In a year that will feature numerous changes in gymnastics, there won’t be many alterations for the Aberdeen Central squad this season.

The Golden Eagles return four proven seniors as well as other experienced performers.

“Most of them have been with my program for at least five or six years,,” said Central coach Mickey Everson, “so they already know what to do, got it figured out.”

Team captains are seniors Amara Klipfel, Addison Everson, and Izzy Loecker. Additional help will come from senior Morgan Naasz, junior Breckan Santjer, and sophomore Alexis Bomesberger.

Coach Everson said that the Eagles expect to be strong in a couple of areas.

“We’re always stronger on floor and vault. We’re hoping that beam will be solid this year. It’s always the hope, fingers crossed,” she said. “It’s from meet to meet, but we’ve upped our level a little bit on a few things, because like I said, they’ve been with us for so long and they’ve been training, some of them for six years. We’re at that point where we can start upping the level. I feel pretty good on most events.”

This will be a good year to have an experienced squad, because it’s a rule-change year for the sport. Coach Everson said every two years, things change on a national basis.

“There’s some new rules, the way we choreograph routines. Skills that they need to put in there, what judges are looking for, what they can deduct on, so it makes us change and look at our routines a little bit differently,” she said. “There’s a whole category called composition that has been rewritten, so we kind of have to back track and redo a few things.”

The Golden Eagles have been proactive about the changes, having judges come to practice so they can get a feel for the differences this season.

“We’ve already had some judges in our gym. They have to do a practice meet where they practice judge before they can officially judge, so they have to attend an inner-squad somewhere in the state,” Coach Everson said. “And I always host them, because then they come in and I can kind of talk to them, so it’s beneficial for both of us.”

To be sure, there is a lot of work that needs to be done before the season gets underway. The gymnasts have to decided on music and routines, which can be a work in progress as the season evolves.

“There’s a lot of choregraphing in this sport, so we have to put things together, figure out what they can and can’t do, and how that best fits each individual girl,” Everson said. “I kind of ask them what are your goals, what realistically do you want to do by the first meet? What do we want to do as a team, where do we want to go, and where is your role on that?”

Everson said that’s a key area where the new rules come into play this season, so it definitely has the attention of the gymnasts.

“There’s a whole section on how much they can deduct if your music doesn’t match your dance, if you’re not artistic enough,” Everson said, “plus they’re looking for that hard-core tumbling, do you have as many jumps and leaps as you have your tumbling skills?”

Fortunately for the Eagles, who start their season by hosting Jamestown in a dual on Thursday, the gymnasts are already one step ahead of the game.

“As soon as season ended last year, girls are already like I think I know what my floor music is going to be next year,” Everson said. “They’re always on the look out.”

Everson has already noticed a big difference this winter having a veteran crew that is motivated, prepared and ready to get the season underway.

“We are excited. I think they were more ahead of the game this year than they have been in the past. Sometimes we’re still struggling to finish floor routines right now … This year, when we came in, some were already done. They are motivated. I have good kids that know what to do and they help each other out,” Everson said. “I do have those good leaders that have helped some of the younger ones that are maybe like, um I don’t really know how to put together a routine yet, so that’s been really nice, so I feel like we’re ahead of it on that end so we can start focusing on those harder skills.”