By Maddie Sullivan
Newsprint
Mercy HS
The piercing sound of the alarm rings through her ears. After she jumps out of bed, she dresses and heads to school. Seven hours later, the school bell rings and she beelines to her car, racing to get to 3:30 practice on time. Once in her leotard, she hits the mats and after four hours of intense practicing and conditioning, she heads home, fatigued and sore. By 9 p.m., she starts her school work, eats dinner, showers, and does more studying until about 1 a.m. Then she wakes up and does it all again the next day. This is a typical day in the life of senior Izzy Smith.
Smith’s mother enrolled her in gymnastics lessons at the Sports Club of Novi because she needed a way to keep a four-year-old Smith occupied while she was working out. Smith fell in love with the sport, and by the age of seven, she started competing.
Smith realized she needed to devote all of her free time to gymnastics if she wanted to reach her full potential. So in middle school, she chose to quit playing soccer and cross country, and dedicated herself entirely to gymnastics.
“It was not hard quitting other sports,” said Smith. “Gymnastics has always been my main focus. It required the most dedication, but it was also the most enjoyable, so the decision was easy.”
Having advanced through the first eight levels, Smith is currently competing as a level nine gymnast. Competing at such a high level requires Smith to practice at least five days per week, four hours daily.
Just like every other aspect of life, Smith’s gymnastics was affected by the pandemic. Back in March, her season was cancelled and her gym was shut down for four months.
“Before the shutdown, the longest period of time that I had been out of the gym for was one week in the time frame of 15 years, so it was a big adjustment,” said Smith.
While the coronavirus definitely took a toll on Smith’s gymnastics, she continued practicing over Zoom with her coaches and teammates. She also went on daily runs to maintain her strength and endurance, and recorded herself doing a backflip every day in order to keep her air awareness and skills. Competitions resumed earlier this month, and although the meets are small and masks are required, Smith is excited to be competing again.
“I enjoy competing, but it is very stressful,” said Smith.“There are only about five [competitions] each season, and you have to do well at all of them to qualify for the next level.”
To become a level nine gymnast, one must enter the Junior Olympic Program, which is divided into three main segments: developmental (levels one through three), compulsory (levels four and five), and optional (levels six through ten). A level nine gymnast has progressed through the developmental and compulsory levels by scoring a
minimum mobility score at any USA Gymnastics-sanctioned competition for advancement out of each level.
Although competitions are high-pressure situations for Smith, before the pandemic she always had a large support group of friends and family at every meet to cheer her on and encourage her.
Smith practices at Splits Gymnastics Academy in Canton with her coaches of six years, Guy Sawka and Eileen Spicher, and her coach of four years, Kayla Spicher.
Considering the amount of time Smith spends with her coaches and other gymnasts, she sees them more as friends than coaches or competitors.
“I love the bond the [gymnastics] community has,” said Smith. “Every time I meet a new gymnast, I can easily connect. We both understand the difficulty of the sport, yet we show up every day and stay committed.”
Training roughly 22 to 23 hours per week, Smith sometimes finds it challenging to manage her rigorous class schedule, which includes her four AP courses (AP Biology, AP Calculus , AP Computer Science, and AP French).To manage her school work, Smith uses her free time between classes to get as much of her work done as possible. She also tries to accomplish whatever she can on the weekend.
“She is driven, dedicated, very analytical, and she understands her strengths and weaknesses,” said English teacher, Mrs. Angela Harris-Schultheis, who has taught Smith for three semesters. “I think a lot of that comes from gymnastics, where you have to understand your weaknesses and how to compensate for them.”
Just like in many sports, sometimes the mental aspect of competing is more challenging than the physical for Smith.
“It’s really easy to get mental blocks,” said Smith. “[Two summers ago], I got a really bad one and started wondering why I’m not doing something that is a little bit easier, mentally. But then you get back to normal, and you never really want to stop.”
During her rare free time, Smith coaches the younger athletes at her gym. She also enjoys watching movies with her two older brothers.
Looking forward, Smith has decided not to participate in gymnastics at the collegiate level; however, she would like to use her athletic talents by becoming a member of a college cheer or crew team. Smith is still awaiting responses from her list of colleges, including two Ivy Leagues, the University of Michigan, Stanford University, and several other elite schools. Smith has an interest in becoming an orthopedic surgeon, and she hopes to double major in chemistry and biology. Wherever Smith goes to school, it is evident that her dedication and commitment to excellence will set her up for a very successful future.
1st Place
Division 4, News Writing
NW-19. Sports Feature Story
Stories may include personality profile, informative, interpretive (why), and/or human interest features specifically related to sports. Submit a PDF of the print page(s) on which the story was published or the URL to the story on an online news site.
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Lead captures attention, arouses curiosity
- Emphasizes new element, fresh angle
- Colorful, lively presentation; effective form/style
- Descriptive writing demonstrates the concept of “show, don’t tell”
- Reflects adequate research, sound interviewing techniques
- Avoids summaries of published materials
- Effective use of facts/quotes
- Interesting; appeals to the emotions
- Proper diction/grammar