Her steady hands grasp the beam, sweat dripping from her forehead as she confidently gets into position and then gymnast Riley Daniels wows the judges with her performance.
“I started gymnastics when I was two years old” said Daniels.
To get Riley moving around and to give her a fun way to exercise as a child, her mom put her in gymnastics. One thing led to another and she was jumping all around the house, but she really got into doing gymnastics when she realized that she could flip and do cartwheels.
Daniels practices five days a week, totaling four hours for each practice.
“Riley’s given up a lot to dedicate herself to the sport she loves” says Kim Daniels, Riley’s mom. She’s given up time with friends and time just to run around and have fun to dedicate herself into her beloved sport.
On top of that, she also teaches gymnastics o a range of kids.
“I teach as little as kindergartners and up to some high school seniors” says Daniels.
Daniels is a great teacher according to Amy Patch, her boss, due to her kindness and patience with her younger students. She also works with the competitive team and “the girls look up to her as she is a role model for them” said Patch.
Her biggest accomplishment in her gymnastics career is competing in the Junior Olympic National Championships in Indiana. When asked if Daniels ever hopes to compete in the Olympics, her answer was no. “The Olympics force you to train much longer and give an even bigger commitment, when only four gymnasts out of a hundred actually end up making it” said Daniels.
Gymnastics comes with dangers, performing those scary stunts, but Daniels has had smooth sailing except on her fifteenth birthday. On what was supposed to be a special and exciting day, she landed her first gymnastics injury. Daniels had broken the inside of her ankle bone. It took eight months for her to fully recover. It was weird for her not being able to do gymnastics because she had gone from doing it everyday, to not doing it at all she said.
“In the end it helped my patience and it was a great, yet not so great, learning experience” said Daniels.
Gymnastics is a sport that requires a lot of physical and mental strength, something which Daniels has gained throughout her days as being a gymnast.
“As a parent, I have enjoyed watching Riley do something she loves. Gymnastics has taught her so much about being mentally strong and determined.” says her dad, Ken Daniels.
Other gymnasts in our school agree that the toll gymnastics can take on you mentally and physically.
“You need to be able to carry yourself through tricks and be able to do things with your body you never thought you could” says Lauren Kwiatkowski a former gymnast.
“It can get really scary throwing yourself around and upside down on the floor let alone a four inch wide beam” says Kathryn Eaton, who has done gymnastics for twelve years and has taught for two.
Daniels has shown promise in this beloved sport and we can only wish the best for this young gymnast.
“I am confident that Riley will have a great season and find her next home for gymnastics and education. “ said Amy Patch. We look forward to see what becomes of Riley and her gymnast career as she heads off to college.