Wednesday, February 03, 2010
For top-level gymnasts, sport has highs and lows
Local gymnasts say that although they often make sacrifices for their sport, the rewards are worth it.
Jenny Clark | Hidden Valley High School
Stephanie Weisberg, an eighth-grader at Cave Spring, practices on the beams at Roanoke Academy of Gymnastics.
Weekends and after school, three Roanoke-area teens can be found balancing on beams, flipping through the air and swinging around bars.
The girls practice at Roanoke Academy of Gymnastics, where gymnasts of all ages and levels train.
Gymnastics requires flexibility, strength and coordination, among other physical and mental demands.
It is also very time-consuming, especially once a gymnast reaches the higher levels.
At Roanoke Academy, the top-level athletes dedicate 16 hours a week to gymnastics. Most started the sport at a very young age.
Denasiha Christian, a sophomore at Patrick Henry High School, got involved at age 2 when her grandmother signed her up for a class. She is now a level 10 gymnast and has competed nationally.
Women compete in four events -- the vault, bars, beam and floor.
Rachel Taylor, a senior at Patrick Henry High School, says her favorite event is beam -- Denasiha's least favorite.
Stephanie Weisberg, an eighth-grader at Cave Spring Middle School, said that she doesn't have a least favorite event. She thinks they are all fun but especially likes the floor.
Because competitive gymnastics consumes a large amount of a gymnast's time, they often have to make many sacrifices.
All three of the gymnasts agree that they miss out on a lot of social events.
Stephanie also said that she cannot play other sports.
"I miss out on a lot of things, but I have also gained a social life here with my teammates," Rachel said.
Stephanie agreed and said that gymnastics allows her to meet people from different places.
The sport can also be very tough on the gymnast's body. Stephanie, Rachel and Denasiha said they have had injured ankles, backs, shoulders, and a broken toe.
Because of the time commitment and injuries, many gymnasts quit as they reach the upper levels of gymnastics.
Denasiha, Rachel and Stephanie said that there have been times that they've wanted to quit but that they decided to stick with it.
Stephanie said she thinks she would miss the sport too much if she ever quit.
Denasiha said that she has been doing gymnastics too long to quit now, and Rachel said she believes that gymnastics can be rewarding in the end.
Denasiha said that the best part of gymnastics is "the feeling you get when you do something right."
It is their coaches that help make that happen.
Eric Wagoner and Barb Jirka work with Denasiha, Rachel, Stephanie and many of the other gymnasts that train at Roanoke Academy.
Wagoner spends 40 hours a week focused on gymnastics, and Jirka dedicates about 12 hours. Jirka has been coaching gymnasts for 40 years; Wagoner has coached for 7.
Jirka said that the most rewarding part of coaching is working with the gymnasts and seeing them progress.
Wagoner enjoys working with "high-level athletes who are extremely motivated, on a pathway to do great things," he said.
