My lawyer father often walked into courtrooms with half the room hating his guts. It gets a bit uncomfortable when those two things don’t line up. The Canadians over on floor exercise are stirring up loud cheers from the full-house crowd and there’s a Brazilian gymnast on vault whose name is screamed from the stands at least once a minute. Hopefully, I can get through a bar routine without an emergency run to the bathroom. We’ve been here two weeks and my digestive system is just now going back to normal. I rub my knuckles over the front of my blue and white Team USA leotard, making sure not to ruin the perfect chalk-job I did on my grips. Both are wearing identical warm-ups and have gold medals hanging around their necks. My gaze travels up the stands until I spot Blair and Ellen, my younger teammates who train at my gym in St. I’m gonna nail it and then no UCLA this month. I pace in front of the chalk bowl, blowing air through my cheeks. He’s right beside her, giving corrections and advice quietly, making large gestures with his hands. Of course this set up only happens at major elite gymnastics competition. Each of the four pieces of equipment gets its own podium to sit on so the crowd has a good view of each performance. “I get the veteran label.” I swallow back the fear and shake out my arms.īentley rushes up to the competition stage as Stevie lands her dismount.

If you screw up, it’s no big deal, but after this-”

“The National Team committee wants you here for the experience. He cracks a smile, but his focus is one hundred percent devoted to Stevie, who’s finishing up her routine. I could use a few notes from the former World Champion. I inhale and nod, staring straight ahead. I’m leaning over the chalk bowl, reminding myself to breathe, and watching my oldest teammate, Stevie Davis, warm up her routine when Coach Bentley comes up behind me, resting his hands on my shoulders. So naturally, that’s exactly where Team USA is starting for Day One of the Pan American championships. If I had to pick one event I’d rather not begin with during my very first senior international competition, it would be uneven bars.

Letters from nowhere 2 online