A Gymnast's Diary
This is the diary of a high level teenage gymnast from the USA. She decided to write this diary to let everyone get an inside view of her life in and out of the gym. This diary is completly anonymous. If you would like to write to her, please e-mail her at gymmybug@hotmail.com Remember, she WILL read your letters, but WON'T respond. She will answer any questions in her diary. These diary entries are copyrighted, so please don't re-post them anywhere. Thank you and enjoy!
July 24, 1998
Hi everyone! I’m VERY SORRY this diary hasn’t been updated in a LONG time!!! Let me explain what happened - Basically, my webmaster’s internet broke and since I don’t know how to update this page, so I had to wait - SORRY! I guess I should learn how to update this page myself, huh? :) Anyway, before I start to talk about anything I want to express my DEEPEST sympathy to Sang Lan, her family, and the whole Chinese gymnastics team. I wish you the best of luck Sang, you are in my thoughts and prayers. I also saw her vault on the news which I don’t think is something they should be showing. It was VERY disturbing and upsetting. I can only hope I NEVER see something that awful again! I have been watching the Goodwill Games since the beginning, although the coverage is horrible!!! Let me just say USA ROCKS!!! I was SO happy to see Nique doing so well again! I hope see sticks it out until Sydney. Nessa was awesome as usual - I wish I has her tumbling ability!!! Kristen is just awesome under pressure - she should do well at Nationals! Elise is just perfect in her form - I love to watch her bar routine - It’s wonderful! It was great to see Dominique back in actions - that’s so cool that she is still going strong. I really admire the dedication she and Kim Zmeskal have for the sport! The US men look great too. I felt bad for Blaine - I just can’t watch the pain on his face when he competes. I’ve injured my rotator cuff and it isn’t to pleasant of a feeling!!! So, what’s new with me you ask - well I’ll tell you. I’ve been doing pretty well lately. Vaulting has been great. I get so much more height lately :) It was kind of scary vaulting lately after hearing about Sang Lan, but I just try not to think about it. It was funny today, my and my teammate wouldn’t do any handspring timers, we just threw the vaults right away! Bars has been going REALLY well for me! Right now my hands are pretty much completely torn up, but my release moves are so much better! I have been working reverse hechts, and usually they were so low I pratically sat on the bar, but now they are great (well, great for me!). I’m kind of scared of the beam right now, I straddled it REALLY hard the other day - my leg is swollen and black :( So, now I’m pretty scared to go all out on everything. Floor has been ok. I had no energy for tumbling today and my shoulder was hurting a lot, but the rest of the week I had SO much energy for tumbling. I’ve been working full-ins. They aren’t too bad. Anyway, that’s what is up with me. I’m going on vaction next week :) I can’t wait!!!
Love,
ME :)
May 1, 1998
Hi everyone! Well, last time I wrote I mainly just begged you all to get people to actually
come to my page. This week I think I will actually update you on my life, ect. First, though, I want to
let you all know how the contest is going. I want to thank EVERYONE who e-mailed me. Most of
you received your surprise already. For those who wrote me after I sent it out, I promise I will send
out your surprises soon! OK, the winner of the contest - by a landslide - is... (drum roll please!)...
JILL !!! Congratulations!!! I have a special prize for you and all the participants - I just have to make
the time to sent it out!
