Miracle Day

When most people think of a “miracle day” they would think about their dreams coming true. Well, for my gymnastics team, we refer to miracle day as a fantastic gift from our coaches. We have these miracle days only once or twice a year, so for us, it’s kind of a big deal. Even though there is not some astounding phenomenon on miracle day, you could still say my dreams are coming true.

Today just so happened to be one of those sensational miracle days, and it was the most productive day I have had at gymnastics all week. First of all, it is a school break, so there were only four other girls who were at practice. We worked out with some of the younger girls in a lower level, and there were only five of them today. We had three coaches for ten girls, and because of the holiday weekend, other classes were canceled, so we were the only people in the whole gym. You could say this is a miracle, but I haven’t even gotten to the actual concept of “miracle day”.

Miracle day at Black Diamond is where you get to do whatever you want for the entire day. No assignments, no coaches telling you what to do, and no time limit (except the end of gym of course). I was able to focus on what I wanted to improve on, and there was nothing in my way.

Working on floor!

This miracle day was even better than most because like I said before, there were very few people there. Since we could do whatever we wanted, everyone was scattered throughout the gym, which meant more space for me! On vault and floor, I was the only one using the equipment and space I required, and on bars and beam I had more equipment than I needed. I had two whole bar sets and three beams available. I was truly able to focus on myself and my skills. The best part of miracle day was that I improved on some aspect of each event. I left with a great feeling of confidence and hope I can take this into future workouts.

My Idol

In the 2012 Olympics, the gymnastics team was Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Jordan Wieber, McKayla Maroney and Kyla Ross. Most people have heard of Gabby Douglas who came out of nowhere and won the gold in the All-Around, but the other four are not as popular. Aly Raisman qualified to the all-around finals and is known for her gold medal floor routine. (I had a different cut of her floor music the past two years) McKayla Maroney received second place on vault and is known by gymnasts as having a higher vault than men gymnasts, but known to the general public by her “unimpressed” face. Kyla Ross was not a stand out, but is still competing at the elite level today.

Even though I look up to all five of these gymnasts, my favorite has to be Jordyn Wieber. Jordyn Wieber was the gymnast everyone predicted would be the one to win the Olympics, but she did not even make it to the individual finals. This Olympics was a little different from the past as only the two girls with the highest all-around from each team could qualify for the finals. So even if you received third place all-around during the qualifications, if the girls who won first and second place were on the same team as you, you would not qualify. This is similar to what happened to Jordyn. She placed fourth all-around, but Gabby and Aly placed higher. Although she didn’t get to compete in the finals, the next day she still helped win the gold medal for the team. (For more information go here)

I admire Jordyn for this reason. After not making it to the finals, she came in the next day, changed her mind-set, did her best and cheered for her team. She did not mope and lose her confidence, but stepped it up even more to prove to everyone she deserved to be there. This is something that is so important in gymnastics. If you have a bad day, you come in the next day and work even harder. Even going from one event to another, or one turn to the next, you need to figure out a way to move on.

Jordyn Wieber - Image curtesy of Zap2it.com

After the Olympics, Jordyn wanted to go to college at UCLA and be on the college gymnastics team. Unfortunately, she had accepted a professional sponsorship to Adidas, causing her to be ineligible to compete for the team. Even though she can’t compete, she acts as the team manager, helping to move mats and motivating the team. Jordyn still goes in early to train by herself since rules prevent her from training with the team. 

I love how you can see how much Jordyn loves gymnastics and how passionate she is about it. She is such a great model to me because she showed me to hold my head high, no matter what my performance and my scores are. Disappointments sometimes happen, but it is up to me to work harder and make the best of each situation.

If you watch a UCLA gymnastics meet, you will see Jordyn on the floor cheering on her teammates. Since she is still training, I hope to see her in competitions in the future. 

My Team

According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of teammate is “a fellow member of the team”. Since I spend more time each week with my team than I do with my family, this is not “deep” enough for my liking. I would consider my teammates to be more like sisters. Sometimes we drive each other insane, but we always have each others back.

At gymnastics, I train with levels six through ten, and we sometimes spend time with levels two through five, who are adorable. In level six through ten, there are nine of us total who are ages eleven through sixteen. We spend twenty-two and a half hours training together every week, but not even that is enough. We get together outside of the gym almost every weekend, and never get tired of each other. This weekend, Friday after practice we went to dinner and to see a movie, and Sunday we went to brunch.

Sunday Brunch

There is never a dull moment with my team. We all have our own unique personalities, and when you put us together, you never know what will happen. We can tell the same stories over and over again, and they never get old. Even the most boring thing you can possibly think of can be turned into a game or something enjoyable.

For me, traveling for competitions with my team is the most exciting thing. I absolutely love exploring a new place with my best friends by my side. I am stoked for this upcoming season, we are going to Colorado Springs, Colorado, Phoenix, Arizona and Sacramento, California. At each of these competitions, we always have a team dinner, going somewhere interesting that seems to resemble the culture, or stereotypical culture, of each place. This year, two of the competitions have a gymnast after party, where everyone who has competed gets to hang out with their teammates and look like idiots together.

Besides all of the partying, there is the actual competition part of the meets, where the nerves are high and all of your hard work in the gym can pay off. I believe this is something that really brings the team closer together. We are competing with each other, as well as against each other. We have that passion to beat each other while still wanting our teammates to do their best. Even if I do not do too well, if my teammate rocks it, it brings my spirits up.

My teammates and I go through everything together, and have seen the best in each other as well as the worst. There are not enough words to describe the bond my teammates and I have, but if I had to come up with a new definition for “teammate”, it would be this: “an additional family member you can rely on to be your confidant, your cheerleader and your best friend”.