The gymnastics team has finished their season on an extremely high note. The team performed at regionals Feb. 9 after placing second at districts on Feb. 3.
“We approached the district meet with goals of having zero falls and feeling we completed our best all season,” gymnastics coach Megan Stallings said.
The team consists of 11 members, led by team captains Pearl Kelly and Brooke Engle. Most of the team has been doing gymnastics for much of their lives, though some are new to the sport.
This year is the first time Stallings has been a gymnastics coach. Stallings was a competitive gymnast for eight years, and being a coach has brought back countless memories.
“The new experience as a gymnastics coach has brought me back to my roots and has rekindled my passion for the sport,” Stallings said.
To prepare for meets, the team held “mock meets,” and “event sets” to create a similar atmosphere to competitions. These practices help ease any anxiety or stress that comes from performing in front of an audience.
“No matter how much I’ve prepared for a meet, I still feel like I’m going to die of anxiety,” sophomore Teagan Sisk said. “We tend to get in our heads a lot, but it’s important to not let our mistakes hold us back.”
“If we fall or mess up, it’s important that we move past it,” freshman Capri Venafro said.
What has been crucial to their success, however, is the strong bonds between team members.
“We have different team building exercises we do throughout the season, but sometimes we’ll take a step back and talk about our lives,” Pearl Kelly said. “Having close relationships with teammates is one of the most important parts of team sports.”
The team grows their relationships by also keeping practice fun. They do team bonding activities, have dance competitions and make “Dance Moms” pyramids after some practices.
“They all have become each other’s number one fans,” Stallings said. “This most definitely impacted our achievement of placing second at the district meet and advancement onto regionals.”
