1. What age did you start gymnastics? 18 months 2. How did you start in gymnastics? My mom wanted to get me involved in a sport or dance. There was a gymnastics facility in my home city at the time that offered gymnastics, taps and ballet. After my first gymnastics class, I was hooked. 3. How did you deal with mental blocks? The first time I experienced a mental block, I was between 8 and 9 years old. I would spend hours crying, I had journals that I would use daily to help m

1. What age did you start gymnastics? 7 2. How did you start in gymnastics? Sibling inspired me 3. How did you deal with mental blocks? Going back to the basics and repetition 4. Who was your role model/someone you looked uo to in the sport? Khoi Young 5. What was your hardest struggle during your time as a gymnast? Fear stopped me from trying skills that my coaches though I was capable of getting. 6. How do you handle nerves when you are competing? Not making a big deal out

1. What age did you start gymnastics? Around 4-5 years old. I started in mommy and me classes 2. How did you start in gymnastics? I was enrolled in mommy and me classes. As I got older, I started climbing the door frames and walls at home so my parents enrolled me in recreational classes to get be able to do those types of things safely, and in a controlled environment 3. How did you deal with mental blocks? I have to tell myself that if I want a different/new outcome, I need

1. What age did you start gymnastics? 4 2. How did you start in gymnastics? When we moved the previous owners left a trampoline in the yard and I found myself trying to do flips on it. My parents saw this and didn’t want me to get hurt so they put me in the nearest gym and it just took off from there 3. How did you deal with mental blocks? Going back to the basics was helpful but also just repetition for me was the main thing that helped. The more I did something the more my

1. What age did you start gymnastics? 7 2. How did you start in gymnastics? Rec team 3. How did you deal with mental blocks? going back to my most confident place then building up again 4. Who was your role model/someone you looked you to in the sport? My old coach 5. What was your hardest struggle during your time as a gymnast? breaking my arm and having to relearn a lot of skills 6. How do you handle nerves when you are competing? taking deep breaths and chalk 7. What was y

1. What age did you start gymnastics? 18 months 2. How did you start in gymnastics? My brothers were put into it and we were always climbing around, so my mom also put me in it. 3. How did you deal with mental blocks? Key words, using mental strategies such as positive reinforcement, and communicating with coaches to find a plan to get me back to the skill, such as doing drills, timers, and etc. 4. Who was your role model/someone you looked uo to in the sport? I have loved Ga

1. What age did you start gymnastics? 3 2. How did you start in gymnastics? My mom was a gymnastics coach and decided to put me in lessons with her 3. How did you deal with mental blocks? Remembering muscle memory and trusting in the ability of the skills I've done plenty of times 4. Who was your role model/someone you looked uo to in the sport? Shawn Johnson 5. What was your hardest struggle during your time as a gymnast? Probably my fear of back tumbling when u was younger

I was bored one day so I started writtingabout my gymnastics journey and then was like this should just be a book. I am beyond excited to finally share a project that has been close to my heart for a long time. Gymnastics is more than just a sport to me; its how I’ve seen the world since I was seven years old. Today, I am thrilled to announce that I am officially working on a book detailing my gymnastics story, hoping for it to release soon. A Different Kind of Start Many g

Two years retired from gymnastics. Two years ago today I hung up my grips and leo and wrote my final thank-you letter to gymnastics. If you know me, you know this sport was my entire life for 11 years. Coming home from school to practice at Wilmette, literally lived at the gym, and winning three uneven bar titles that chapter completely made me who I am. Saying goodbye to gymnastics was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. When I first retired, I honestly didn't kn

If you follow D1 college gymnastics as closely as I do watching all the meets and keeping up with the teams on social media you’ve probably noticed that there have been several programs that have announced staff changes. I will be adding more to this has more coaching announcements come out. Arizona Wildcats Head Coach: John Court Assistant Coach: Julie Ballard Clark Assistant Coach: Emma Strom Assistant Coach: Brian Amato Arkansas Gymbacks Head Coach: Chris Brooks Assistant

This morning Joscelyn Roberson, a transfer from the University of Arkansas, a standout and a very accomplished gymnast announced that she will be continuing her gymnastics career at the University of Georgia under the coaching staff of her former coaching Laurent and Cecile Landi. This reunion is a massive deal! Before her stellar, All-American run with the Arkansas Gymbacks, Joscelyn trained under Laurent and Cecile Landi at the World Champions Centre in Texas. They coached

Throughout my gymnastics career, I struggled with a few mental blocks on a couple of events—mostly on Beam (specifically with backward skills) and Floor (on my back tuck tumbling passes). I know exactly how frustrating it feels when your body knows what to do, but your brain just won't let you do it. The good news is that I got over every single mental block I had by using specific strategies. Whether you are a gymnast dealing with a block right now or a coach trying to help

1. What made you want to coach gymnastics? Ever since I was 16 years old, I wanted to be a teacher and coach. I switched from club gymnastics to high school gymnastics & absolutely fell in love with the team environment of high school and the positive coaching style of my high school coaches. It made me realize I wanted to be that kind of coach and impact athletes in that way. 2. Were you a gymnast yourself growing up before you started coaching the sport? Yes - MN club gymna

What made you want to coach gymnastics? I come from a family of teachers. I started as a high school English teacher and coach. Having done gymnastics myself, it was natural for me to want coach what I know. As I moved up with opportunities, I was able to specialize on just coaching. Were you a gymnast yourself growing up before you started coaching the sport? Yes. I started in 8th grade and competed in high school and college. How did you help your athletes overcome menta

1. What made you want to coach gymnastics? After my freshman year of being on the University of Michigan Women's Gymnastics team, I medically retired. I still wanted to be a part of the program, so I stepped into the role of student-assistant coach. 2. Were you a gymnast yourself growing up before you started coaching the sport? I started gymnastics when I was three and a half years old, and I continued doing gymnastics through my freshman year of college. 3. How did you help

This weekend was another one filled with college gymnastics, as the National Championship took place in Fort Worth, Texas and the men's championship was taking place in Champaign, Illinois. The men's event is also a 3 day event with the top 3 teams making it to the finals on Saturday. The women's event is a three-day competition running Thursday through Saturday where only the top two teams from each semifinal session advance to the finals. On Thursday April 16th, I had the o

This past weekend, 64 teams competed for a chance to advance to the NCAA National Championship in Fort Worth, Texas, in two weeks. I had the opportunity to watch many of the meets on TV across all four regional sites—Baton Rouge, Tempe, Lexington, and Corvallis—over five days of incredible gymnastics. For those unfamiliar with the process, teams qualify for regionals through the NCAA selection show and are placed into one of four regional sites across the country. From there,

I recently watched Valerie's Kondos-Fields TED talk called Success does not always equal winning 1. What made you want to coach gymnastics? I originally came to UCLA as a ballet dancer to choreograph floor routines. Coaching gymnastics was not something I planned, but I fell in love with developing young women and building something meaningful through sport. 2. Were you a gymnast yourself growing up? No, I was not a gymnast. I was a ballet dancer and had no gymnastics backgro

The last time I saw UCLA was vs. Clemson in Paley Stadium at UCLA, where I got to get autographs from a few of the UCLA gymnasts. I was fortunate enough to meet Janelle, the head coach, and be the last person in line to get a photo/autograph from Jordon Chiles before they cut off the line, so that was pretty amazing. You can read the article about that meet on the website. This past Sunday, on February 22nd, 2026, my dad and I drove up to UIUC to see the gymnastics meet betw

Three recent gymnastics meets at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater