For a gymnast with hopes of competing in college, the recruitment process can be daunting. Talking to coaches, sharing training highlights on social media, and visiting schools all with the hope of finding the perfect fit is a lot to manage on top of high school and a full level 10 or elite training load. While some athletes aspire to earn an athletic scholarship, take advantage of NIL, or make a run for a national title, others have the goal of attending one of America’s most elite academic institutions.
When Lindsey Yang, a former three-star recruit and current sophomore at Brown, started her recruitment journey in 2020, she knew she wanted to attend a school where academics were a top priority. She reached out to around 15 programs but wanted to wait for the one that would best align with her dedication to her studies and her goal of someday working in finance. “I had a few offers going into my junior year, and held onto a few of those because I was hoping to go to an Ivy League,” she said.
Former four-star recruit and Penn sophomore Madison Perkins had similar academic aspirations but didn’t initially consider the Ivy League. She originally wanted to stay closer to home in California, but after an unofficial visit to Penn, she knew it was where she wanted to be. Perkins felt like she was falling out of love with the sport after a string of injuries, but the atmosphere at a Penn practice made her feel like things could be different. It was clear that the athletes there truly loved gymnastics. “Especially as a previous elite gymnast, finding that passion for gymnastics again was something I was really looking for,” she said. “I think if I was in another place, I wouldn’t have that.”
For Brown head coach Brittany Harris, a well-rounded approach to recruiting is key to fostering a supportive environment. She’s looking not only for excellent athletes but for people who are passionate and hardworking in other areas of their life. “When we’re recruiting, we want to learn about them beyond the student-athlete side,” she said. “What’s the human side of you? What do you like to do in your free time?” Getting to know the athletes as people first and gymnasts second has created an environment at Brown that is uplifting, encouraging, and understanding.
Harris’s strategy works. She described her team as “wise beyond their years” and “ready to literally be world changers.” They’re passionate in all areas of their life – not just gymnastics. For Yang, it was important to her that she spend her collegiate years surrounded by people as dedicated to both school and sports as she is, but what she values most about the team culture is how different they all are. She’s from California while most Brown gymnasts are from the East Coast. She studies business economics, her teammates study everything from biology to political science. Their diverse interests make them stronger as a team, and it’s inspiring to watch them pursue their own individual goals. “I think it’s great that we all come from these different backgrounds and we’re able to come in here and share our different ideas,” she said. They share their passion for gymnastics, but that’s just a small piece of who they are. Outside of practice, Yang and her teammates meet up to study, or hang out and watch NCAA meets.
At Penn, the team’s focus on academics keeps Perkins motivated as she works through a challenging pre-med program. She has goals of attending medical school and eventually becoming a surgeon, and she is already thinking about when to take the MCAT. It’s a lot to have on her plate, but her teammates help her balance it. “I am working a job in a biological substances lab, I’m also in a pre-medical fraternity, and then I obviously have my classes and the gym team, but everyone on the team is dedicated to their studies as well, so we all kind of support each other,” she said.
For all an Ivy League education provides a student-athlete, it does have its drawbacks – the most obvious being the lack of athletic scholarships. Harris said it doesn’t have the negative effect on the recruiting process that some may think. “I often thought when I first got to Brown, it would be kind of hard recruiting in the Ivy League just because of just the status of it being the Ivy League and everything that that entails,” she explained, “but we don’t have a problem getting any recruits… most of them already have it in their mind that it’s the Ivy League, this is what I’m wanting.”
Going into the recruitment process with Ivy aspirations can be daunting. “A lot of people are intimidated by the Ivy League. They’re like, I’m not smart enough for that. I’m not good enough for that. But that’s really not the case,” said Yang. “You hear Ivy League and it sounds big and scary, right? But it’s all just people who are passionate about their sport anyways. I think that’s the perfect way to describe it. We’re all just very dedicated, passionate people. And we are looking for more of those kinds of people always.”
Staying on top of studying throughout high school is important as student-athletes must be academically admitted to Ivy League schools. At both Brown and Penn, a “pre-read” is conducted the summer after a recruit’s junior year of high school to assess their chances of admission. This gives both the athlete and the coaching staff an idea of what they have to work on before submitting the Common App and hopefully being admitted to the school.
Yang said the rigor of the recruitment process prepared her well for her future career – she’s currently going through recruitment for job opportunities in the banking sector. She’s sending emails, she’s being interviewed. “I think that recruiting sets people up better for success in the future and better communication,” she said. Balancing athletics, academics, and the job hunt sounds like a mammoth task, but Yang does not shy from it. “I think that these are just life skills to have. And I think that they’re really good to carry on even post-college,” she said.
While Ivy League athletes juggle school, gymnastics, and preparing for whatever may come afterward, it’s important that their coaches possess a certain level of understanding of their packed schedules outside the gym. “It’s truly about understanding the academic rigor and their course load, and understanding all they may have on their plates,” said Harris. She emphasizes that communication is key when it comes to balancing studying and sports: “We ask that if you have a paper, a test, a midterm, whatever it is, let us know and then you can get your assignment done and you can go off and study…we want you to be present while you’re in the gym but if there’s something that’s in the back of your mind that you need to take care of, let us know.” Flexibility from both the coach and the athlete is key to achieving success in all aspects of their busy lives.
Harris relies on an adaptable coaching style to allow her athletes to shine in and out of the gym. She’s not just coaching gymnasts, she’s coaching people. “We want them to be successful academically, athletically, within their communities, and in life,” she says. “Our goal is to give them the best collegiate experience possible, but we want the bonds that we build with them to last for life.”
For gymnasts considering the Ivy League as they embark on their recruitment journey, Perkins has advice: “If an Ivy is what you want to do, I say 100% go for it. And if you’re on the fence, I say still go for it.” It’s clear that Ivy coaches are building passionate, dedicated teams that support each other through all that goes along with being a student-athlete in a rigorous academic program. It might not be the right fit for everyone – but when it is, it certainly pays off.
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Article by Sophie Poirier