Ok, now onto what has been going on with me lately. Well, I have had to make some
MAJOR decisions lately. Next year I will be a junior in high school, so I have to decide what I want
to do for the future now. I have had to decide if I want to see just what I can accomplish as an elite,
or if I should start focusing on college gymnastics as my goal. Well, it took me and my parents and
coaches a lot of time to come up with an answer and this is what I decided. I will continue to
compete as an elite next year. We are still deciding if I will go and try for international elite or stay as
a national elite. Then, toward the end of next year, I will evaluate my skills and decide if I should start
focusing on NCAA level gymnastics (so I'd probably drop down to a level 10 for my last year to
save my body for college), or if I think I should keep competing as an elite and either stay by home
and go to college around here, or postpone my education until I've accomplished whatever my
particular goals are then. So basically, I haven't really made any final decisions! Oh well :) Oh, I
almost forgot, I've also been thinking about home-schooling. If I decide to stick it out as an elite for a
few more years, it might be the best option. We'll see :)
Right now, gym has been going well. I was sick for a little while, so I wasn't all there at
practice for a while, but I'm better now. I'm working hard on perfecting all of my skills so I can start
training new ones. And, believe it or not (because I don't!), I'm improving rapidly on bars!!! It might
start becoming one of my best events!!! I was soooo happy for my teammates. A few of them
qualified for nationals for Level 10 and Level 9!!! Congratulations guys!!! Good luck :)
Before I go, I just want to say a few things to some people that e-mailed me. I don't mean
to be rude or anything, but I got really mad by some (actually just 2 or 3 letters) comments a few
people made about keeping up w/ this diary, ect. OK, here it goes, I HATE it when people write
things like "well, I'm not an elite gymnast, but I do play sports, ect. and I have extra time, so why
don't you write more. I would" or "if you wrote more, more people would actually visit your page"
and things like that. First off, I didn't know that there was a rule that said I had to write at least once
a week. Second, don't criticize me - your not me and your aren't living my life - yes, I do have time
besides school and gym, but not much. I like to do things in my free time besides just sitting in front
of a computer, like spending time with my family, ect. It might only take a few minutes to read the
entries I write, but they take a lot of time to write. Also, most of my life is spent either in the gym or
thinking about it. Sometimes I want a break from it all, so sometimes I just don't really want to write
the diary. I like to write it when I' in the mood to, so it comes out good. Anyway, I just had to get
that off my chest. I'm sorry if I angered some people, but you insulted me, so I had to let you know!
Well, that's all for now! Bye :)
ME :)
April 13, 1998
Hi everyone! How was your Easter? Mine was really nice. I got to spend it with both sides of my family, which I really like. I got a beanie baby for Easter - the duck (Quackers), it's sooo cute! Well, I had Friday and Saturday off from gym for the holidays, but it was back to the daily grinde today!!! At least I don't have school this WHOLE WEEK!!! I LOVE not having school. I just really hate the pointless work they make you do. I don't mind if the work has a point, like if it's something I will use sometime in my life, but some of the work is so dumb! Especially math. Well I just had to vent a little :)
Ok, I have decided to do something new w/ this page to liven it up a bit! The counter on the page is wacked, so I don't know how many people actually read this diary, ect. So, this is what I am doing - If you read this diary, E-MAIL ME AT gymmybug@hotmail.com. Anyone that e-mails me (include your name please) will recieve a cool surprise in their mail!!! Now, here is the even cooler part - LET ALL YOUR FRIENDS KNOW ABOUT THIS PAGE (I'm begging now!), no one comes here :( If you tell your friends to come to this page, make sure that they e-mail me too. When they do, have them include your name in their e-mail as who told them to visit. Now, whoever gets the MOST people to come and visit the page is the WINNER - you will get a cool prize, I don't know what, but I won't tell you who I am or anything like that, so don't ask - ok :) Anyway, this is my pathetic little attempt to get people to actually read my diary. I don't care how you get them to come here - post it on a message board, post on that Gymn digest thing, anything - now, I know some people have more than one e-mail address, so PLEASE be honest, ok. Well, I don't want to keep you - GO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THIS PAGE!!!
-ME :)
March 31, 1998
Hi everyone. Well, I have some bad news. I quit gymnastics:( Yep, I just got sick of everything and I
thought it was the best thing to do. I'm not sure if I'll keep up the diary or not yet. I'll have to
see.
NOT!!! I had you going, though - didn't I!!! Happy April Fools Day - a day early! Well, I once
again apologize for not writing for a while. I don't think writing an entry every week is possible - I
promise I will TRY to write one at least every other week. First, to answer a question I received
about the message board I referred to in my last entry. Yes, I was talking about the
OutOfBoundsNess Message Board. No, I am not the one who posts by the name "Me". I don't
posts on message boards at all - if I did I would probably use my real name - just not telling anyone I
was behind the diary.
