This week Oakland native and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Leon Powe helped surprise Ashton Purvis of Oakland, CA with the 2009-10 Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year award.  Leon surprised Ashton with great news at the East Oakland Youth Development Center, where Ashton was guest-teaching the Pathway to College class. Leon earned Gatorade California Boys Basketball Player of the Year himself honors in 2002-03.

Ashton, a 5-foot-8 senior sprinter, won the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.17 seconds and the 200-meter dash in 22.90 at the California Interscholastic Federation state championship meet this spring, leading the Mustangs to a fifth-place finish as a team. Her 200-meter time ranks as the nation’s No. 1 clocking among prep competitors in 2010, while her 100-meter time ranked No. 2. Ashton’s season-best 100 ranks sixth in prep history and only eight prep girls have ever run a faster 200.

In celebration of the larger 25th anniversary, Gatorade is hosting an online poll, which will allow you to decide the greatest girls track & field athlete of all time. You can cast your vote for your favorite athlete of all-time once per day at http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/25th/vote/.

Personally, my favorite exercise in there is the medicine ball toss she is doing with her trainer while lying on her side. That exercise engages so many of the lesser used, but very important core muscles that Lindsey needs for making split second lateral adjustments as she is racing down the slopes. The other exercise that she has in her workout that looks so hard but perfect for her sport is the skier squats she is doing on the large balance ball towards the end.

It is always fun to get a behind the scenes look at our favorite athletes! Thanks to Lindsey and Under Armour for sharing this with all of us.

Not only do these two excel at golf, they take dance lessons, have their black belts in tae kwon do, and play piano, too. By the looks of things, they do an amazing job of balancing it all and having fun while they are at it. Sounds like they have some pretty amazing parents supporting them at every turn!

CBS Chicago did a news piece on the sisters – showing them practicing and comparing the two to another famous sister act – Venus and Serena Williams of tennis fame.

Stay up to date with all the Birdie Sisters’ accomplishments at their website Birdiesisters.com. And remember their names – something tells me we will be hearing much more about Erica and Myah in the coming years.

Lauren, who is the daughter of TrackMom Lorraine of TrackMom.com, has been running since she was 5 and was hooked after her first two races (parks & rec meet where she won 2 blue ribbons). A year later, her Dad who is a former track & field athlete, became her coach, and her whole extended family has become her own cheering section at meets and a source of great support.

Jay Hicks at Pre Race Jitters did a really nice feature piece on Lauren recently and it gives a lot of insight into this young runner’s very bright future.

One of the reasons I think Lauren is going to go far in her track career is the great support she has in her family. Her mother Lorraine and I talk often and we always seem to get on the topic of balance and how to maintain that balance in our daughter’s lives. In the off season, Lauren tries out different sports like volleyball and cycling, dabbles in singing, and just does all the normal kid things.

During the competitive season, things get more serious, but Lorraine is always looking out for Lauren’s best interest by making sure she gets the proper nutrition, rest and injury care/prevention.

Remember her name – Lauren Williams – she is definitely on the fast track!

So how does this amazing athlete do it? Natalie’s training includes (from Fitness Magazine):

Two hours in the pool twice a day, running with her dog for 45 minutes to an hour every day, and lifting weights two or three times a week. Natalie also does Pilates every day and sees a private instructor two times a week.

Natalie has also learned that balance is the key to happiness and success in and out of the pool. Like many extraordinarily talented athletes, Natalie learned that lesson the hard way – via injury, illness, and burnout. Her book,Golden Girl: How Natalie Coughlin Fought Back, Challenged Conventional Wisdom, and Became America’s Olympic Champion is an interesting look into the world of competitive swimming and the path she took to the top and how she ultimately found balance.

I’m looking forward to watching her final races this week! My daughter has taken great interest in Natalie’s swims too – because they share a name, have the same long curly honey blond hair, and my daughter swam competitively for the first time this summer and LOVED it.  Go Natalie!

Some amazing photos from the Women’s Olympic Gymnastics podium training are beginning to show up. The major news outlets have quite a few, and Grace Chiu from Inside Gymnastics has posted some very pretty photos.

This one is by far my favorite photo so far! Anna Pavlova of Russia is performing a gorgeous ring leap (probably a switch-ring) and Grace Chiu got the skill at a different angle than I am used to seeing.

Twenty-one year old Anna has been competing on the international stage for more than 8 years – which is a very long time in gymnastics. Here is a video of her competing when she was 12 – and isn’t she just so cute!

View the video piece about Shay, University of Maryland women’s basketball and Shay’s travels.

You can get more information on Volleyball, where to play, the latest events and more at AVP.com. For fun wallpaper, volleyball pictures, monthly contests and more, check out VolleyChick.com.

USA Gymnastics has a new star! Her name is Shawn Johnson and she comes from Chow’s Gymnastics in DesMoines, Iowa. So far this year alone, Shawn has won the 2007 American Cup, 2007 Pan American Games, 2007 National Championships, and just the other day she added 2007 WORLD CHAMPION to her impressive Pre-Olympic resume! WOW! Let’s hope that Shawn can manage to stay healthy, keep her focus, and not get rattled by the media. If she can handle all the Pre-Olympic hype, Shawn is sure to impress in Beijing at 2008 Olympic Games.

I saw Shawn compete as a Junior at the 2005 US Classic and was so impressed with her power and spunk at the time. It is really nice to see her continue to improve and become more confident with every major event.

Visit Shawn’s website for more photos, videos, and information on this amazing young gymnast!