Interview with Former Arizona Gymnast Sydney Fredidin

What age did you start gymnastics?

 2.5.

How did you start in gymnastics?

My mom did gymnastics and she put me in a mommy and me class and the rest is history.

How did you overcome mental blocks?

I struggled with mental blocks my entire career. It was something that really took a toll on me and the way I got through them was going back to the basics. Something I had to take time off from that skill and when I went back to it I started relearning it from the ground up until some of that fear I had built up began to dissipate. 

Who was your role model, someone you looked up to in the sport?

Looked up to McKayla Maloney, Mattie Larson, and Samantha Shapiro as I trained with them for many years.

What was your hardest struggle during your time as a gymnast?

My mental blocks and injuries were the hardest part of my career. Being sidelined due to injuries that were out of my control was mentally challenging as I wanted to be doing the sport I loved, but my body wouldn’t let me. The same went for mental blocks except these were almost more frustrating because I knew I could do the skill, but my brain was getting in the way. 

How did you handle nerves when you were competing?

When I was younger I was not very good at handling my nerves, but as I got older I would do a lot of positive self talk before my routines. I also would try and keep it as light and fun before my turns at meets. I’d dance around or talk to a teammate/coach to try to keep my mind calm. At the end of the day, it is just gymnastics and I had to remind myself that mistakes happen and it is part of being human. 

What was your biggest accomplishment in gymnastics?

My biggest accomplishment in gymnastics was making college lastups after having a calf surgery on both legs at the same time, Surgery on one limb is hard enough, but coming back from surgery on two legs in four places at the same time was brutal. I am very proud of the perseverance and drive I had to stick with my rehab and work through each hurdle that came with recovery. Slow and steady allowed me to compete my sophomore year in 13 meets back to back and it is something I’m very proud of!

What did you do after you were done competing? Did you stay involved or did you do something totally different?

I coached for a little bit, but mostly I just watch college gymnastics and follow the sport. I am currently in graduate school for child life and am ready to be more of a spectator of the sport and not so deeply involved. 

What would people need to know if you are starting the sport for the first time?

Gymnastics is hard and it takes everything to excel at it. In my experience, it deprived me of my

social life, and many other “normal” kids experiences. For me it was worth it, but it is not for everyone. 

What is your favorite meet?

My favorite meet as a little kid was the Cash Bash meet.

How do you handle pressure from peers/coaches/fans?

In club gymnastics, I did not handle pressure from my coaches very well as my coaches were not people I would trust with my own children. Scare tactics didn’t work for me, so when I got older I had to relearn that coaches are not all bad and that pressure isn’t always negative. It came with a lot of talking with my coaches and coming up with plans of how to best support me mentally so I could withstand that pressure. 

How do you overcome setbacks and challenges?

I try and remember why I started the sport. I never started gymnastics to go to the Olympics. I just wanted to flip around and fly through the air like the big girls. So I tried to remind myself that it’s just a sport and it does not dictate my life. I am also a lot more of a person than just my sport. This took me a while to realize and it came with time and maturity. 

Did college gymnastics ever cross your mind as something you wanted to do?

Yes, college gymnastics has been a goal of mine since I was about 12 years old

Least favorite event and favorite event? And why?

My favorite event is Beam because I loved feeling like I could flip and dance on a piece of equipment that very few other people could. It felt like a stage and I loved it. My least favorite event has always been Vault t. I was just not naturally good at it and I was always scared of getting hurt.

Hardest and easiest gymnastics skill to train?

My hardest skill to train was my full and one-and-a-half on vault. My easiest skill to train was a side some and gaynor layout on beam. 

How did/do you deal with getting in your head on skills?

I tried to do a lot of visualization techniques and walk through my verbal cues to keep me on track.

Have any of you got a skill for a few weeks on any event and then a week or too later you just can’t do it? This is happening with my round off on beam right now but glad I have a back up series? If this has happened to you how have you dealt with it or overcame it?

I tried to keep it light before meets in college and would joke around with my teammates and dance to try and stay out of my head. During club gymnastics, I did not know how to stay out of my head and it definitely my gymnastics 

Advice you would give to current or people who want to start in the sport?

I would say to do gymnastics because you love it. It’s a hard to do, so make sure you truly have a passion for it before you jump all in and let that passion lead as you move up through the sport