I began gymnastics at the age of three and by the time I was a junior in high school, had qualified for Nationals. Despite this, I never had Olympic aspirations. That is not a realistic goal for a gymnast unless you are serious enough to move to one of the top training facilities in the country and dedicate six or more hours a day to training. I school on a gymnastics scholarship is the ultimate goal. With the exception of former World and Olympic champions, there is no professional arena for our sport.
Collegiate competition marks the pinnacle of a gymnast s career.
Perhaps that was why I was so upset and surprised when our team was dropped after my third year here at Northeastern. We were doing everything right. We were a consistent team over the years. We were continually one of, if not the, strongest academic teams on campus. Most importantly, we were improving by leaps and bounds each year.