Athlete Warriors

Finding Balance Between Skill and Mental Toughness In Gymnastics

Text by Shane Klippenes and Photography by Darrin Schreder

Is gymnastics, a sport originated by the ancient Greeks and an original Olympic event, requiring long hours of practice and risk of injury, still relevant today? Recent time spent with gymnasts in North Central Montana indicate that it’s not just relevant, but teaches life lessons, hard work, a myriad of athletic skills and is fun!

Greg Madson, a former MSU gymnast, and his wife Christi, founded Great Falls Gymnastics Academy in 2008. With a passion for gymnastics and a young family, they saw both need and opportunity when a local Great Falls gymnastics facility closed its doors.

After purchasing the closing gym’s equipment, they found a 1940’s era car dealership building and began the daunting task of turning it into a gymnastics facility they could be proud of. With only an 8-week time window to work within, they worked long past midnight most nights on the remodel and managed to open for business on their target date. Now, 8 years later, Great Falls Gymnastics Academy (GFGA) is home base for 400-500 athletes who train here weekly in addition to the myriads of kids who pile in for birthday parties and other special events.

According to Christi, the emphasis that gymnasts place on flexibility, body awareness, and relentless practice creates unparalleled overall strength and makes gymnastics a “foundation sport that can take athletes anywhere they want to go.” From freestyle skiing to Olympic lifting, many successful, local athletes have found their start in gymnastics.

Chase Laurent is a high school freshman, and level 9 gymnast who has been working out at GFGA for 4 years. Like the majority of the committed gymnasts here, he spends 4-5 nights per week at the gym participating in 3 hour grinds, that sometimes push him to the limit. “The hardest part is getting over fear”, he said during a quick break between evolutions. Practice and the encouragement of his coaches get him through difficulty and keep him focused on the successes that his hard work create.

During a gymnastics competition in February 2015, GFGA athlete Ally Folds experienced a degree of difficulty that not many gymnasts suffer when she broke her leg during a mat exercise. “I applied too much power, hyperextended my leg, and felt something go wrong”. After being helped off the mat, and diagnosed with a fractured femur, she began the 2-month road to recovery and fought the fear that came with returning to the mat. Over time and through training, her confidence has increased she has surpassed her pre-injury capabilities. Demonstrating grit and determination, Ally says, “I know that if I do what I’m told, the way I’m told to do it, that I won’t get hurt”.

Sami Franczyk is a young lady with a fierce smile that belies her level of determination to take the skills she’s been learning since she was 4 years old and parlay them into a college scholarship. “Gymnastics is really fun and I’m good at it” she said while awaiting her turn on a mat exercise. True to form, her favorite skill is one that she has not yet mastered, the double backflip. Requiring hours of coaching, practice on the trampoline, and perfection on the single, the double is “fun to work on” and keeps her focused on her goals. Despite the long hours spent in the gym and accompanying exhaustion, practicing with her friends “makes it worth it.”

Lars Madson was born into a gymnastics family, but has earned his level 9 of 10 ranking through persistent effort over the last 6 years and has his sights set on the next level. For him this means getting ranked as a level 10 and following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a college gymnast. The new moves he must master to accomplish these goals can be scary, but he has fun and embraces the mantra of needing to just “do it until you get it”.

Although all of these young gymnasts could be described as “driven” individuals, an atmosphere of structured fun and friendly competition prevails at GFGA. Kids of all ages and abilities spend time together, laughing, encouraging each other and enjoying quick breaks between skill stations. Jamie Franczyk, age 7, summed it up well. “Getting to be here with my friends is what makes this fun!”

“Begin here, go anywhere” is a mantra at the Great Falls Gymnastics Academy, is demonstrated on the mats and apparatus of the gym, and lived out by the athletes who use this foundational sport to take them where they want to go in life. Modern relevance may be in the eye of the beholder, but among young Montana athletes, this ancient sport is alive and well.

For more information on gymnastics or the Great Falls Gymnastics Academy, check out www.greatfallsgymnastics.com