Liberty County’s YMCA gymnastics team will tumble into its first competitive meet in October, and the girls are preparing for their debut by hosting a daylong gymnastics event Sept. 18.
"Their first meet will be Oct. 30 in Savannah at Summit Gymnastics," new coach Karissa Thomas said. "It will be their first meet as a team so we are working on letting them practice performing in front of each other. Then, eventually, we’ll have some parents watching and then on National Gymnastics Day, Sept. 18, they’ll be showing their skills to everyone who is here."
Thomas came on board in July, just one month after former coach Michelle Alexander left. Thomas, who is from Seattle, said she grew up competing in gymnastics and later taught it for 10 years. Her family was stationed at Fort Benning, but recently was reassigned to Fort Stewart.
"I bought a house, so I’m here to stay," she said.
After becoming acquainted with her team, the coach focused on rebuilding the girls’ overall strength.
"There were some issues with the girls not being able to hold their own body weight up on the bars and, in order to do a lot of their skills, they were missing a few basic progressions," she said. "So we started from the basics going all the way to just doing forward rolls and built the program back up again. We’ve been working a lot on conditioning and strength."
With the first meet about a month away, Thomas thought National Gymnastics Day would be the perfect opportunity for team members to work out any stage fright.
The event will be from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the YMCA’s gymnastics building.
"The public is invited to bring their children, who will be given gymnastic instructions at the top of every hour, and then the YMCA team will perform for the audience during the 15-minute breaks," the coach said. "They plan to have a snow cone machine, snacks, raffles and prizes."
Lauren Parrish is the team’s booster club president. Her daughter Nicole is on the team and Parrish said the program has boosted the young athlete’s confidence.
"She was really shy and we felt this might boost her confidence a little bit and it really has," Parrish said.
The president said she started the booster club to help pay for meet costs and uniforms.
"We paid half of the uniforms already," she said. "We also provide funds and hold fundraisers to pay for our girls to get into the meets. Where there was no money before we now we have the money so the parents don’t have to pay as much (out of pocket) because it is very expensive."
Alicia Turner’s daughter Hailey Montes also is on the squad. "She is all excited about the fact they are starting to compete. She has friends who are level nine, and she sees that they are doing flips," Turner said about watching Hailey in action. "She has come a long way since when she first started. She only knew cartwheels and she has a lot of her skills now for level three. She has her running around doing back hand springs now and they are starting to work on other stuff."
Thomas said she wants the girls to enjoy their first meet instead of worrying about scores.
"Because it’s their first meet, I just want them to be proud of what they’ve done and how far they’ve come so far," she said. "They are working very hard in all their events. I hope by the end of our competition season next May that they’ll be scoring very well all across the board."
Turner also realizes that hard work and having fun go hand-in-hand. She has high hopes for Hailey, but also wants her daughter to take pleasure in what she’s doing.
"I just want her to go out there and give her all and be proud of herself," Turner said.
For more information about National Gymnastics Day or the YMCA gymnastics team, call
368-9622.