Babcock's Legacy Lives Through Townsend
By: Tim Daggett

Over the past couple of years, Sean Townsend has emerged as one of the best young American gymnasts at the elite level. In 1997 he was the junior national champion. In 1998, competing for the first time as a senior, he finished fourth overall and earned a spot on the U.S. national team. Now the 20-year-old Texan hopes to represent the U.S. at the World Championships this October in China. He will be one of 14 male gymnasts vying for seven slots on the U.S. team at next week's World Championships Team Trials in Kansas City, Missouri.

I enjoy all good gymnastics, but I take extra pleasure in watching Sean perform because of the legacy he represents. There's no question that the Sean Townsend we see today was heavily influenced by Brian Babcock, his former coach and my longtime friend. Brian died of a rare form of leukemia in 1998, but the way Sean carries himself in the arena -- his confidence -- is pure Brian.

Brian brought a tremendous amount of passion to gymnastics, both as a coach and competitor. He wasn't the most talented or physically gifted guy out there. He endured incredible amounts of hardship and suffered through injuries, surgeries and recuperation -- he had tons of problems with his knees. Yet each time it was thought that he couldn't continue, Brian found a way to get it done. A lot of athletes come back from adversity in an angry way, but Brian always thought that life was great, a thing to be treasured. That was the essence of him. He celebrated life through the sport.

As Sean will tell you, a turning point for him was a pep talk Brian delivered prior to the 1997 U.S. Gymnastics Championships. Before nationals that year, Sean had struggled through a horrible meet. Brian pulled him into his office and gave him a lecture that turned him around. I can't tell you exactly what was said, but based on what I know about Brian, I can assure you the conversation had nothing to do with planches or backflips. It had to do with pride, commitment and determination. To this day, Sean has an inner spark of confidence that is essential to his success.

My friendship with Brian started when we were competitors. Eventually we competed together on a World Championships team and several World University Games teams, and we worked out many summers together at a camp in Pennsylvania. In 1985, Brian won the U.S. all-around championship. It was the pinnacle of his career as a competitive gymnast.

Later we were contemporaries as coaches, and we would see each other at competitions. When he got involved with the Texas Sports Ranch in 1996, Brian was so excited. Here was a place where the male gymnast could find a home. There wasn't a better guy to get something like that going than Brian Babcock.

Though he had his low moments, Brian's upbeat personality remained intact over the course of his battle with leukemia. It's a shame that one of the most positive, full-of-life people you'll ever meet died at such an early age, and it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to deal with. So many people who get to the top of their game, they're going to have people who don't speak that highly of them. Gymnastics is a competitive sport, and it can be rough out there, but Brian Babcock is a guy who nobody had anything bad to say about, ever.

I miss him, of course. But I don't feel like he's entirely gone. Sean Townsend struts around the arena with such obvious pride in his performance, it's like Brian's still whispering in his ear: "Show your greatness."

This article was found at http://www.nbcolympics.com/?/news/experts/dagetttim/1999/09/09daggett.html but is no longer there.

This article has been taken down from the www.nbcolympics.com site, I have copied it onto this page.  If this is against any copyright laws and the writer would like it taken down please contact me at seantownsend_page@excite.com