Totally Flippin' Awesome

Something truly special happened during the last week-end of April…and no one really knows about it. “Non-traditional sports” (read non-public high school sports) do not get much newspaper space, typically getting brief mentions in the round-up section of the sports page. This is no one’s fault necessarily but rather a reflection of the priority of local sports coverage. Even with in public school sports coverage there is a hierarchy…so the New Hampshire Gymnastics Team…comprised of the State’s top seven gymnasts in a variety of age groups, traveling to Waterville Maine to compete in the Eastern Regional Level 8 Gymnastics Championships wasn’t front page news. The gymnasts that represented New Hampshire come from a variety of gyms across the state…so this “team” didn’t really belong to anyone…unless you take a closer look. Seven Gymnasts from Flipz Gymnastics in Concord traveled to this meet which included state teams from all six New England States and New York.  Peighton Barker, represented the 12 and under team; Kate Storo, Haile Gallagher, Kirsten Sweetman and Maddie Britting represented the 13-14 year old team and Kathryn Jerome and Kristyn Fedorchuk represented the 15 and over team.  What is truly impressive, however is how well these gymnasts performed and the philosophy of the gym that they performed for.

Kate Storo was regional balance beam champion in her age group as well as placing fourth on vault and fourth all around.  Gallagher was runner up to Storo on beam and placed second on vault as well. She was fifth all-around.  Fedorchuk and Barton placed fourth and sixht in their respective age groups on beam. Briting placed fourt on vault and Sweetman was sixth on floor in their divisions.

Jerome and Fedorchuk’s  15 and over team placed fourth regionally. The 13/14 year old team which included Storo, Gallagher, Sweetman and Britting placed second losing only to Massachusetts. While Team New Hampshire’s performance is impressive for a state with such a small population, what is most impressive is that four scoring members of that seven member team came from one gym…Concord’s gym….

In my “now life” as I call it I am an online health teacher, strength and conditioning  teacher, and gymnastics coach…yes that’s right…gymnastics! Before I found my calling and passion as a runner and then coach of runners I tried my hand at gymnastics. I was terrible. I have no flexibility whatsoever and am a bit skittish when it comes to doing twisty things at high altitudes (save bridge jumping perhaps) but I digress. I began working at Flipz in September overseeing open gym time and working at the front desk. I fell in love with the place immediately. About two months ago, a shift in staff left a hole in the team practice rotation and Head Coach Dale Grant asked if I would be interested in joining his coaching staff as the strength and conditioning coach. I jumped at the chance.  

I am not sure what I expected, but I knew that Flipz is the home gym to some of New Hampshire’s best gymnasts so I guess I thought that the practices would be intense, serious, regimented…you know…the stereotypical gymnastics gym….hundreds of little girls being ordered around by serious coaches demanding perfection and dedication day after day after day…event after event…move after move. I wasn’t even halfway way through my first practice when I knew I was in a very special place. The organization was clear, the dedication evident, the expectations high…but the atmosphere was...well… relaxed! There was the sound of laughter, the whispered stories of the day’s events between girls as they waited their turn, or stretched their splits. There was encouragement and support, big girls hugging little girls, coaches laughing and talking with one another.  I did not hear one negative word; the corrections were delivered in a positive and uplifting manner. The girls were not all teeny tiny…they were all sizes…all shapes and all ability levels. This was a well-oiled machine… powered on fun.

The pre-team and level twos and threes are all sweet little 5- and 6-year-olds learning the fundamentals of the highly skilled moves the elite level 8 girls are performing nearby. In between, the levels four through seven groups are a cross section of any elementary/middle school lunch table in America. Tall, short, wiry, sturdy, loud, quiet…it doesn’t matter in this gym. If you can perform the moves and have the dedication you can compete on the team. There is clearly a high level of dedication from the gymnasts and their families, but it comes from with-in. These girls attend public schools, go to their dances and proms, play trombone in the band and perform in school plays…the few that choose home or on-line learning make that decision for a variety of reasons, but not because the gym requires long practice sessions. The most elite level gymnasts come to the gym four days a week for roughly three hours. Weekends are free…only busy for meets. Twelve to 16 hours is a fraction of what many gyms require of their young athletes.  Flipz wants healthy, happy children…who perform well in gymnastics meets. They are children first, students second, gymnasts third….HAPPY gymnasts coming and going on a daily basis. Spend five minutes with Robyn and Dale Grant, the owners of the gym and you know that they are people who value fun. As a longtime coach who believes in the power of inspiration and fun as well as balancing life’s activities and priorities with sports I feel like I have come home…