If each of the four seasons of a college gymnast’s year were represented by one of the four apparatuses, preseason would be bars: a slow, fluid build. Competition season would be floor, with moments of both power and grace that is punishing to the body over the long term. The postseason would be vault: an exhibition of extreme power under pressure that’s over in the blink of an eye.
And the offseason? Well that’s all about balance. Seven gymnasts from a combination of five Division I and Division II schools, who were based in six different states for the summer, spoke about their different approaches to balancing work and play, gymnastics and rest, and strength and skills training.
The first decision most said they had to make about their summers was choosing whether to train in their college gyms during the offseason, or at their club gyms if they opted to return to their hometowns for the summer.
On each of their teams, these gymnasts said, there were some who returned home each summer to train in former club gyms. Aaliyah Gilmore, a freshman at Texas Woman’s University, stayed in her hometown of Severn, Maryland, to train at her club gym, Win-Win Gymnastics, for the summer. Gilmore is a pre-med major but focused this summer on seeing family and friends…
