Interview With Marissa Torri

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

I started classes around 3-4 years old and have been on team since I was in kindergarten. My sister had done gymnastics for a few years before me and that initially drew me to the sport because it looked fun and I wanted to be like my big sister. I also had a lot of energy of course

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

My favorite event is beam, least favorite is floor. I’d say the hardest skill I have ever trained is a backhand spring, layout step out, layout step out. I’d say my favorite meets are the ones that feel special or impactful like my first level 10 meet, my first level 10 nationals, or my second year of level 9 state meet. Last years state was also special. Sorry I’ve enjoyed many of my meets because honestly I just love competing in general.

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?

My bail took a long time (meaning a few years) to get consistent and a lot of that had to do with confidence which I just kept working on each time I did the skill to get past it. Going into my sophomore year I also felt with some confidence issues and stress because I thought everything had to be perfect going into recruitment year, but talks with my coaches, family, and friends calmed me going later into the season and I began to just compete and have fun not thinking about other stuff, then ended up having a good post season.

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

So far my biggest accomplishment in the sport is qualifying for Nationals all three years I’ve been in level 10 even after facing challenges such as injuries, and anxiety/stress. I have pretty much always known I wanted to do college gymnastics because like every little girl, once the initial dream of the Olympics fades, a new one appears and I was able to watch older girls around me achieve this and made me want to work hard to get there too.

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

Still competing

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

Sierra Brooks has always been my role model being as she went to my current gym and is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met and was very successful in both club and collegiate gymnastics because of that. Advice I’d give to someone starting the sport is to “embrace the struggle” rather than letting to bad days discourage you. Also to be precise with the little things that don’t seem as important like conditioning and drills because when you do those things correctly the hard days won’t seem as hard

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

I want to achieve my goal of competing on a collegiate team as well as have my best year yet for my last year in club.