Interview With Juliette Rider

How old were you when you started gymnastics, and what originally drew you to the sport?

I was 7 years old when I started gymnastics. I found love for the sport during an open gym and I enjoyed learning as many new skills as I could! I liked the competitive culture while still being able to support and cheer for my friends and teammates.

What was your favorite meet, your favorite and least favorite events, and the hardest/easiest skill you ever trained?

I have many favorite competitions! My favorite moments would probably be my high school senior nationals in 2023 on floor and vault and my Sac State competition last year with UWW!! The energy is just so exhilarating and so much fun! I love floor and beam the most and bars is not my strongest event, but I like to practice all 4. The hardest skill I have trained is most definitely my back handspring full series on the beam.

Gymnastics is incredibly mental. What was your hardest struggle during your time as a gymnast? How did you deal with nerves, pressure, and getting in your head or temporarily "losing" a skill?

Until recently, I had never really hit a mental block before. Just mainly got anxiety for competitions, but I try to turn nervous butterflies into exciting ones!! As of right now, I am actually training my mind for my vault. Coming back after a fall or not training for a while can definitely mess with your mentality and confidence, but being able to be very intentional and have good self-talk really helps me. Knowing that my teammates and coaches have my back is my biggest strength during hard times and has helped me through the toughest days. Also being very aware that other athletes also go through ups and downs helps me stay more in the moment and makes me realize that I am not alone.

What was your biggest accomplishment in the sport, and did you ever want to do college gymnastics?

I always knew I wanted to do college gymnastics. It was a goal of mine to make it collegiately since I was very little. I would say that my biggest accomplishment is how much I’ve grown as an athlete. Taking almost 2 years off of the sport really helped me find myself as a person before an athlete, so when I did come back to gymnastics it made me even more grateful for the sport. Also being able to compete collegiately was pretty cool too!!!

How did you cope when your time as a gymnast ended, and did you transition into coaching or are you currently still competing?

When I left the sport, I felt like I left a part of me unfinished or behind. I always felt like I was just going through the motions in my daily routine and trying to figure what was missing. I worked out in the gym a lot and became very social to pass the time. Eventually when I came back into the sport, I also started coaching at the same time. It honestly healed me because I was able to see gymnastics from a different perspective and really enjoy it. Now I am still competing and coaching a year later, and I am so excited to see what my gymnastics career looks like while continuing my academic career. After gymnastics, I want to help athletes with mental health and still be able to contribute to the sport that made me who I am today.

Who was your gymnastics role model, and what advice would you give to someone starting the sport for the first time?

I really looked up to Shawn Johnson and Aly Raisman when I was younger. They had similar gymnastics to mine and I loved seeing them thrive! My advice to someone who is just beginning gymnastics would be to just have fun with it. Enjoy all of those exciting and nervous moments because you won’t ever get the same moment back. Gymnastics is an opportunity to get to learn more about yourself so take your time, live in the moment, and just have so much fun!!!

What two goals you want to achieve in the sport of gymnastics?

I want to be able to look back and be proud of the gymnastics I did. Not just the skills, but the joy and happiness that I can create in the gym. I want to create a positive environment around me and have others feed off of my energy!