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Times Photos/Adam GoingsWARM-UP: Maddie Forbes, left, warms up with her fellow gymnasts at GMS Gymnastics in Manassas.
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GMS gymnasts balance club schedule, life
Local
By Dan Roem
Source: Gainesville Times
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23 2010
UPDATED WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 2010
Gymnastics is more than a sport for local teenage girls who excel at club and high school: it's a lifestyle. Interviews conducted with some western Prince William gymnasts show that though club gym does not exclusively focus on the individual - there is a team element to it - high school gymnastics is based more on combining general fun with school and team pride. GMS competitive teams director Azin Youssefi readily admits that some of her club's finest athletes tone down their routines at the high school level compared to club, which focuses heavily on developing higher - and riskier - skill sets. In some cases, it's because high school equipment is simply not equipped to handle the routines. For instance, the uneven bars may not open as wide as they do at a club. "They can (perform) under certain guidelines as far as the skill is concerned," said Youssefi, who talked with the Times over a two-day period last week. "... We try to keep them as safe as possible." In other cases, extremely complicated routines may not be ready for showtime and are not always needed to project a high school team or individual to victory. That's where the fun-and-pride side comes into play with gymnastics being a lifestyle. Athletes from both Battlefield and Osbourn Park competed at the Northwest Regional championship Feb. 15 in Manassas only for some of the GMS athletes to stop by the club immediately afterward to continue working on their routines. "We give them the opportunity to do a dual sport," said Youssefi. "However, we need to be very cautious and they need to be safe." Scheduling between club can gym can be problematic. In a previous story, the Times reported that GMS prohibits its members from competing in the high school post season, or at least such is the case this year as it used to be different. The actuality of the situation is considerably more nuanced than that. For example, freshmen from Brentsville District and Stonewall Jackson did not enter the high school post season this year in order to fulfill their GMS obligations but gymnasts from Battlefield did. The reasons work out to scheduling, accessibility and what the athletes and their coaches decide to emphasize. Last weekend, GMS had a can't-miss meet in Raleigh, NC. That just so happened to be the same weekend when Virginia high schoolers competed for the state title (Battlefield earned second place). GMS members were aware of the scheduling conflict prior to the start of the season in November. If the athletes could still train at the club for the proper number of hours and their coaches and parents agreed, then they could in theory do both club and high school. However, that doesn't always work out for everyone. "They just need to come in on a different day and make up their hours," said Youssefi. She explained that the clash between her club's schedule and the high school post season was the luck of the draw instead of something intentional. For club members, the post-season begins with a state-wide competition followed by a regional meet against gymnasts from other states in the same part of the country. That leads to nationals. "Normally it does not conflict if it's the first weekend in February," Youssefi said of the high school post-season compared to club. She added, "We try to accommodate as much as possible." Youssefi and her family run the club, which first opened in 1985. She said she used to ask for her club's members to practice 35-40 hours a week - which essentially amounts to a full-time job for the athletes. That is similar to what other elite clubs require. Now, Youssefi finds that striking a balance between the girls having a life outside of the club while still honing their skills is crucial to their development, which is why she asks for highly-intensive training for 18-22 hours per week instead. "We teach them to be good all-around individuals," she said. "I feel it's more important for them to enjoy their teenage (years)." One of the main reasons club is popular for serious gymnasts is because it's a training ground for college. Youssefi said she understands that explicitly and wants her members to be able to either earn athletic scholarships to college for gymnastics or be at least able to walk-on to a team once they arrive at college. "We basically have that in mind," she said, mentioning some of her recent members have walked on at the University of Maryland and the College of William and Mary. "My teenagers are happy."
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