Anyone at Briar Woods knows that the school has no lack of activities open to students. From the crochet club to the crew teams, it is a fair assessment to say the school has got it all, particularly in the athletics department, which is rated #2 in the state, according to Niche. Despite all this variety, Briar Woods has not offered a gymnastics team, until now.
This isn’t the first time there has been a gymnastics team at Briar Woods, however, due to complications over finding a coach, the team had been on hiatus for several years. In that period, many incoming students who participated in gymnastics expressed their willingness to join, only to be told to wait.
Now that the team is official, the gymnasts cannot wait to experience a school-team environment. Olivia Unger, a junior at Briar Woods and a member of the team, said, “I’m looking forward to be able to be more involved with school while doing something [I’m] passionate about… [it is] an awesome opportunity to make new friends and continue to grow as a gymnast”.
However, being a part of a school team comes with its own complications. Most gymnasts are dedicated to teams outside of school as well, on top of all the “normal” high school time consumers. Despite this, Camille Mejia, a junior and a member of the team, has no regrets, saying “I decided to join the high school team because I love the sport from the bottom of my heart” and that “passing up an opportunity after being without a high school coach and team would have been a mistake on my part”.
With every new team comes adaptation, as the members get to know each other and learn how to work together. However, the gymnastics team is getting along very well and is making great progress. Mejia explains, saying, “We have all started helping each other with routines and understanding each other’s preferences of skills and dance elements, further helping grow the team’s unity.”
For their first competition season together, most of the group has decided to go with an overarching Disney theme, with each member doing their variation to a different Disney ballad.
“I especially love my floor music, ‘Arabian Nights’ from Aladdin, as well as my teammates’ floor music”, says Unger, “Each song represents our individual personalities and performance styles.”
As the season goes on, the gymnasts are working to raise student body awareness of the team. According to Unger, she didn’t even know that there was a new gymnastics team until the first tryout day. Mejia explains their effort to combat this, saying “we do have 2-3 managers and I know they are devising a plan to create an Instagram account and post all about the team to help spread the word.”
As the season goes on, Briar Woods will be able to see the new team shine on the competition floor. In the meantime, any student can help promote the team simply by telling others about it and helping it become more widely known.
