Gymnasts stick the landing on and off the mat
With deep breaths in and out and arms outstretched, a gymnast must maintain strong focus to perfect their smooth and often dangerous routine. As mental strength is the key to executing a good routine, a gymnast must maintain perfect balance both on the beam and in life.
As a gymnast at Victory Gymnastics Academy for 13 years, Penelope Modlin, junior, has had extensive experience with how mentally challenging the process of learning a new skill or routine can be. “You fail a lot, you fall off the beam, or you slip off the bars, or you just can’t get a skill,” Modlin said. “To overcome that, you really need to take time to visualize skills if you’re too scared to do it, or take time to go back to the basics.” Modlin believes gymnastics has taught her valuable lessons about self-discipline and time-management. “It takes a lot of work and consistency, especially if you want to get a new skill, you have to condition at home outside of practice,” Modlin said.
Gymnastics is not only an extracurricular, but a life-long passion for Preslei Ruiz, freshman, who aims to take the sport to the D1 level in college. Ruiz has experienced firsthand the perseverance that a gymnast needs to have after recovering from reconstruction knee surgery a year and a half ago. “[That experience] has taught me to never give up and to always push myself, because now I’m back and I’m doing everything, and I’ve been in the best shape and hardest skill difficulty I’ve ever had, and I think that’s taught me really just to never give up and to always push yourself,” Ruiz said.
In addition to winning medals and perfecting routines, Ruiz believes that the support she receives from her teammates is the greatest reward. “Everyone in the gym, they push me, they cheer on me, and I do the exact same back,” Ruiz said. Despite focusing heavily on individual improvement in gymnastics, Ruiz believes that having teammates, which comprises her gym group, is what makes all of the difference in feeling encouraged and motivated. “It’s just such a loving environment. It’s such a sister bond,” Ruiz said.
Before showcasing their skills at competitions, gymnasts have to practice several days a week to perfect their routines. Mia Thomas, sophomore and gymnast at Victory Gymnastics Academy, is at the gym 12 hours a week in addition to private lessons when preparing for competitions. “I go to practice and give 110 percent in everything I do. And then just the little things, oftentimes, would give the biggest deductions, like if I’m not pointing my toes, and so that’s something I need to clean,” Thomas said.
Not only do gymnasts have to strengthen their physical ability before a competition, but they need to slip into a good mental space as well. According to Thomas, mental blocks are one of the greatest challenges gymnasts have to face. “I have to be in a very calm mindset that’s like, this isn’t a big deal, even though I know it is… I have to, kind of take away the pressure of, like, you only have one shot,” Thomas said. Thomas believes that the best remedy for mental blocks is time, as well as pushing herself to continue performing even when it is challenging.
Self-discipline, hard-work and perseverance are just some of the many qualities gymnastics strengthens in an athlete. “[Gymnastics] teaches you time management, and also to step back if something is getting too hard, especially if you have an injury. So it definitely teaches you a lot about yourself and what limits to put on yourself,” Modlin said.
