Briar Woods High School has no lack of sports, consisting of a variety, including the classics like football, basketball, and soccer, as well as some sports that are not as well known, like the crew team. Despite the options, Briar Woods does not boast a gymnastics team, unlike some schools in Loudoun County like Broad Run, Dominion, and Heritage, as well as others.
The gymnastics team was led by Coach Curry from 2021-2023, after COVID pandemic, but after that, the team disappeared. Coach Curry is here to explain what exactly happened.
“I have always coached cheerleading, [but after] COVID hit, we didn’t have a [gymnastics] coach anymore,” Curry explains, “as a cheerleading staff, we decided that one of the other coaches would stay and do winter cheer and I would take over gymnastics.”
The reason for this desperate move was that, after COVID pandemic, teachers thought it would be best for students to have as much normalcy as possible, as well as provide plenty of opportunities for students to socialize and be a part of the community. So the gymnastics team continued, despite not having an official coach.
“I [coached] for two years, and I’m not qualified really. I did the best I could,” Curry says, “It wasn’t something I wanted to continue. I wanted to go back to winter cheer.”
After Coach Curry left the gymnastics program, the search for a new gymnastics coach continued, but even now, the athletics department is struggling to find a qualified coach for a team.
“We have all the equipment and we have kids who want to do it, but we can’t find a coach,” Curry says, “[Mr. Benson, Briar Woods’ athletic director,] is even willing to combine with another school, and he hasn’t been able to do that [either].”
There’s also the added problem of a high school level gymnast’s schedule. Gymnasts who are serious about gymnastics generally don’t have time for a high school team, since they are so busy with their other teams and gymnastics commitments. Those that are not as serious and have time for a gymnastics team generally join the cheer team.
“Those that grew up in gymnastics but don’t have a rigorous [schedule] anymore kind of move on to cheer,” Curry explains, “So we kind of lose a lot of athletes there.”
While Briar Woods may not have a gymnastics team in the near future, students interested may instead enjoy the cheer team or the dancing team, at least until a gymnastics coach can be found.