Most gymnastics fans only see what happens during the meet, but over my last few Day in the Life stories, I’ve taken you behind the scenes to preseason intersquads, meet day secrets you won’t learn on TV, and into the mind of a gymnast with a look at first meet jitters, I have had the chance to speak with wonderful current and former college athletes; but this time around, I’ll be telling my own story of the pressures of competing and what securing a lineup spot looked like through my five years.
On a team of anywhere from 15 to 25 athletes, only a handful will get to compete. There are 24 competition routines, and 20 of those routines count toward the team score; but, unfortunately, there aren’t 20 athletes that get to go. Throughout the five years I competed, I have had completely different experiences with making lineups, what these decisions looked like for me, and how they affected me from a mental standpoint.
Coming into my freshman year at Bridgeport, all I wanted to do was contribute. I was so excited to be a part of a team, and my goal that first year was to just compete at all. This pressure going into freshman year looks very different from the rest of your career. This first year you are essentially proving yourself. You have to show the coaches you…
