A Hard Earned Second Place

After my high school gymnastics coach finally welcomed me on to her team with open arms, I began to focus on gymnastics more than ever.  I let go of any social life I had (which wasn’t much) and buckled down on the sport.  However because I was still injured, I was only able to do one event, which were the uneven bars.  This event includes swinging around 2 bars, which really only includes the use of your arms and because I broke my foot, I was able to do certain skills on bars.  One of these skills is called a giant.  In this skill, the gymnast starts in a complete handstand upside down on the bar and completes a full rotation around the bar with straight arms.  This skill is very difficult to get and a high level skill, but was exceptionally easy for me.  I would go into practice a few times a week with my cast on my foot and do as many giants as I could. I’ll admit, it probably wasn’t the safest thing I’ve ever done however it ended up helping a lot, and really improving my giants. After four long months of physical therapy and rehabilitation of my ankle, I was able to start easing my way back into gymnastics. However, since it was still weak, I was still only allowed to do bars, but now I was able to dismount which meant I could actually compete bars for my team instead of doing just giants. 

         Words can’t explain how excited I was to finally be able to compete for my high school gymnastics team.  I worked so hard every single day, most practices I would be on bars for over an hour trying to perfect my routine.  Unfortunately, we were nearing the end of our high school season, so there weren’t many meets left for me to compete in.  Luckily, I was able to compete in the NEC/CAL meet.  This is where all the teams from the Northeastern Conference and the Cape Ann League compete, and they actually give out individual awards.  Usually, high school gymnastics is solely a team sport, and the gymnast’s scores are added together for a team score.  I was so nervous to compete because not only was it my first time competing for the high school team, it was my first time really doing gymnastics since I broke my ankle.  At NEC’s, only one gymnast competes at a time, so all eyes were on me.  The judge saluted me and it was all on me.  My coach Mike would always put his hands on my shoulders before I compete and say, “it’s just you and me” in order for me to stay focused.  It worked every time.  I had done one of the best bar routines in my life! I was so excited!  I received a 9.2 out of 10 and earned second place!  I knew how proud Mike was and that made it even better.  To this day, I watch the video of that routine all the time because I would do anything to relive that moment. 

The First of Many

One day at practice, I was on vault 4 days before I was supposed to compete at a meet.  I was practicing what is called a tsukahara.  This is like a roundoff backhandspring back tuck, except on the vault instead of the floor. It is extremely difficult to master, and nerve-racking as well.  I had not yet mastered it, and this was going to be my first time competing it. I landed a little bit short, and jammed my ankles like I had done a million times before.  But this time was different.  I sat on the landing mat and looked up at my coach Mike with tears in my eyes and said, "ow".  He looked down at me and replied with, "ow?" and all I had to say was, "no, ow." and he knew it was broken.  This was the worst pain I had ever felt (at the time) in my life.  I sat down on the mat holding my ankle as I watched it swell bigger and bigger by the minute. My coaches called my mom and she came and picked me up and brought me to the hospital.  After some X-rays, it was confirmed that my foot was broken.  Specifically, the bone on the inside of my ankle right under the big ankle bone.  The doctors put me in a cast, and I was obviously out of gymnastics for a while. 

         I wasn’t just devastated about not being able to do gymnastics, but this happened right before high school gymnastics season started.  I competed for a club team, AKA the Beverly YMCA North Shore Wildcats, which was year round.  During the winter, I also competed for Beverly High School so I was averaging 5-hour practices, on top of competing for two different teams.  I was so excited to finally get to high school and compete for Beverly High because after years of watching them practice in our gym I dreamed about competing with them.  With this injury, I would be missing almost the entire high school season.  Words couldn’t describe how heartbroken I was.  I was so nervous that the coach wouldn’t allow me to be on the team since I couldn’t show her what I was capable of, but to my surprise, she welcomed me (and my crutches) with open arms.  It was at that moment that I began working harder than ever. 