Well, here is my gym news. Everything in gym has been going well for me lately. My routines have
become MUCH more consistent. Actually, I have about two or three skills on each event (besides
vault), that have been taken out and replaced, or revised so that I am more comfortable with my
routines. It seems to be going well. I am still working the old skills once in a while, because some are
a little more difficult and my beam routine, for example, lost .1 on my start value, so if that skill gets
better I will put it back in and raise the start value again. I am happy for my level 10 teammates for
how they did at states! A few of them qualified to regionals!!! You go girls :)
The International Team Championships sounded like the USA did awesome!!! Kristen Maloney did
awesome - two 9.8s!!! I felt bad for Nessa :( I think she needs to work more on mental training than
physical. She is a terrific gymnast - she just needs to conquer bars (I know how she feels!). That's
another think. I have started a mental training routine - to help me compete better. I think it helps. I
haven't competed yet, but I have been much more consistent on routines I get scored on in
practice.
Anyway, I don't have much to talk about. My life has been pretty boring lately. I did go to a cool
party last weekend which was fun. Besides that I haven't been out much. Well, I'll talk to you later.
-ME :)
March 13, 1998
It's Friday the 13th!!! Hope it was a LUCKY day for everyone! First, I want to apologize for
not writing in a while. I really have to get better at this :) Ok, now I'll answer questions. I am a
national elite gymnast, for those who asked. A Yang-Bo jump on beam is a ring jump where the
back leg remains almost completely straight, the back arches into the back leg, and more than a 180
degree split is reached. OK, a lot of people right and ask me to be pen-pals, ect. I really can't
respond to e-mail. There isn't any time and I don't have much internet access, so I can't respond to
letters except in this diary.
All right, now on to what I want to talk about! Nothing much is new lately in gym, so I though,
in honor of Friday the 13th and St. Patrick's Day coming up, I'd talk about different superstitions and
luck rituals I have before meets, in gym, ect. And I though it would be fun for all you gymnasts out
there to write me and tell me about yours. If you want, I'll post them on here!
Ok, here is a weird one I have - before every practice, when I fill up my water bottle, I have to
put in EXACTLY 9 ice cubes. I do this because then I feel that all my performances will be 9's. I
used to have LOTS of lucky items. A few years ago, I had a lucky scrunchie. It was bright orange!!!
I always wore it, but I had to put another scrunchie on top of it because it never matched my
competition leotard! Then, the day before my state meet I lost it! I had a terrible meet and then the
next day I found it!!! - Talk about bad luck! I have good luck happy faced flattened marbles given to
me by my teammate. I also have two little leprechaun figures that I have to align so they are standing
together each day, or I will have bad luck. I also have a lucky number, 5 - and I do everything in 5's.
I guess I an a just a little superstitious:)
So what are some of your superstitions? E-mail me (at gymmybug@hotmail.com) and let me
know! Anyway, I hope everyone had a lucky Friday the 13th, enjoyed the full moon, and has a great
St. Patrick's Day!!!
Oh, and before I forget, I want to express my anger of the American Cup. Could the
announcers be any more harsh? They were awful! Any time someone messed up they ripped them
apart, they kept announcing how someone was in last place and talking about how horrible the
routine is and saying that the gymnast should be wishing the score isn't announced overhead! You
know, this really makes me angry because when you mess up it's bad enough to have to see your
score, listen to coaches comments, ect. But then for someone (and usually it was that stupid
announcer that knew NOTHING about gymnastics!!!) to just rip you apart and say you suck - that's
just mean! No one wants to do bad and I think we can be a little kinder when someone messes up -
this is national TV for goodness sake!!! Can't wait until I can be humiliated at a televised meet!!!
Till next time -
ME :)
PS - I love reading the internet message board and hearing some of the guesses about who I
am! Some are so far off it's hysterical!!! No one has guessed correctly, btw, and if you did I
wouldn't tell you anyway!
March 2, 1998
Hi! Sorry I didn't write for a LONG time! Well, everyone keeps writing and asking about my meet- so here it goes. I got to compete my new vault! I was sooo happy because I nailed it and scored above a 9.0! I wasn't expecting to score great on it my first time competing it, but I did so I was really happy! :) Bars was ok, but I need to get my start value up. Beam was BAD - VERY BAD!!! I fell off twice!!! :( But my score wasn't THAT awful. I expected worse! Floor was ok, but I had a few errors throughout so my score wasn't all that great. All in all the meet was ok, but I could have done much better!
