.235, behind only Utah and UCLA.The Tigers also boast two individuals in the top 10 in the nation on the vault in senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney (No.1) and junior Susan Jackson (No.8).A lot of the team’s success on the vault the past few seasons is thanks in part to LSU assistant coach Bob Moore, who coaches the team on the vault.He said the key to the team’s success is the leadoff vaulter.”[LSU junior] Kayla [Rogers] is my consistent first vaulter,” Moore said. “She is going to give me at least a 9.75 or better every time out the gate. When she did 9.85 in Iowa, it was a snowball effect. We went 49.40, and we should be that every time because we are that good.”Last season, the Tigers finished second in the nation in team vaulting average (49.263) behind Utah, and the vault has been the Tigers’ best statistical category the past few seasons.Clare-Kearney said Moore has helped get her a 9.92 season average this season.”He’s helped me tremendously,” Clare-Kearney said. “I’ve always been powerful on vault, because I’ve got that natural ability on the event, but he’s helped me with technique, which I didn’t get in high school. He’s also helped me with confidence and sticking, because I’ve never stuck a vault before I came to college.”Jackson has averaged a 9.885 so far this season after winning the national championship last season on the vault. She said outside of helping her perfect her vault, Moore also provides enthusiasm and comic relief for the team. “It helps you get geared up and stay calm,” Jackson said. “He’s like that in practice, most every day he is being silly and making stupid jokes and laughing and playing around. It helps to lighten the mood.”LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux said part of what makes Moore such a good coach is his attitude and enthusiasm.Clare-Kearney said Moore helps the team keep the past where it belongs.”He’s good at making sure we realize to let go of what happened because we have no control over it,” she said. “When we are at meets and something goes wrong, he’s really good at staying positive and cheering for each person and making sure that everyone’s enthusiasm is at the level it needs to be because it’s easy for us to deflate when something goes wrong.”Moore got his start as a coach while he was in college. He said he was watching a youth gymnastics program when someone asked him to help spot the girls. After agreeing to help the kids, he’s been going ever since.”My P.E. instructor at junior college was also the head coach of the junior college gymnastics team,” Moore said. “He saw me soaking up as much as I could, and I used to go to his office and talk gymnastics, and he offered me my first position.”Moore ended up at LSU in 2000 after stints at Auburn and Florida. He was named the NCAA Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year in 2007.”I’ve known D-D for a long time, so D-D and I have been friends,” Moore said. “The position came open, and I was feeling stagnant where I was. LSU made a very good offer, and … they made me feel special. It’s just like recruiting kids. If you tell them they are exactly what you are looking for, then that means something to them. So I made the move.”Moore said his favorite part about LSU is the kids.”If you have good kids, and you have respect and things like that, then that’s what’s the most fun,” Moore said. “I guess the next thing would be the people I work around and work with.”
 
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Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]