Mikayla’s Story
I’ve known Mikayla since she was three. I was the program director of a different gym and this sassy, too-big-for-her-britches kiddo who had a vocabulary on her that wouldn’t quit, was in the little hot shots program. Everyone in the gym knew Mikayla; she was a sweet kid with an effervescent personality.
I left that gym (and gymnastics, for that matter), and Mikayla rose up through the ranks onto competitive team. By the time she was 10, she was on her way to competing her second year in J.O. Level 4 (I say “year” because she competed both the fall and spring seasons in each compulsory level).
One day, while training her squat-on, Mikayla peeled off the bar and landed such that she suffered a concussion. Needless to say, she had some fears as a result.
She worked with a young coach who was not understanding of or equipped to handle a fear like Mikayla’s. Her coaching style worked with others, but Mikayla was her own person and needed someone to lead her, not to intimidate her.
Before we opened our gym’s doors in 2012, I received a call from a parent who was interested in our team program. I wasn’t planning on having a team program yet; I was building from the ground up. I asked who the gymnast was, and it turns out it was Mikayla.
Mikayla became our first gymnast at TGC. I was able to work with her and help her get over her fear. It turns out that Mikayla had an aversion to climbing rope, as her old coach used to punish her for not going for her squat-on with a huge number of rope climbs each day. What’s fun about gymnastics when you know you’ll be punished for being scared? What gymnasts do is inherently scary! A coach needs to work gymnasts through their fears, not add to them.
Mikayla overcame her bar fear, and in the end, became the USAIGC Silver World Champion on bars — and this was after shoulder surgery!
Mikayla has been a mainstay in our gym, a role-model, our first unofficial apprentice, she worked to overcome her fears, and she worked hard to reach her goals, even with the adversity that injury has to offer. She graduated high school last year after her final season being cut short due to COVID. She is an inspiration to all of our younger gymnasts as the one who hung in there through injury and healing. She demonstrates that it can be done, and with determination and drive, anything can happen.
This is what an “Individual First” philosophy can do for a gymnast; it treats her like the person she is, works with the fears she feels and the injuries she has, and develops her into a strong adult. This philosophy allows gymnasts to have a voice, and allows them to create their own futures.
It’s time for a NEW gymnastics culture… one gymnast at a time. Learn more.