Senior Gabrielle Laguisma conquers gravity and multiple injuries to succeed in gymnastics

As a young third grader, she always dreamed of becoming one of the “big girls” who could flip off the bar and tumble into the spotlight.

Now in high school, senior Gabrielle Laguisma is living her dream.

After giving up on soccer and swimming when she was younger, Laguisma decided she wouldn’t give up on gymnastics. And ever since then, gymnastics has been her passion.

“I feel like I have more personality in gym,” Laguisma said. “I feel like I’m a unique person because I am doing things that a normal high school student wouldn’t be able to do and travelling places that people don’t normally go to.”

Laguisma dedicates up to nine hours of her day at Airborne Gymnastics practicing her routines and technique for upcoming meets.  Although she struggles to excel in both school and gymnastics, she needs to sacrifice somewhere.

“Sometimes you just have to take days off from gym to do homework, and some days you have to take off time from homework to go to gym,” Laguisma said. “I have to find the balance to be successful in both.”

She nears that success as she hones the last few skills needed to become a level 10 gymnast—the highest level possible. Only the gymnasts who have reached level four are allowed to compete, while gymnasts in levels nine and 10—such as Laguisma—are eligible to compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) meets. Once Laguisma reaches level 10, she will be part of an elite group, who can then move on to compete in the Junior Olympics. However, Laguisma expresses that being a gymnast not only requires physical but also mental strength.

“You have to know your body,” Laguisma said. “You have to push yourself to the point when you’re about to pass out and faint, but you have to know when to stop so you can come back the next day and do it all over again.”

Fueling her need to push herself to the limit is her parents’ investment of time and money into her gymnastics. The hundreds of dollars—at least $750 per a month—that go into a 25 hour per week gym training schedule, airfare, hotel bills, and competitions push Laguisma.

A testament to her physical sacrifice, Laguisma has incurred at least one injury a year for the past four years. From a fractured wrist freshman year, a chipped L3 disc in her spine sophomore year, a torn elbow tendon junior year, to a dislocated elbow this year, these injuries not only require additional money but also challenge Laguisma.

“I haven’t seen anybody deal with injuries any better than [Laguisma],” coach Benjamin Corr said. “If anything, the kind of gymnast that you want is an athlete that you have to hold back. And Gaby, you definitely have to try and hold back.”

Laguisma has a total of three coaches who train her in different areas. Justin Howell, the head coach who trains her at every event, Corr, who looks over her performances, and Elizabeth Crandell, who helps her with beam, floor, and choreography.

To reach her goal of competing at the Junior Olympic level, Laguisma must rank among the top seven gymnasts in her age group and region which includes California, Utah, and Arizona. Corr describes level 10 as the top one percent of gymnasts, but Junior Olympians as the top one percent of the level 10 gymnasts.

Laguisma’s coaches strongly believe in her, not because of her physical prowess, but for her power as a person. Corr has been coaching for 25 years, but Laguisma and her determination still stand out amongst the international elite he’s coached.

“Natural ability is a wonderful thing, but in the end the high quality person perseveres through the injuries and the hard times, and they make it to the end,” Corr said. “The tougher it gets, the tougher [Laguisma] gets.”

To fulfill her goal of winning a college scholarship, Laguisma must overcome even more discouraging statistics. To put it into perspective, the small percentage that get college scholarships and compete is about the same as the percentage of basketball players who end up playing professional basketball.

Yet, unlike professional basketball players, gymnasts do not have a professional league to compete in and make money. Though investing so much time and self just to get a scholarship may seem absurd to some, Crandell believes that this defines gymnasts.

“They’re doing it for just knowing that they conquered something that was scary for them,” Crandell said. “This thing that I’m going to do right now might kill me, but I want to do it, and I’m going to go anyway and know what it feels like to make your body conquer gravity and do something that’s bigger than you. That’s what makes gymnasts special and carries through their lives.”

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