Although the Gymnastics team has only had one meet so far this season, they have demonstrated great ability. Despite their limited season last year due to the poor weather conditions, coach Vanessa James expressed that “ the team’s spirit remains the same as last years; with great attitudes and dedication to accomplishing their goals in [every] the meet.”
In gymnastics, there are four events: vault, balance beam, uneven bars, and floor exercise. Six gymnasts compete in each event. The four highest scores are added together to accumulate the final score. The four events only last about ninety seconds and only six gymnasts can compete at each meet. Each gymnast must perform a different routine than the gymnast before or after him. If one or more skills are put together, it increases the value of the routine. James mentioned that “[the team] has been practicing really hard this year to combine skills as much as possible. [They] have been practicing several times a week to perfect their routines as well as giving each other their opinions of each other’s routines.”
Last season, the gymnastics team was not able to attend many meets because of the frequent snowstorms that occurred during their season, which takes place in January and February. It was difficult for the team to reschedule their meets, but they remained hopeful nevertheless. Senior Bianca Alves stated that “[Coach James] really encouraged [the team] to not be let down by the shorter season. So [the team] carried that spirit over with [them] this season, and so far it’s proven to be helpful to all of [them].”
Although the team had lost their first meet, Alves commented that “[the team] did really well and [they] came really close to winning.” She acknowledges this because most of the members of the gymnastics team, both boys and girls, have never had any sort of experience with gymnastics until this season. Alves added that “practices have been really productive because everyone works their hardest and are always trying new things.”
Coach James’s goal for this season is to make sure that “[team members] leave the season as a better gymnasts and athletes than they were at the beginning of the season, whether if it’s that they gained a new skill or a better attitude.” Alves hopes to “have a great season, since this is [her] last season on the MHS gymnastics team.” Sophomore Max Weng’s goal for this season is “to not let the team down and to aim for the GBL championship”.