Well, I have a while until my next meet so I am working new skills! I had one of the best practices I've had in a VERy long time. It was awesome!!! I made a new series on beam and did it for the first time on the high beam tonight! I made it :) The best thing was that I made 3 Yang-Bo jumps in a row on beam!!! On bars, my full and a half pirrouette is getting much better! I made a lot of them tonight too! I also did good on vault tonight, but no new skills. I was just so excited because everything seems to be coming together :) I can't wait for the summer :)
-ME :)
February 17, 1998
Hi Everyone! I just am writing this quickly because I am leaving for my meet in two days. The time
flew by!!! I can't believe that the meet starts Friday!!! I am so nervous - this is my first big meet as
an elite. My parents are coming with me - which is good. I love when they can come to my meets :)
I might be able to compete my new vault - half-on, half-off front tuck. I will practice it at the meet
and see how I do and then we will decide from there. I wanted to compete my Yang-Bo jump on
beam, but I'm still not very consistent on it :( I have been training a full-in on floor, but that isn't even
close to being ready for a meet! I have also been training a full and a half pirouette on bars and I
might compete that too. We will see how warm-ups go.
Well, I'm not sure when I'll be back - probably by next Wednesday. As soon as I get back I'll let
everyone know how I do. Wish me luck!!! :)
-ME :)
February 15, 1998
Hi! Happy Valentine's Day (a day late) to everyone :) How was everyone's V-day? Mine was
good, nothing special, though. I went to practice and then to the mall. Gym has been going ok. My
meet is coming up sooo soon - AHH!!! One of my teammates hurt herself pretty bad, so she won't
be able to compete :( I feel so bad for her! See, what happened was at practice on Monday her
wrist hurt really bad. She told our one coach, who ignored her and kept making her workout. By the
end of practice (we were doing A LOT of tumbling) her wrist was really swollen, so she went to the
doctor the next day and it wasn't broken, but sprained pretty bad. So, she can't workout for a while.
I talked to her the other day and I don't know if she even wants to come back at all :( I don't blame
her, though. I'd be really mad too!
Well, the weather around her seemed to calm down a little. Unfortunately, that means more
school and less snow days. We did get 2 days off, though, for President's Weekend. Our gym was
closed this weekend too, but our team still has practice every day. I really feel like going on vacation
somewhere! My next meet well be kind of like a vacation, I guess, but each day that I'm there I still
have either a workout or the meet. I think I'm just sick of winter. I want to go lay on a beach
somewhere! Guess what? I might get to compete my new vault and some other new skills at this
meet! I want to compete them, I'm just afraid I'll mess up a lot if I do. Wish me luck :)
Oh, to answer my weekly questions (all 2 of them!): a gymnast's mother asked me what my
goals are in this sport, and if I'm not aiming for the Olympics, why don't I compete level 10 and
make more free time for myself. Well, I truly don't know exactly what my goals are. I just want to
see what I can do. I probably won't come close to making the Olympic Team, but who knows? I'd
like to make the National Team, but if I don't - that's OK too. Eventually, I do want to compete in
college and hopefully get a scholarship. I could just stay level 10 and still get a college scholarship,
that would be easier, but I wouldn't be happy doing that. I want to see just how far I can go in this
sport! If I don't accomplish anything as an elite, then I will know what was meant to be - but for me,
just becoming an elite gymnast was a lifetime goal and I love being "elite"!
Another question was asked about my parents involvement in my sport. My parents bring me to
practice and home again, travel to all of my meets and videotape them and ask me how I am doing.
That's as far as it goes. They don't get involved much at all. And I like it that way. They are happy
for me when I win and feel bad for me when I do bad, but they love me the same no matter what
and don't feel any different toward me because of my gymnastics accomplishments. Some of my
teammates parents are very high-pressure and I feel bad for them. It's bad enough to have a rotten
day at the gym. You get angry at yourself when you can't do something, coaches yell at you, and
then their parents yell at you too! I would hate gymnastics if all my family did was criticize how I did.
I would have quit a long time ago if that was the case.
