Spring Break Spring Floor

That year over spring break we packed up and went to visit my sisters who were attending college in Utah. My eldest sister worked in the sports complex for BYU, so it didn’t take me long to find their gymnastics gym. It was my first time on a spring floor, and it was awesome. I spent all day playing on the trampoline and getting my handspring back, and the next night when I went back I met some guys who were practicing for cheer tryouts in April. I have decided that every person in Utah is nice, because when they saw me walk in they asked if I wanted to join them. Gosh it sucked. They did about the equivalent of 40 minutes worth of P90X ab ripper and so many pull-ups that it hurt just to watch. Towards the end though, they began practicing back tucks, and they were good. One of the guys had a sprained ankle, so he crutched over and asked me if I wanted to learn.  Yes. Yes I do! He told me to jump straight up before I tuck. I thought he was insane at first, but after a while I was able to get it into a resi. The next morning when I woke up I couldn’t even move. My abs were on fire. For two days I couldn’t even bend over they hurt so badly (not even exaggerating). And so, my second tuck experience ended on a sour note as well.

The First Exposure

Don’t get me wrong, I still loved gymnastics and took pride in the fact that I could do a back handspring, but over time I became rusty and was content with playing basketball. I put everything I had into the sport, so when I was cut from the team my sophomore year I was partially devastated. Everyone else in my family was so good and athletic, and without basketball, I was now officially just the nerd. I ended up running cross country and loving it, but I still felt there had to be a sport I was good at. During my junior year my cheerleader friend invited me to watch the high school squad’s state dress rehearsal, and I was eager to go (mostly due to the fact that I had been in love with her since the seventh grade). As I watched their routine (which was AMAZING and they ended up winning state!) I couldn’t help but think, “I could probably do that.” I even remember thinking that if anybody got hurt before the performance then I could learn the routine and step in. Yeah right. They would totally just get one of the JV girls, but it made me really excited thinking about it. Ps. I didn’t actually want any of them to get hurt I don’t think. When I got home that night I considered trying out for the squad my senior year, but quickly put off the thought. Hello. I live in southwest Missouri. I am a guy. I would be massacred by other guys in the school. Nope. I will just have to be the smart one who runs cross country.

In the beginning...

I suppose it started when I was about seven years old. The gymnastics nationals were on TV, and I was completely captivated. My dad walked by and casually mentioned that he used to be able to tumble, so when I asked him to teach me he was caught a little off guard. After some begging he agreed, and I did my first standing handspring on the living room carpet as he spotted me. When I got good enough to pair it with a round off by myself, I was on top of the world. I spent hours in the front yard going back and forth, adding as many back handsprings as I could. When I was able to do five in a row I decided it was time to take it to the next level; I was going to flip. -- I sound like I am writing a college essay. I guess that’s what I get for being a senior in high school. Note to self, remember this is a blog. Anyways, My first few attempts I chickened out, but on the third try after my bhs I threw myself backwards as hard as I could, and when I opened my eyes my feet were on the ground! Nowadays I’m sure it was the ugliest whip/tuck ever completed, but I did it, and I was ecstatic. Later that night I went with my family to a park and I decided to show off my new flip. As soon as my feet left the ground I got scared, and ended up landing straight on my head. That day I vowed never to do a back flip again.