It's the Hard that Makes it Great

When I was little, my dad introduced me to the movie, A League of Their Own. Even though I was young, I understood everything that was going on, and was able to grasp the meaning of the movie.  For those who haven’t seen it, it is about the beginning of women’s baseball, and how everyone took it as a joke at first.  It is actually very moving and I highly recommend it.  One of my favorite quotes, and one that I lived by throughout my years of gymnastics is actually from this movie.  It says, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it.  The hard…is what makes it great.” This quote is said by the women’s baseball coach to one of his players that wanted to quit because she thought it was getting too hard for her. 

         My dad would always say this whenever I was feeling discouraged or even just had a bad practice.  It was a constant reminder that I was excelling in one of the most difficult sports in the world.  And yes, I truly believe that gymnastics is the hardest sport in the world.  It may not seem it when you watch it on TV because the gymnasts make it look easy however the amount of effort that goes into making it look effortless is insurmountable.  It assured me that I was one gifted with this talent for a sport as difficult as gymnastics, and that I never wanted to give it up or let it defeat me.  From the age of 6 until the age of 14 I considered myself extremely lucky when it came to injuries.  I hadn’t gotten injured once in those 8 years, which is very difficult to do. Gymnastics is an incredibly dangerous sport and it is near impossible to avoid an injury throughout our career. It wasn’t until I was 14 years old, as a freshman in high school that I experienced my first injury. 

The Rush of a Lifetime

And successful it was.  Not only did gymnastics teach me so much about the sport, I learned so many life lessons.  It taught me time management, because I was practicing 6 days a week on top of going to school, and I had no choice but to make sure everything was done in a timely manner.  It also taught me discipline, which is what I am the most thankful for.  Since I was in the gym so much I didn’t have time to get into trouble.  My teammates became my best friends…no, sisters.  We spent all our free time together…well, whatever free time we had.  We had practice Monday through Thursday, and had competitions on the weekend.  The competitions were the best part.  I got such a high being out on the floor doing what I did best knowing everyone was watching me.  My dad would always tell me that the nervous feeling I got right before I would compete was one of the best feelings.  He said that he wished he could experience that feeling again in life, and that I should cherish every moment of that rare feeling.  And so I did.  I embraced every moment of the pit in the bottom of my stomach mixed with fluttering butterflies and the heavy breathing.  In fact, it actually had a way of calming me down.  When I first started competing, I was so nervous I almost forgot my routines.  Being only 8 years old and having the entire audience watching me, and the judges writing down every single thing I did wrong was extremely intimidating.  To my surprise however, it was rather easy to get used to.  Eventually, I became a natural out on the competition floor, but there was nothing like the rush of waiting to hear my name called up to the podium for awards. 

The Defining Moment

The skill was called a double back.  This was on bars and is the dismount of the routine.  The last thing a judge sees, and the skill used to get off of the bars.  I had just gotten my giants, (if you have ever watched gymnastics, these are the skills when a gymnast swings completely around the high bar with straight arms), and these come directly before the dismount.  Alex was determined to help me get my double back and made it her personal mission.  Honestly, I never thought it would happen in a million years because it was such a difficult skill.  In a double back, the gymnast lets go of the bar and completes 2 flips in a tucked position before landing on the ground.  At the age of 11 this terrified me, but because I was so obedient I was ready to do whatever the coach wanted me to.  To my surprise, it only took me two days to get the skill! I was amazed that I was capable of doing something this difficult.  I remember those two days like it was yesterday.  However, when Alex quit, I was extremely nervous to do it with any other coach.  But that is when I met Mike.  Mike was the most well known coach in the gym.  Everyone…and I mean everyone knew who Mike was and how great of a coach he was.  He was not only a great coach in his ability to spot and catch his gymnasts, but he was an even better coach in the mental aspect of gymnastics.  He always knew what to say regardless of what your problem was.  He knew when my mind was somewhere else other than practice, he knew when I was having a bad practice, and more importantly, he knew when I just simply needed a hug.  To this day I am so thankful for Mike because he taught me so much…and not just about gymnastics, but in life as well.