Well, I have to get going. Just to let everyone know I will try and write a new diary entry each
week, but sometimes I do run a little behind and I apologize for that. Thanks for everyone's support
- it helps me a lot! Until next time -
ME :)
February 4, 1998
Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't written in a while. Well, how else can I describe the last
week and a half except for SNOW, SNOW and MORE SNOW!!! It's a good think I like snow! It
has been snowing all week! And we are still supposed to get more - A LOT MORE! It's been really
crazy trying to keep up with practice sine the weather has been so bad. Since we have a big meet
coming up in a few weeks, one of my coaches came up with a plan. She lives right next door to our
gym, so she had me and the rest of my teammates that will be going to the meet move in for the
week. It's been fun. It's like a big sleepover. The five of us are living in the basement on cots, while
her family lives upstairs - she has two little daughters, one who is on the pre-team at our gym. Each
day, we get up and go to the gym (we've been going in the middle of the day because school has
been closed due to the snow!). When we are finished with workout, we go back to her house, make
lunch, and then go sleigh-riding. Then, at night, we go back to the gym for a while. Only on the days
when it's not snowing too much does the gym open up for anyone else.
Today, since the weather has actually held up, we all had school, so I went back home
for the day. That's why I was able to write this! It was good to see my family again. I missed them -
even though I was only about a half-hour away. Tonight after gym, I am going back to my coaches
house because we are supposed to get like 3 FEET of snow tonight!!!
OK, let me fill you all in on how I did at my meet. I started the meet on bars. For a
change I actually did good on bars! Can you believe that? I can't. I got my best score on bars as an
elite ever 9.25 - that's a good score for me on bars! Then came beam. I had a good warm-up on
beam and my touch went well, so I felt pretty positive about competing my routine. Everything was
going well until my dismount. My round-off was WAY crooked, so it was really hard to pull the
double around. I ended up falling :( When I fell I twisted my ankle. My coach taped it up, and I iced
it until I was up on floor. My tumbling on floor went great! My dance left something to be desired
(usually I'm the opposite on floor), though. But I scored decently on floor. Then vault was last. My
ankle still hurt and had gotten even more sore since floor - so it hurt to run on it, or to hit the board -
which isn't too good for vault. On my first vault, I didn't get enough lift, so I fell on the landing. So on
my second vault, I pushed off the horse as hard as I could - a little too hard. I landed, took about 10
steps backwards and then fell on my butt :( Not a good vaulting day! Well, all in all the meet was
rather disappointing with the exception on bars. It was just a small meet that we used as a warm-up
for our BIG meet coming up in a few weeks. Hopefully that meet goes much better!!!
Well I have to go now and get ready for practice. I also have to pack because who
knows how long I'll be staying at my coach's house! I promise to write again soon and I'll keep you
updated on my next meet and how my ankle is holding up. Oh, before I forget, I have to answer a
question I got in an e-mail! Someone wrote to me saying that level 10 REQUIRES a D move. So, I
have to prove that I am right and they are wrong :) Here is a link to the requirements for level 10:
http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/publications/technique/1997/4/jo-chart.html
You are only required 2 C's - no D's. Of course, to get a 10.0 start value most level 10's do have at
least one D on each event.
Well, I have to go now!
-ME :)
January 23, 1998
Hi! How was everyone's week? Mine has been good. I didn't have school today because of
a big snow storm - actually it didn't turn out that big, but it was nice to have the day off! Next week I
have midterms in school :( I'm not looking forward to that, but at least we will have half days!
I had a good week in the gym. I finally did my new vault the way I am supposed too! I am
learning a half-on, half-off front tuck vault. I finally did it on Thursday! I was so proud of myself :)
Hopefully I will be able to compete the vault in the NEAR future. I have a meet next weekend, but I
won't be competing anything new there.
Its funny how different the feedback I have received on this diary has been. Some people
love the idea and others think it's stupid I won't say who I am. See, the reason I won't say who I am
is because I want to be able to say what I feel about anything! I don't want anyone mad at me for
what I say and think either.
