Personal Narrative: My Gymnastics

Deep breaths… Okay- you got this. It’s just you and the vault. Nothing else matters. You have done this a million times before. Nick always here to catch me if I fall. Muscle memory takes over. When I am in the right mental state, anything seems possible. Any athlete would agree with me. All sports are half mental. AS I run down the runway, I know why I am a gymnast. Every bounding step I take I run farther and farther from everything happening in my life. Farther and farther from all the distractions. I can only hear my feet pounding into the springboard. Flying off the vault with a power I don’t even know I contain, everything zapped into slow motion. This is what it all comes down to. Every minute of training in the gym. Every wrist and

I walked on stage, my head pounding and my knees shaking. I looked to the audience, but bright, glaring lights blocked their faces. As the music started playing, I forced a smile onto my face. I can usually smile naturally, but tonight was different.

Since I was three years old, dance has been a passion of mine. Throughout elementary school, I tried many other activities, however, I never enjoyed anything as much as I enjoyed dance. In my fourteen years of dancing, I have learned to work with a team and to use constructive criticism in a positive way. Also, I have learned that hard work leads to performance.

During my elementary years, my second home was at the cheerleading gym. Each week, I would spend over sixteen hours in Shrewsbury, PA practicing with my cheer team for competitions. I was a member of Titanium Athletics, an allstar cheer team that trained to compete against other teams all over the country. Cheer was essentially my entire life for five years, and I had no idea how much my family and I would be impacted when I quit.

At age 16 I was told that I was incapable of being an athlete, I was told tennis was not a sport, I was told I could never play “a real man’s sport”. That same year, I stepped onto a soccer pitch for the first time in my life, I lined up against young men who had been playing the sport for more than a decade.Yet, I went out there with confidence and challenged them along with the notion that I could not play a real sport. Although, I was scared to embarrass myself, I knew that this decision would be one of the greatest I would ever make because of the life experiences I would gain from leaving my comfort zone for the first time,

My plans when I get older where like every other child's. I want to be in the NFL. To get where I am you have to start at a young age. I showed up at practice everyday and on time. I also studied the play sheets and went through all my routes. I studied day and night to be where I am. It wasn't easy. There was no time to play games get in trouble do drugs or hang out with friend on an everyday bases. You have to tighten up be a man. It's not like I woke up one day and I was starting running back I had to do what's right stay in school not miss a day because that one day could have been the most important day ever and I wouldn't have even known. You know why?? Because I was and didn't show up to school. Don't be that person I used to be.

As a former gymnast, cheerleading was never something I planned on doing. In the gymnastics world, cheer was hated. Gymnasts everywhere claimed that cheerleading “stole” tumbling from us. So when I made the Junior Varsity team my freshman year, I expected the worst. Looking back, cheer has taught me more life lessons in the past four years than gymnastics ever did in the ten years I was a gymnast.

The countless hours of sweat I had spent on seemingly the hottest days of the summer and once again during the reopening of school, the occasional bruises I would receive when a flyer wasn’t able to hit her spot on time and came tumbling down into my arms, and of course the persistent itch I would feel along my neck from my body suit all served as reminders of one of the biggest aspects of my high school life till date — cheerleading. Ever since I had sat in the bleachers as an 8th grader during the first fall pep rally, I had been mesmerized by the way the uniformed bodies seemed to move in sync. The way they seemed to hit every step with precision, the way their glimmering bows sat atop their head, and the way that confidence radiated off

To become an athletic trainer, one must complete courses such as Human Anatomy and Physiology as well as other courses that pertain to this major. These classes will help in learning how the body functions. I will also have to pass the Board of Certification exam and must be CAATE certified I could also volunteer at sporting events to get to know the environment around the players, coaches, and spectators from a non-athlete point of view. This could prove helpful because an athletic trainer will constantly be around sporting events and usually close to spectators, coaches, and players alike.

“Are you OK Logan?” It was my Gymnastics coach. I was lying on a mat with feet and face all covered in blood, the only word I could manage to say was ouch.

Everyone is unique and wants to find where they can fit in and excel. For me, it was a bit challenging. Growing up, I never had a “thing”, like everyone else. I had friends that were great singers, dancers, athletes, actors, artists, and everything else in the book. But I didn’t have a specific talent that made me special, so I set out to find one. In the eighth grade I joined every club I could find to see where I thrive. I enjoyed myself in each activity, but I still didn’t find a talent.

A talent that I use is probably my athletic ability. I have ran track and threw for field, played hockey, baseball, basketball, wrestling, and my favorite sport football. I stopped playing almost all of my other sports throughout my years of high school just because I wanted to be the best I could be for football. I love football so much because I get to use my athletic ability, which allows me to be a very versatile player. I have played every position on defense, tight end, running back, wide receiver and quarterback. I started at quarterback my first three games but then this kid moved in, and he could throw better than me. At first I thought this was a bad thing, but soon enough I found out this was a great thing, because it changed my life. My coach came up to me and told me that he was going to put me at half-back because with my athletic ability it would be

My brain goes silent. I forget my problems, my issues, my struggles, and everything that makes me feel dead inside. Nothing gives me more hope and happiness, then running on floor to hanging on a bar. From the darkness inside comes a light that feels like an eternal flame that can never be extinguished. Nothing can stop me from feeling more alive. Starting gymnastics has been the best decision I have ever made and has made me the person I am today. With every move, every skill, and every moment, gymnastics makes me feel alive.

The fastest way for a performer’s career to end is with an unexpected injury. My freshman year I suffered patella luxation, more commonly known as the dislocation of the kneecap. I was in a full leg brace for a month and a half, and then participated in physical therapy over summer break until I was cleared to return to dance for my sophomore year. The time I had to spend recuperating forced me to explore other pathways associated with my art.

Olympic weightlifting has a special place in my heart. It’s a sport that many young athletes don’t consider; in fact, I didn’t consider partaking in this athletic discipline myself. It wasn’t until I realized what I was cable of; shaping and moulding myself into a strong, powerfully built, individual. The concept of improving myself was a fixed goal that I was willing to pursue. From there on, my weightlifting career quickly blossomed. I was first informed by my soon to be coach, that I would be competing in the school’s weightlifting competition. The word competition brought excitement and fear. A proper mind set was needed in order to compete. Building confidence on the platform and being consistent with my technique was the main focus. Countless