The Ranch, a documentary narrated by Kristen Bell, shows the world exactly what it's like, and what it means to be a part of the United States' Women's Gymnastics program, headed by Martha Karolyi and her husband Bela Karolyi before her.
A recap of The Ranch
The Ranch is the start of something special for many gymnasts, and the Karolyi's legacy merely just ends there.
It shows its viewers the hard work several gymnasts competing for a spot in this year's Rio de Janiero 2016 Olympics put in every day during camp, and the tight bond several of them keep with each other.
The film looks at several individual gymnasts, including Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles, Maggie Nichols, Laurie Hernandez and Aly Raismann as well as the United States national team as a whole.
It also shows the Karolyi's successes, and how their journey starts with Nadia Comaneci, and will end with Biles, Raismann and Douglas.
A review of The Ranch
The Ranch documentary was very well put together, and certainly a good watch. With the Olympic trials coming up in San Jose tomorrow and Sunday, it's a must watch for any gymnastics fan.
For those who are new to gymnastics, it does a very good job of ingraining new fans in the sport, and showing new fans what it's like in the gymnastics world.
One of the things that The Ranch documentary does is that not many have been able to is get close to those directly involved in USA Gymnastics. It's a great way to meet some of the athletes heading into the Olympic trials or heading into Rio next month.
Outlook on USA Gymnastics
The United States gymnastics under the Karolyi's have been extremely strong, and the United States are going into San Jose and Rio on a high note. The team has been getting win after win at every competition for a long time, going back to the London Olympics, and appears to just be getting better and better as time passes.
Madison Kocian has done well, Ragan Smith has shown she belongs on the senior team, Laurie Hernandez has emerged this year as a strong candidate to be a big part in Rio, and nobody compares to the Karolyi's around the world.
That's not even including Simone Biles, who might be the world's best gymanst ever, Aly Raismann, who's as good as ever on balance beam and Gabby Douglas, who continues to show the world why she won the gold medal in London.
The future continues to look bright, even if Raismann and Douglas make this their last Olympics and we see the last Olympic process from the 'Fierce Five'.
What happens after Karolyi?
As Martha Karolyi said in The Ranch "I think the building will stay up." and with all the talent the United States has, anything else would be a surprise. The United States has several options for a replacement after Karolyi takes her leave including Valeri Liukin who could keep the momentum going.
With Simone Biles being only 19, Ragan Smith and Laurie Hernandez at 16 and several others being between them, there may even be a cycle of carryover for the next head of the program. The United States isn't likely to lose their gymnastics prowess anytime soon, and a falloff similar to Romania's seems unlikely for the United States in the next couple of cycles. That's the one thing that's certain about the United States' future.