Anyway, time to answer questions. BTW, did you all see my new counter on the page? I
like it! Ok, for the person who asked, No, I'm not Kristen Maloney (she is 16, anyway)! But please
don't try and guess who I am because even if you are right, I won't tell you. I noticed that many
people are interested in how you become elite. Well, here it is (the short version): Each gym has
there own personal requirements to becoming elite. Some require you to go to level 10 Nationals,
others don't even have their gymnasts compete level 10, they just skip right to elite. In my gym, its
really our coach's call. When he feels that we have all the skills to compete elite successfully and we
are prepared mentally and physically, them he moves us up. To "officially" become elite, you have to
qualify at a zone meet. It's kind of like how you move up in the JO levels, at the zone meet you have
to score at least a 34.0 AA to become a national elite, except for elite you have to pass both
compulsory and optionals. To qualify to international elite you have to score a 34.5 AA at zones. It
seems easy enough, but with the new code, it's pretty hard. I only became elite at the beginning of
the summer, so I kind of new at this stuff.
For the mom of the level 8 gymnast, their isn't that much difference between level 10 and
elite. Basically, the competition is harder and some of the skills are harder. For example, in level 10,
you aren't even required to have any D elements in your routines. In elite, to be competitive, most
gymnasts have D's and E's. Also, in level 10 you start at a 9.5 with all the requirements and need
only .5 tenths of bonus to start at a 10.0. In elite, you only start at a 9.0 and need to get a whole
point of bonus for a 10.0 start value. Also, when I became elite, my practices increases and were
more intense. So, I hope that answers your questions. Oh yeah, I was 14 when I officially became
elite (I'm 15 now, my b-day is in the summer). I was 11 in level 8. Good luck to your
daughter!!!
Ok, I'm out of stuff to say right now. So when I think of more, I'll write another entry. I
hope everyone has a good weekend, enjoy the Superbowl! - GO BRONCOS!!! :)
January 18, 1998
Hi! Welcome to my diary. I decided to make this diary to let everyone know what being an gymnast in and out of the gym is like. I am keeping this diary anonymous so that I can let you in on EVERYTHING that goes on in my life and my feeling toward different things. This way, no one will get mad at me for saying something I shouldn't and you can REALLY get to know what being me is all about.
Well, this is what I can tell you about myself. I am fifteen years old and I live in the US. I am an elite gymnast. I can't tell you what gym I train at or who coaches me because that might revile who I am. I train everyday of the week except Sunday. Monday through Friday I train for five hours each day. Saturday I practice for seven hours - four hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. So I train a total of 32 hours per week. I go to a regular public high-school and I am in tenth grade. I live with my family, luckily I never had to move away for my gymnastics. I wouldn't like that.
Oh, before I forget to tell you. If you have questions, comments, ect. for me you can e-mail me at gymmybug@hotmail.com I won't respond to any e-mail, but anything that I think is important I will write about in my diary. I won't get to read my e-mail all that much, but I will try to at least
once a week. I will try to write a new diary entry each week, but I might get behind every once in a while.
Gym has been going OK for me lately. Right now my favorite event is beam and floor and bars are my least favorite. I am learning a few new skills, but not many. Basically, since we are in-season, I am just doing routines. On vault, I am competing a handspring-pike front and a full-twisting Tsuk. On bars I compete front giants, straddle back, shoot-overs, geinger, full pirouette, and a double pike flyaway (bars is my weakest event!!!). On beam I do press handstand mount, backhandspring-layout stepout-backhandspring, standing back pike, switchleap to wolf jump to wolf jump 1/2 turn, freeroll to sissone, double turn, Yang-Bo jump (working on it, anyway!), 1/1 illusion, switch-side leap, round-off to double twist off. On floor I do double back piked, fronthandspring- front layout full- front pike, 2 1/2 twist punch front, triple turn, double turn, straddle jump 1/1, shushanova (sp?), switch-side leap, switch ring leaps.
In school, I take Spanish 3, Algebra II, English, History, Biology, Gym, and a Art class. All my classes are going well. Bio is the hardest subject for me, but I'm trying :) None of my teammates go to the same school as me, but I have a lot of outside-of-the-gym friends. I don't have a boyfriend right now, but I am COMPLETELY in love with this one guy in my school. I am good friends with him, but I REALLY want to go out with him - any advice would be MUCH appreciated!!!
Well, that's all for now. I'll write more next week. Just e-mail me with any questions!