Throughout a twenty-year career in the sport, beginning with the first gymnastics class and ending with the last competition, the people and the lessons you learned have become one of the biggest, most defining parts of your story. When it’s all said and done and it’s time to say goodbye to something you love so much, it can be hard to let go. From working for years starting as a young gymnast in your hometown club gym, to finally competing for the school you have dreamed of being a part of, the final four years go by entirely too quickly.
The culture of gymnastics over the last few years alone has changed and improved significantly, and because of that, athletes are making their way back to the sport they grew up loving, and creating a new space for it in a new chapter of their lives. Making the transition out of college as a student-athlete is difficult, but there will always be some part of you that will remain attached to the sport you have identified with for so long. For Lynnzee Brown and Jackie Terpak, making the move from competing to coaching has allowed them to find a way to keep the sport they love in their lives, even if it looks a little different now.
Brown, former Denver gymnast now Penn State assistant coach, and Terpak, former Temple gymnast who is…
