The Battlefield Gymnastics team remained undefeated throughout the entirety of the season last school year. Currently in their pre-season, the team is hopeful to keep the trend going. Mary Henry, the Coach of the varsity team, says,”I am really liking our chances this season. We basically have our starting lineup returning plus some new gymnasts that look promising so I feel we have a very strong chance to get to the postseason this year”.

Many team members felt similarly to Coach Henry in being confident about the upcoming season, such as Morgan Baddley, Lauren Murphy, Myah Wisnieski, and Emily Ignacio. Junior Morgan Baddley says, “We worked our butts off and motivated each other to keep pushing to get better. Ending the season undefeated was amazing and lit a fire inside everyone knowing that we have a chance to do really well this year. We’ve been working out at our coaches gym and putting together routines on our own so no time is wasted during the short month we have before our first meet. We only lost 3 Seniors from last year which leaves us with only a few spots to fill. As long as we get a few newbies, we should be as good and hopefully better than last year”.
Senior Emily Ignacio says, “I believe the greatest factors that led to a successful regular season include, but are not limited to, having an open mind and hard work. Every single girl kept their mind open to trying new skills and new techniques, which led to new routines that scored really well. Also, the team, as a whole, worked very hard. Despite already practicing five times a week, some girls trained a sixth day on their own time to get in more repetitions.”
During the off-season Coach Henry says, ”All of the Bobcat Gymnasts train very hard all year around. Many of the Girls cheer and those who do not, continue to train at local gyms to maintain and improve their skill requirements. There is no “off” season in this sport so when it came time for the first competition the girls were ready. They also worked very hard to increase the difficulty of the routines throughout the season so their routines were stronger as the season progressed which enabled the ladies to continue their winning record”.
Senior Lauren Murphy says,”The overall dynamic is a family like atmosphere. Most of us have known each other most of our lives. High school gymnastics is team oriented, so you learn how to depend on your teammates as sisters, because you must have full trust in them”.
Going along with Murphy’s thoughts about the team dynamic, junior Myah Wisnieski says, ”We spend so much time together working out and pushing each other that we can’t help but get close. It’s such a great group of girls, so everybody is friends and it’s just such a great group to be a part of!”
Ignacio says, “This past season was very successful and lots of fun, but we did not make it to states as a team like we had planned. I think Battlefield gymnasts have a new, fiery motivation and self-drive for this upcoming season because we want to make it back to the State Championship competition together. Along with a new sense of drive and determination, there are some extremely talented freshmen planning to try out. I cannot wait to see what they bring to the table! All of us plan to up our skill difficulty and change some routines which gives the team a competitive edge and a new flair. Since my freshman year, the Battlefield gymnastics team has always been a fun, friendly, inclusive, and supportive environment. Many of us grew up in the competitive gymnastics world and have known each other for many years; whereas, some girls have never done gymnastics before or have just moved here. We truly emphasize building our team around positivity and having fun, because what truly matters is the memories we have to look back on”.
Overall, only few changes will be made, while the team will mainly stick to their strengths from previous seasons while improving their weaknesses, Coach Henry says, “It’s looking like we will be even stronger on bars, which Battlefield is known for, but I think we are going to be really strong on vault and beam as well. I am confident it’s going to be a great year for Battlefield Gymnastics”.