Gymnastics is as captivating as it is challenging. It encapsulates a world that defies gravity, allowing bodies to move gracefully and precisely by combining flexibility and strength to create a bold exhibition of artistic mastery. The closest sport to gymnastics that Meridian High School used to offer was fall and winter cheer. This year, however, marks the start of the sport that’s garnered interest from many of Meridian’s talented, flexible and determined athletes.
History teacher and assistant coach of the new team, Ms. Natalie Glees, working alongside head coach Marissa Gradei, said that whispers about launching gymnastics at Meridian began late last school year, instantly piquing her interest as a former competitive gymnast.
“In the spring, I heard Mr. Park talk about wanting to get gymnastics started here, and when I heard I was very excited and asked if I could potentially coach. Being a part of a team when I was in high school was so much fun, so I’d love to create that same experience for students here at Meridian,” Ms. Glees said.
The team held interest meetings and conducted tryouts to gauge student interest and assess proficiency.
“We just finished our tryouts and have a range of skill levels and experience, so we now have a baseline of where all of our gymnasts are, and throughout the season we’ll hopefully be able to have all the gymnasts work up to gaining new skills.”
Ms. Glees noted that many cheerleaders were interested in participating on the team and had many foundations key to gymnastics, including flexibility and strength. However, she also mentioned the conflicting schedules of both winter cheer and gymnastics and acknowledged the struggle of having to choose between the two.
“We did have several cheerleaders try out, and some girls on winter cheer expressed interest. Ultimately, I think all the girls that joined from cheer chose to do gymnastics instead of winter cheer. I can’t speak to why they did that, but I think they were just excited to try something new, and they can still go back to cheer in the fall.”
The biggest shock to Ms. Glees was the overwhelming level of enthusiasm in students to join and try out for the gymnastics team. She was initially worried the team wouldn’t have enough members to participate in competitions, as she witnessed at meets when doing gymnastics in high school, but was relieved by the excitement shared by many who were looking to join the club.
“I would say the biggest success is the sheer amount of interest we had. We had like 15 girls come to the interest meeting, and we ended up having 12 girls try out, and I was like, ‘wow, there’s actually a lot of interest here!’ So the fact that we are going to be able to compete and have a sizable team is really exciting.”
Ms. Glees explained that with the large amount of demonstrated interest, came athletes with a range of skill levels. There are differing levels of proficiency in athletes, and as a result, the coaches try to work with different groups of gymnasts every practice to ensure everyone gets the most out of practice.
“Having the head coach, who has a much stronger gymnastics skill set, has been helpful because… she competed at a much higher level than me. So because we have such a large range of skill sets, she’ll work with half the gymnasts doing practice and I’ll work with the other half, so that helps mitigate a lot of the challenges.”
Gymnastics is a rather competitive sport and is often stereotyped as intense and toxic, a stereotype that Ms. Glees and the gymnastics team’s head coach do not want to enforce.
“The stereotype of the Russian gymnastics coach is real,” Ms. Glees jokingly remarked. “Because everyone has had a scary Russian gymnastics coach, and they can be terrifying. It’s about doing it for the fun of it, not because we want to be the absolute best. We really just want girls to enjoy the sport and have gymnastics feel like a fun, safe space to hang out and try new skills.”
In addition to fostering an encouraging and supportive environment for all gymnasts, the team also plans to compete in four competitions: two Wednesday meets and two Saturday invitationals. Meridian’s gymnastics team is ranked at a 3A level. Their success at meets will determine whether they advance to regionals and possibly even states.
“We currently have four meets against schools of all levels, so we’ll be competing against 4A, 5A and 6A schools. The main goal is to show that our school can compete in gymnastics because, based on where a lot of the girls are at, I think we have a really good chance of being competitive against other schools in the area.”
Most importantly, Ms. Glees hopes to foster an environment empowered by growth and positivity.
“My biggest piece of advice is to just be willing to try. Just putting in the effort goes a long way.”
