The Back Story

Gymnastics as a sport started in the 1800s. Over the years there have been many changes made to the sports uniforms, equipment, and rules. Through those years, gymnastics has played a big part in thousands of people’s lives. Many of these gymnasts train 3 or 4 hours per day, showing that it takes a lot to be a gymnast. Gymnastics is a highly competitive sport. Gymnastics is performed in the Olympics, privately owned gyms, and in many schools across the United States. Hauppauge is one school that has a competitive gymnastics team.

All About The Team

When joining a sports team, sometimes you don’t know what to expect or what you are exactly signing up for. The Hauppauge gymnastics team is very friendly and very understanding. The coach understands if you do gymnastics out of school or have to miss practices because you have somewhere else to go to, so long as you don’t miss every day. Every year, apparel is ordered at the beginning of the summer so team members can wear it to meets and everyone can match. The apparel is always nice and can be used during the off-season too. The gymnastics team practices every day after school. Usually, practice is from 3:45 to about 5:30. Practice is always a lot of fun. At a home meet, team members set up the equipment themselves and run the meet, which is very fun. When it is an away meets, the team gets to go on extremely fun bus rides, full of excitement and music. All the meets are very fun to be at and help students meet new people from other teams and other schools. Joining a team can be very scary, but the Hauppauge gymnastics team is always happy to have new members.

What To Look Forward To

All athletes have something they look forward to. For some sports, it’s a big tournament, but for gymnastics, it’s leagues and counties. To compete at these meets, you must score a certain number of qualifying points. Getting into either competition is a big accomplishment in itself. After these competitions happen, there is a very nice awards dinner. The awards dinner is held in an upscale place, all the teammates get to dress up. There is food, raffles, and the most exciting part is possibly getting your trophy. Reaching these competitions and winning an award takes a lot of hard work, but with enough dedication, anyone is able to reach that goal.

What The Team All About 

Joining a sports team is very scary and very intimidating for many people. This happens to athletes in every sport, not just gymnastics. On the Hauppauge gymnastics team, all the athletes make sure everyone on the team feels welcome from the first day they start training together till the last day of the season. One of the athletes believes that “being on the Hauppauge school gymnastics team helped me make friends in different grades. It also helped me learn new things and get out of my comfort zone.” Not only do you get to meet new people, but you also get to meet students that are older than you. This is very helpful because if you ever need to ask a question about classes, the school, or advice, they are more than willing to help anyone. Another girl on the team said, “This team helped me feel more comfortable being in school and helped me to gain back the love I had for gymnastics.” Everyone on this team is so supportive and will always be there. Everyone comes together and tries to make it a fun place to be. The Hauppauge gymnastics team is like having a second family who will always have your back no matter what.

All In All

Gymnastics takes place during the fall sports season. Any girl is allowed to try out. The team is on the smaller side, so if you are willing to put in the work, you will be given a place on the team. Step out of your comfort zone, and join this wonderful family. If you are interested in trying out make sure you pay attention since practice starts in the summer, a week before school starts.