Coming of Age Essay [DRAFT]

"Girls, come."  

Hopping off the beam, our team exchanged worried looks.  The few years we've had with our coaches has taught us to fear those two words. Two words that have led to lectures.  Two words that have brought us punishment and frustration.  Fingers and elbows nudged my ribs as everyone whispered back and forth. "What did we do now?” "Do you think she's mad?” "Uh oh. We're in trouble aren't we.”  Nearing the coaches, our concerns had coalesced into a tangled mess of anxiety.  Dropping onto the floor, we fell as silent as we were nervous. There, our Russian coaches, our gym mom and dad, our usually happy family, were solemn.  Due to our closely-knit huddle, I could feel the tensed muscles of my teammates, and the beat of their escalating pulses.  I began to prepare myself for another lecture; however, Coach Yulia's sigh interrupted my thoughts.  

She continued on, "Girls, we were offered a job at another gym." 

Turning towards my left, my teammate, Kimi, and I shared a confused look. Even our other coach, shielded his expression from us. 

"We move to Idaho." she finished. 

Two words seemed to be much more scary now, than ever. 

It all became a blur.  Through my tears, could barely make the effort to hug my other friends.  My mind was so overwhelmed with sadness and questions that I was truly speechless.    

Almost as if she was reading my mind, Coach Yulia said, "Coach David will be taking our place."

I knew that no one could ever replace my coaches, especially someone who had only coached at the lower levels. I wondered whether I should switch gyms, yet, I knew I couldn't.  

Finally, the day came when we had to say goodbye to part of our family.  We stood at the airport, tears streaming down our face, waving goodbye until our two coaches and their daughter disappeared into the crowd waiting at the security check. Little did I realize what door this goodbye would be opening for me. 

The next few months soon became one of the worst nightmares of my life.  During the first few weeks of practice, I was told, "I can't coach at your level. I've never coached at your level." by my new coach.  Regardless, he was named the Artistic Team Head Coach, and was assigned the duties of managing and directing the program.  Whether it was the pressure from the gym, or the coaching frustration itself, he started to become unbearable during practices.  Gymnasts were ignored and yelled at.  I was often left by myself to train, or, even worse, I would have to teach the younger girls, leaving no time to train for myself.

            After countless hours, of attempting to find a solution, I found one.  I realized that in a situation like mine, I needed to be an adult.  That day, I wrote down everything I needed to do, starting with buying The Code of Points (a book of rules and requirements for gymnastics), and ending with giving all I had into the sport of gymnastics.  Throughout the next few months, I studied the rules, I created schedules to balance school, my gymnastics career, as well as help the other members of my team.  It was then that I was able to ignore trivial “he said-she said” matters, and focus on my life, my sport, and my routines.