Two months ago, in June of this summer, a complicated, melodramatic, coaching controversy arose at local Apex Gymnastics. One thing led to another, and the girl’s head coach, former elite gymnast Brittany Morgan, was fired. Suddenly, the Apex girls team was left sans their head coach. The other coaches stepped up and kept the girls motivated, but they weren’t Ms. Brittany.
To
gymnasts, the summertime is crucial in preparation for the competition season
to come. The beginning is arguably the most important of all. It’s when the
hardest new skills are introduced and drilled for the first time. But for one
tear-filled week no short of gossip and blame, the girls were lost. Without Ms.
Brittany, they asked themselves, what were we supposed to do?
One by one,
all of the older optional level girls temporarily quit gymnastics. None knew how long it’d
be before they could tumble on a balance beam again. No longer welcome in their
home gym, they were prepared for the worst. Running, jump-roping, team workouts
at the local YMCA, these were all part of their worst-case scenario. To do it all
in the intense heat would be absolutely grueling. They were absolutely dreading
the next step.
In their eyes, what happened next was nothing short of a miracle. The owner of Kenney’s Gymnastics, to
whom everyone refers casually to as Mike, agreed to Ms. Brittany’s request to
use his facility. Because of the Kenney’s Gym’s generosity, the girls were back
in action faster than they’d ever imagined.
One of the
reasons the team was so comfortable in following their coach was that there was
a plan. Brittany and her close friend, undisputed Team Mom Angie Meshaw, had
been planning on opening a gym of their own for a long time. Peak Gymnastics
Academy, they’d call it. Like Apex, but not. Now shut out of Apex, what was
once a dream really needed to be a reality. And because they couldn’t stay at
Kenney’s forever, it needed to happen fast.
After
working through their two-week notice back at Apex, the two other coaches, Robert
Johnson and Judy Jackson, came to join their team. What began as just the five
oldest girls plus Angie Meshaw’s younger daughter soon extended additional
advanced girls, multiple rising prep op girls, and most of the littlest pre-team
princesses from Apex. The rest of the old teams dissipated into the labyrinth
of triangle area gyms.
“Come on
Liann, 110%. Just go for it!” cheers gymnast and pre-team coach Lily, of Apex.
Here’s the catch: there’s no Apex girl named Liann. Liann is the only level 7
gymnast on the Kenney’s team, and here, she is learning a front walkover on the
beam. The staff and team at Kenney’s welcomed their guests with open arms. The
home team even invited the visitors to come along on their annual trip to Wet’n’Wild.
In a sport as tough as gymnastics, even in the lower levels camaraderie is
needed to mentally survive.
While there
is strong contrast between the coaching styles of the two teams, ideas were
shared and techniques passed along. Apex learned leg conditioning while getting
prepared for an event was no fun. Kenney’s learned warming up and working out
with ankle weights was no fun. Apex learned how to use the most interesting
vault training contraption. Kenney’s learned the technique of “T-hands” on the
balance beam. Apex’s Mr. Robert is an excellent spotter and helps out
recreational classes with too many kids and too few coaches when he has a spare
moment. On the days Mr. Robert doesn’t work, the Apex girls ask Dre or Mike or
another of the Kenney’s coaches to help out.
Over the
few months at Kenney’s the girls progressed like they would have back at “home.”
But as August arrived and September lurks just around the corner, the buzz is
increasing about the new gym. If asked, any of the girls would respond along
the lines of, “I’m so excited!” and “I just can’t wait.”
“What
colors are our [leotards] going to be?” repeatedly asks team member Caitlin.
“Can we
have a trench bar?” pesters Danielle.
“Wouldn’t
this be good as our demo leo?” “Are we getting t-shirts? And tank tops too?” “Are
you making our team headbands yet?” And the questions just keep pouring out.
Angie
Meshaw and Brittany Morgan are much of the way into the process of the “adult,
official business.” So patience, girls. The time will come.
