After four long months of intense prep to get to this point, meet season is finally here. For athletes and the fans of college gymnastics, these next four months are so incredibly exciting. Welcome back to a day in the life, first meet jitters edition! And believe me, there are a lot of jitters approaching this very first meet week.
While I can share my thoughts as a graduated student-athlete on the other side of the competition world, I thought it might be interesting to look at how current athletes are feeling on both ends of the spectrum. For this article, I spoke with two freshmen going into their very first NCAA meet ever, as well as two seniors going into their last, first meet, along with my own experiences.
There are so many emotions as you enter your first NCAA competition: anxiety, possibly some fear, but most of all, excitement! This day is what years of hard work has been for, and looking back, I wish I realized how big of an accomplishment even getting to this point was.
For a freshman competing for the first time, this moment is a long time coming. Whether you’ve been committed to a college for two months or two years, all of your training has led you to this point.
“I’m super excited to just compete with the team and be out on the floor with everyone,” Maryland freshman Natalie Martin said.
Likewise, Illinois freshman Olivia Coppola said, “I’ve never been a part of this in a team aspect. It’s been very [team-oriented] in training, so I’m excited to see that transfer over to competition and just have this experience.”
At this point, now more than five years ago, I really do remember my first competition like it was yesterday. As a freshman at Bridgeport, our first meet was at Central Michigan with Arizona and Illinois. This was not only my first competition but also my first travel meet, which made this day even more exciting (but also that much more nerve-wracking). Even going into my last, first meet five years later at Temple, these emotions didn’t fade; I might have been even more nervous knowing this was the start of such a big chapter of my life coming to a close.
“Going into my last season is definitely bittersweet,” Mia Takekawa, a fifth-year for Illinois, said.
“Emotions are high for this last year, and you just have to live in the moment,” agreed Maryland fifth-year Emma Silberman. “My motto for this year is to feel each moment and not take anything for granted.”
In my own experience, I used to get pretty anxious leading up to the hour of the meet, so I would try to keep myself busy throughout the day. This being said, if you have ever been on a team with me, you know I like to get ready early, like really early. I was not a very superstitious person, but I definitely had my quirks, and being fully ready hours before the meet was definitely one of them.
Everyone has their own thing when they are dealing with these jitters. Whether it be using the same hair ties all season, or like Martin, having chicken wings the night before every competition, we all do what we have to do to be our best on meet day.
We spend so much time thinking about the competition, anxious just to get out on the equipment and compete, that sometimes this is the only thing we can focus on. A piece of advice I would give to athletes entering their first or fifth season of competition would be to really take in all the moments leading up to the start of the meet. Getting my hair braided, listening to a pre-meet playlist, and taking pictures in competition leotards is something I would love to experience one more time, rather than let these jitters take over leading up to the meet.
But, these jitters are perfectly valid, too! Especially for a first meet, these nerves run high. While these feelings really never go away, they are definitely the most intense your first year.
“I’m usually one to stay calm while I compete, but I just want to do the best I can every time I step on the equipment for my team.” Martin said. “It’s not just for me anymore, it’s for my team, and I want to be put on that equipment because I am the best person for the job, and everytime I get to go, I want to do my best.”
This individual-to-team dynamic is definitely an adjustment. Throughout your career leading up to the NCAA, you’ve been competing by yourself, for yourself.
“I’ve always liked to compete, but there’s been a shift in my nerves. Up until now, its been, ‘I’m going to go up and compete,’ but now, what I do is affecting everyone else on the team,” Coppola said. “I’ve worked a lot with [Illinois head coach Nadalie Walsh] on how to get my mind off my skills and my gymnastics and focus on something else. This has been difficult for me, but it’s been making my gymnastics under pressure that much better.”
This mindset is undoubtedly more nerve-wracking, and while these jitters may never fully go away, you start to figure out the routine you need to be successful on meet day.
“I definitely still get those nerves,” Takekawa said. “But over the past five years, learning how to deal with these nerves has changed. Being able to invest in the team and give my energy to someone else before I go takes my mind off what I’m about to do.”
Takekawa shares the philosophy first-year Illinois assistant coach Josh Nilson says about these jitters: Everyone has butterflies, you just have to get them to fly in formation.
No matter how each person might deal with pre-meet jitters, looking back, I would do it again. Even though it might be cliche, ‘It goes too quickly’ is unfortunately so true.
“If I could look back and tell freshman-year me something, I would tell her these nerves are good. I would tell her to use these nerves and enjoy the moment a little bit more,” Takekawa said. “I’ve been here for five years, but it feels like five minutes. I would just tell her to take everything in.”
Silberman shares the same sentiment entering her final year; “I would tell [freshman me] to enjoy it,” she said. “I remember my first meet like it was yesterday; it’s so important to enjoy these moments because these are the things you are going to remember for the rest of your life.”
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Article by Julianna Roland
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