MARYSVILLE Of her students, gymnastics coach Dawn Mosteller said, By the time they hit level three, you know whether they want to compete or not.
A lifelong gymnast herself, and now coach and manager at Rising Stars Gymnastics, Mosteller said she can usually recognize the signs in kids from a pretty early age. Her gym, which offers regular tumbling lessons as well as classes for each of the 10 levels of competition under USA Gymnastics, has fielded competitive gymnasts for more than 10 years now.
So, generally speaking, the girls in coach Becky Eppersons class are serious competitors. Even though their average age is about 8 to 10 years old. Epperson runs her class in a rather business-like fashion. Two girls lead the rest of the class in stretches as she sits nearby watching their form.
Then the team moves over to the floor, where the girls line up and perform cartwheels and flips back and forth across the floor. As the team shifts to practice round-offs, Epperson counts their steps, asking girls to try again if they take too many steps or miss a back handspring.
But shes not cold as she watches them, moving onto the floor to spot girls on their back handspring even as she encourages them to try it without her help.
At Rising Stars, Mosteller estimated, her level four group is her largest competitive group. The numbers dwindle from 15 to about 10 students at level five, six or seven at level six, another between levels six and seven and another student competing at level seven.
At level seven, she explained, gymnasts can make up their own routines in competition incorporating required elements. Lower level athletes execute compulsory routines in competition. The uniformity of routine allows for more objective judging.
Although Mosteller has coached gymnasts at a higher level than seven, its a cutoff mark in her mind.
The hard part is by level seven, theyre getting into high school where they have to choose from having a social life or playing three-month sports, she said. By the time they get to that level, they have to decide, Do I want to keep doing this?
Anecdotally, Mosteller recalled a student she had observed starting at 3-years-old who sacrificed gymnastics last year at the eighth level for high school.
Other gymnasts at Mostellers gym compete in rhythmic gymnastics, which is focused primarily on the floor routine, often incorporating ribbons.
For those who dont have the time or inclination to seriously compete, Rising Stars has an open gym Saturday mornings. Introductory classes are also available to familiarize would-be athletes with the events and ease them into the sport.
With the summer Olympics in Beijing coming up, Mosteller expects a surge in interest.
It always flares up around the Olympics, she said. Its one of those sports that I think people have to see before they think, Hey, that would be a cool sport for my kid.