“Belfair Youngster Flies High with NASA Gymnastics” plus 1 more |
| Belfair Youngster Flies High with NASA Gymnastics Posted: 05 Mar 2011 07:43 PM PST  Photo by Rodika Tollefson Coach John Smith works with Madison Grande during a recent practice session.  Photo by Rodika Tollefson Madison practices four hours a day, three to four days a week.  Photo by Rodika Tollefson Madison Grande is blazing the trail this year, taking several first-place medals at three recent meets, including a West Coast invitational. BELFAIR — Madison Grande is not unlike the typical busy youngster. She has tried several sports including soccer and basketball, and she keeps a full schedule that includes helping her relatives at the family's Davis Farm in Belfair during the growing season. But the 10-year-old Belfair Elementary School fourth-grader has outshined many of her peers in one arena: gymnastics. She recently became, in fact, the No. 2 advance student at her gym, NASA Gymnastics in Gig Harbor. Madison — or "Mini," as she's known at the academy — started out in gymnastics at age 5. "She's bee-boppy busy, and I thought this would be fun for her to do for an overall activity," her mom, Paula Grande, said. In short order, Madison was moved from one level to the next, and on to "team" level, meaning she was ready to start competing. "It was never our intention for her to be a competitive gymnast and it kept getting progressively higher," Grande said. More than three years after that switch, she's competed at state and regional levels and has been working her way up. NASA (North American Sports Academy) became Madison's home base about two years ago and since then she has moved from level 5 to level 7, one of three gymnasts at that level from 15 on the NASA team. "Seven is higher than most kids for her age. She's progressing faster than normal," said her coach and NASA Director John Smith. Smith said Mini's stature — she's only 4 feet, 4 inches — is her biggest advantage because the smaller the gymnast, the easier it is to do things like flips. "Madison has been blessed with great physical strength and she has developed a style that sets her apart as well," Smith said. It's not exactly a walk in the park. The girls train three, often four days a week. And that doesn't include the weekends when the team travels to competitions. Madison arrives at the academy shortly after school ends. From 4 until 8 p.m., she and her teammates have few breaks as they work on their routines. They keep busy in between the event practice with exercises designed for strength and flexibility. Smith said at other gyms, some girls train 30 or more hours a week, but because his school is small, there are more opportunities in a shorter time stretch. The work has paid off. Madison has been doing well at competitions, this year at level 7. Recently, she placed first on bars (her favorite event), first on vault and first overall at the George Lewis Invitational; she was first on beam, second on bars, vault and floor plus won the all-around at the Seattle Open. Competing against gymnasts from five states at the Great West Gym Fest this past weekend, she took first on vault and bars, second on beam, fourth on floor and was first all-around in her session (about 50 girls); and had third-highest vault score among all level 7 sessions. This is her first year competing at this level, and she has previously placed at the top at levels 5 and 6 while competing against hundreds of gymnasts from around the region. Asked about her secret to success at competitions, Madison said, "I concentrate on what I'm doing and not thinking about what's going on around me." It's a tactic the gymnasts are taught to use every day during practice. Smith said they compete every time at the gym, in essence, as they work on their routines and skills. "We ask the girls to focus on what they can control. They can't control the score or the outcome of results, the only thing they can control is their body, and if they do that well, that's good enough," Smith said. "It's not about what other people are doing — you're trying to perform your personal best." Madison said she loves doing the "cool tricks" and doesn't find gymnastics that hard, though she admits the beam is tough. "It's skinny and it's hard to stay on it," she said. She said having fun is an important aspect of being in gymnastics, and among her short-term goals this season is to win a medal at state. NASA trains athletes up to level 10 and currently has 320 students including boys. At level 9, gymnasts qualify for the Western USA championship and level 10 takes them to nationals. The school has trained about a dozen level 10 gymnasts in its 30 years, as well as three at elite, which is the next level. NASA gymnasts have won national and international titles — and Smith himself was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Washington State Hall of Fame in 2006. Smith said if Madison continues at her current pace, she has the potential of growing to level 10. But much of that is up to her. "The key for her is to develop flexibility, which is not her favorite part. That's her only limiting factor," he said. "It's her journey. We can share the knowledge but it's up to them to apply it." Grande agrees that it's going to be up to the youngster how far she takes it in this sport. She said she and her husband are committed to supporting both Madison and her brother, Jackson, in their endeavors as long as they're "working hard, having a good attitude and having fun." With such an intense training schedule, Madison has become very efficient with her homework on gym nights, usually getting it done before arriving in Gig Harbor. And mom, who teaches kindergarten at Belfair Elementary, loves their bonding time en route to the academy as they talk about school and life. "Sometimes my husband, Jack, drives her, and I miss that time," she said. She said gymnastics has been a good fit for their daughter's personality, and they'll continue to encourage her on whatever path she takes. "She takes everything very seriously. They (the gymnasts) work hard," Grande said. "It's very intense, very focused … It's such a huge commitment, so you can't be successful if you're not having fun." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Gymnastics: Glastonbury Wins State Open Title Posted: 05 Mar 2011 03:32 PM PST Glastonbury won the state open championship with a score of 143.975 Saturday at Pomperaug. The home team was second (139.25), while Woodstock Academy (134.425) and Southington (132.8) followed. Individual winners were: Vault Katie Freese, Valley Regional, 9.650 Bars Beam Floor All-Around This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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